How They Became Famous Spielberg burst onto the movie scene in 1975 with Jaws, arguably the first 'Summer Blockbuster'. The success of this and his subsequent films: ET, Third Encounters of the Close Kind and Raiders of the Lost Ark earned Spielberg the title of the biggest movie director in the world. Each of these films were stunningly well-made, could be enjoyed by audiences of all ages and backgrounds and were generally fantastical adventure movies. What They Did Next This all changed with The Colour Purple. While his reputation had been built on big-budget, family-friendly fun, here was a director engaging with grim social realities such as racism and incest. The Colour Purple urged people to think hard, and was politically charged. It was a success. Not the Jaws or ET sort of success, but it earned good money from theatre-goers and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards (winning none, incidentally). The acceptance of this change of direction urged Spielberg to try out new ideas. He didn't completely abandon the blockbuster, as Jurassic Park can attest, but the tone of his overall output changed to include more social themes. The release of Empire of the Sun, an adaptation of the JG Ballard novel soon appeared, and a run of films focusing specifically on the horrors of WWII would follow, including Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. It all sprung from this.
