Readers reveal favorite Spielberg films
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- Andrea, 51, Manchester cites ET (1982) as her favorite Spielberg film, recalling watching it at eight at Bolton Odeon with her single mother from the Gingerbread Club; she says the film's single-mum protagonist mirrored her own reality at a time when single parents faced stigma.
- Scott Harrison, 54, north Wales recounts seeing Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) at age five after his father dropped the family at the wrong cinema; 15 minutes in, he announced 'my tummy had stopped shaking' and asked his mum to leave the curtains open that night so he could see the stars.
- Rhea, Melbourne defends Hook (1991) as her favorite, calling Spielberg's self-described 'flop' a 'trusted comfort' she returns to at least once a year for nostalgia — even as Spielberg himself started to regret making the film.
- Nathan Ossmann, Appleton, Wisconsin — a high-school film studies teacher — names The Fabelmans (2022) as both his all-time favorite and the capstone film of his class, calling it 'a meditation on growing up with the movies' and comparing its final shot to ET's glowing heart.
- Matthew Vandermeer, 50, Brisbane picks Empire of the Sun (1987), noting it was one of the first major Hollywood productions allowed to film in communist China, in Shanghai, and praising Christian Bale's portrayal of a child separated from his parents during wartime.
- Karen Cusick, 61, Devon calls Always (1989), starring Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss, her 'feelgood movie' which she rewatches every couple of years; she argues its joy as a love story is 'so often overshadowed' by Spielberg's summer blockbusters.
- Niall Laverty, Dublin selects Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) for its 'propulsive energy' and Nazi villains, noting Spielberg's surname translates to 'play mountain' in German and tracing the film's DNA to Tintin and 1930s cliffhanger serials.
Why it matters: Eight readers spanning Manchester, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Appleton selected favorites ranging from Duel (1971) to The Fabelmans (2022), demonstrating Spielberg's nearly 50-year, multi-genre catalog as a cross-generational and cross-continental touchstone for formative cinema memories.
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