His next effort was the classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), a unique and very original UFO story that remains a cult classic. In 1978 Spielberg produced his first film, the forgettable I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), and followed his first effort with Used Cars (1980), a critically acclaimed, but mostly forgotten Kurt Russell\Jack Warden comedy.

Spielberg hit gold again directing Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), with Harrison Ford taking the part of Indiana Jones. Spielberg produced and directed two films in 1982. The first one was Poltergeist (1982), but the highest grossing movie of all time up to that point was the alien story, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Spielberg also made money a major part of the film industry, or at least a bigger part of the industry than it was before. He was the first producer to use product placement in his films, with the infamous placement of Rieces Pieces in 'E.T.'. Spielberg was also one of the pioneers of the big grossing special effects movies, like E.T., and 'Close Encounters', where a very strong emphasis on special effects was placed for the first time on such a large scale. In 1984 Spielberg followed up 'Raiders' with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), which was a commercial success but critically did not live up to its predecessor.

As a producer Spielberg took on many projects in the 1980s, such as the silly Goonies, and was the brains behind the little monsters in Gremlins (1984). Spielberg also produced the cartoon _American Tail, An (1986)_ (qv), a quaint little animated classic. But his biggest effort as producer in 1985 was the blockbuster Back to the Future (1985), which made 'Michael J. Fox' an instant superstar. As director, Spielberg took on the book Color Purple, The (1985), with Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey, with great success. In the latter half of the 1980s he also directed Empire of the Sun (1987), which was a mixed success for the occasionally erratic Spielberg. But success would not escape him for long. The late eighties found Spielberg's projects at the center of pop culture, yet again. In 1988 he produced the landmark animation\live action film Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). But 1989 proved to be another big year for Spielberg, as he produced and directed Always (1989), as well as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), and Back to the Future Part II (1989). All three of the movies were box office and critical successes.

Also in 1989 Steven Spielberg produced the little known comedy drama Dad, with Jack Lemmon and Ted Danson, which gave mostly mixed results. Spielberg has also had an affinity for animation and has been a strong voice in animation in the nineties.Aside from producing the landmark Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Steven Spielberg produced the TV show Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, Pinky Elmira and The Brain,Family Dog, and Toonsylvania. Spielberg also produced other cartoons such as the Land Before Time, We're back, a Dinosaur Story, Balto, Casper (the live action version) as well as the live action version of the Flintstones, where Steven Spielberg was credited as Steven Spielrock.Spielberg also produced many Roger Rabbit seperate cartoons, and many Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs and Tiny Toons specials.

Spielberg was very active in the early nineties, as he directed _Hook (1991)_ , and produced such films as the cute fantasy Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) and _American Tail: Fivel Goes West, An (1991)_ . He also produced the unusual comedy thriller Arachnophobia (1990), Back to the Future Part III (1990), and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). While the movies were big successes in their own right, they did not quite bring in the box office or appeal as previous efforts.

In 1993 Spielberg directed Jurassic Park (1993) which would go on to be the highest grossing movie of all time, for a short time. While the movie was a top grosser at the box office, the movie did not have the universal appeal of his previous efforts. But big box office spectacles were not his only line of business. He produced and directed _Schindler's List (1993)_ (qv_, a stirring film about the Holocaust. He won best director at the Oscars, and also got best picture.

In the mid-nineties Spielberg founded the production company Dreamworks, responsible for many box office successes in the nineties and the new century. Spielberg as a producer was very active in the late nineties spearheading such films as Mask of Zorro, The (1998), Men in Black (1997), and Deep Impact (1998). But on the directing front Spielberg was in top form in the late nineties. Spielberg directed and produced the epic, Amistad (1997), a spectacular film that was shorted at the Oscars and in release due to the fact that its release date was moved around so much in late 1997.

But 1998 found one of Spielberg's best films in years come to the theaters: Saving Private Ryan (1998). This movie was an almost perfect film about World War Two that is spectacular in almost every respect. The movie was stiffed at the Oscars, losing best picture to 'Shakespeare in Love'. In the nineties Spielberg produced a series of films, including Evolution (2001), Haunting, The (1999), and Shrek (2001). Spielberg also produced two sequels to Jurassic Park, which met with big box office but an increasingly critical crowd of movie-goers. In 2001 he produced the mini-series about World War Two entitled "Band of Brothers" (2001) (mini). Also in that year, Spielberg was back in the directors chair for Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001), a movie with a message and a huge budget. The movie did reasonably at the box office and received mixed signals from critics.

As of right now Steven Spielberg is teaming up with Tom Cruise for the expected box office hit Minority Report (2002). While the movie is showing off good special effects and a stellar pairing of two titans of the silver screen the critics have not all been too friendly. Perhaps this is a further sign that Spielberg's days of big box office are on the decline. As well as producing Men in Black II (2002), Spielberg's next two projects are producing and directing Catch Me If You Can (2002), with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, and _Indiana Jones 4 (2005)_ . While Spielberg has proven a brilliant filmmaker in the past his latest efforts have been mixed, but only the future will tell how he is looked upon as a presence in film.

And while Spielberg has been extremely active in films there are many other things he has done as well. Spielberg produced the short lived TV series Seaquest DSV, an anthology series entitled Amazing Stories, created the video game series Medal of Honor set during World War Two, and was a starting producer of E.R. Spielberg if you haven't noticed has a great interest in World War Two. Recently he produced the mini series Band of Brothers, which was based on true events of a rifle company that parachuted into France. Him and Tom Hanks collaborated on The Shooting War, about World War Two combat footage, and produced a documentary about the Holocaust called A Holocaust szemei. With all if this to Spielberg's credit it is no wonder that he is looked at as one of the greatest ever figures in entertainment. Spielberg is a great filmmaker without a doubt, and it does not seem he is anywhere near done making films, and with all of the money he has he probably could do anything he wanted to. And recently Spielberg graduated from Long Beach State University with a degree in filmmaking. His possibilities are still limitless.