Steven Spielberg’s First Big Screen Movie Is Easier to Stream Than Ever

Widely regarded as the greatest director of our time, Steven Spielberg earned his incredible reputation with a career of hits across six different decades. The height of his talent came in his run from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, when he delivered all-timers like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Color Purple, Schindler’s List, and Jurassic Park. What some fans forget, however, is that Spielberg really came out of the gate swinging, even before Jaws changed movies forever.

After directing the TV movie Duel, Spielberg made his move to the big screen with 1974’s The Sugarland Express. The darkly comedic crime thriller (which shares a lot of DNA with Raising Arizona) starred Goldie Hawn and marked Spielberg’s theatrical debut. The only Spielberg movie to arrive before Jaws, The Sugarland Express doesn’t get as much attention as the director’s other movies. It’s also slightly less accessible than those more popular Spielberg films, but Netflix just gave The Sugarland Express a much bigger audience.

At the start of May, Netflix added The Sugarland Express to its streaming lineup, giving a lot of movie fans their first opportunity to check out the film that launched Spielberg’s iconic big screen career. The movie may not be as good as some of the work that followed, but it’s still a great thriller from an all-time great director that warrants a watch.

Surprisingly, The Sugarland Express is currently the only Steven Spielberg movie streaming on Netflix.

[RELATED: Captain America: Brave New World Gets Streaming Premiere]

New on Netflix in May 2025

The Sugarland Express hit Netflix at the beginning of the month, along with a couple dozen other popular titles. You can check out the full list of Netflix’s May 1st additions below!

Airport
Airport ’77
Airport 1975
Ali
American Gangster
American Graffiti
Burn After Reading
Constantine
Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Dawn of the Dead
Eat Pray Love
The Equalizer 2
Hanna
Home
The Jerk
The Lego Movie
Mid90s
The Mule
Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Thirteen
Ocean’s Twelve
The Paper Tigers
Past Lives
Sisters
Starship Troopers
The Sugarland Express
Trainwreck
Trolls
Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Angi: Fake Life, True Crime (ES) — NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY
The Biggest Fan (MX) — NETFLIX FILM
The Four Seasons — NETFLIX SERIES

Which Steven Spielberg movie is your favorite? Where does The Sugarland Express rank in the director’s filmography? Let us know in the comments!