Steven Spielberg is inarguably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, but, being human (as far as we know), he is fallible. He's made one thoroughly lousy movie ("Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"), a strangely inert one ("The Bfg"), and must answer for the bizarre backlot debacle that is "Hook."

These misfires are rare for a director like Spielberg, who doesn't have to move forward on a project until he's good and ready. He's known for shooting quickly and confidently, intuitively placing the camera exactly where it needs to be, and delivering a finished film that is narratively concise and thematically rich. The only thing better than watching a Steven Spielberg movie for the first time is knowing that it's going to open up in new and surprising ways on subsequent viewings. There isn't a single filmmaker working today who can top Spielberg as a visual storyteller.