Steven Spielberg has won two Academy Awards for Best Director. He won for Schindler’s List at the 66th Academy Awards and for Saving Private Ryan at the 71st Academy Awards.
Schindler’s List, released in 1993, dramatized the efforts of German industrialist Oskar Schindler to save Jewish people during the Holocaust. Spielberg’s direction earned widespread acclaim for its restrained black-and-white visual style and historical seriousness. The film also won Best Picture.
Saving Private Ryan, released in 1998, brought Spielberg his second directing Oscar. Its depiction of the Normandy landings and the psychological cost of combat was praised for its technical intensity and emotional force. Spielberg had previously received Best Director nominations for films including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and later Lincoln.
A common confusion is between Spielberg’s directing wins and his total Academy Awards. He has won Oscars in other capacities, including Best Picture for Schindler’s List, but his Best Director victories specifically number two.