Steven Spielberg Reveals the Movie He Thinks Is His Greatest Work

Steven Spielberg once revealed that he considers Schindler’s List to be the best film he has ever made. The story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust, holds a deeply personal connection for the director, who was born into a Jewish family.

His father lost many friends in the Holocaust, which made Schindler’s story particularly meaningful to him.

Originally published as the book Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally in 1982, the story inspired Spielberg to make the film. However, he waited almost ten years before starting the project.

Speaking in a past interview, he explained, “Schindler’s List took me over a decade to do simply because I recognise its importance. I recognise also the extreme damage that could do if it was not made right… the responsibility for me was daunting, so daunting it put me off the project for almost ten years until I was, I guess, emotionally ready.”

Released in 1993, Schindler’s List marked a departure from Spielberg’s more family-friendly work at the time, such as Always (1989) and Hook (1991). The film came out the same year as Jurassic Park, which Spielberg was also directing, but he saw Schindler’s List as a moral obligation rather than just entertainment.

He told reporters, “It was something I wanted to leave behind for my kids… I could say, ‘here’s a piece of history you should know about, this is something that happened to our people and to all people.’”

Spielberg says the film represents the peak of his own artistic achievement. “I think Schindler’s List is the best film I’ve ever made. I’m really happy that I’m able to say that I admit that I’ve made a picture that’s better than anything else I think I’ve ever made,” he stated. He added that the film’s impact went beyond cinema, sparking global conversation about the Holocaust and leading him to create the Survivors of the Shoah Foundation.

For Spielberg, Schindler’s List is more than a movie, it’s a legacy and a message he hopes will be remembered for generations.

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