Steven Spielberg has worked in media.
Amistad is a 1997 American historical drama film directed by Steven Spielberg , based on the true story of the 1839 mutiny aboard the slave ship La Amistad , during which Mende tribesmen abducted for the slave trade managed to gain control of their captors ' ship off the coast of Cuba , and the international legal battle that followed their capture by a U.S. revenue cutter . Steven Spielberg . In later years , his films began addressing humanistic issues such as the Holocaust , the transatlantic slave trade , civil rights , war , and terrorism in such films as The Color Purple ( 1985 ) , Empire of the Sun ( 1987 ) , Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) , Amistad ( 1997 ) , Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) , Munich ( 2005 ) , War Horse ( 2011 ) , Lincoln ( 2012 ) , and Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) .