Spielberg: A Retrospective – celebrating the director’s five decades in film

For over 50 years, Steven Spielberg has created some of the most iconic and influential films in cinema history. From Jaws (1975) and ET (1982) to the Indiana Jones series, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Schindler’s List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and West Side Story (2021), his work has captivated audiences worldwide.

Not only have these films achieved remarkable box office success, they have also become enduring classics that have significantly influenced popular culture.

Spielberg aged around 10 (The Steven Spielberg Archive)

On the set of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (Sony)

With Harrison Ford and Karen Allen on the set of ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (1981) (The Steven Spielberg Archive/Paramount)

Compiled by film critic and historian Richard Schickel, Spielberg: A Retrospective provides a detailed examination of Steven Spielberg’s five-decade career.

Spielberg and friend on the set of ‘ET’ (Corbis/Sunset Boulevard)

Bathtime for everyone’s favourite extra-terrestrial (Universal Studios)

The book includes a selection of first-person interviews with the director, along with Schickel’s commentary on all 34 of Spielberg’s major films.

Opening with a foreword by Spielberg himself, the book offers an insider’s perspective on the director’s artistic evolution and legacy.

Directing Tom Hanks on the set of ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (The Steven Spielberg Archive/Paramount)

Listening to Harrison Ford and Sean Connery on the set of ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ (1989) (LucasFilm Image Archive/Paramount)

Featuring over 400 carefully selected images, many sourced from the Steven Spielberg Archive, the monograph offers an insightful look into the craft of filmmaking and serves as a comprehensive overview of one of Hollywood’s most influential directors.