Steven Spielberg changed the direction of his moviemaking after the 9/11 terror attacks in America, because the disasters inspired him to create "darker" films.

The director, whose latest film War Horse is released in the UK on Friday, is celebrated for family friendly projects such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones franchise and Jurassic Park, but he felt compelled to alter his style after the 2001 atrocities which left almost 3,000 people dead.

Spielberg tells the Independent newspaper: "9/11 changed a lot for me. It changed a lot for everybody in the world. And my films did grow darker after 9/11."

He has made some lighter films following the tragedy, such as Catch Me If You Can with Leonardo DiCaprio, which has been hailed by some as his best film of the last decade.

But the filmmaker has predominantly concentrated on more serious topics and indepth storylines - and he even makes a specific reference to the terrorist attacks in his film War of the Worlds.

He adds, "Minority Report was a very dark look at the future, and certainly War of the Worlds, which was a very direct reference to 9/11. It was a real post-9/11 story.

"Not intended that way, but that's the way it turned out. So I think the world has a great impact on how it colours my movies.

"I think that's a good sign. It just means I'm changing by being aware of what's happening."

And Spielberg seems set to continue his darker stance - his next film, Lincoln, will deal with politics, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the former US President, Abraham Lincoln.