Steven Spielberg

Known for: Schindler's List (1993), Jaws (1975)

Steven Spielberg directed Jaws (1975) and, alongside George Lucas, helped establish the summer blockbuster as Hollywood's dominant commercial model. His subsequent films span genre entertainment and serious historical subject matter — Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Schindler's List (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998) — with a formal command of suspense and scale that has had no peer in mainstream cinema. He has received the Academy Award for Best Director twice.