Schindler's List (1993)
Grade: A+
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Embeth Davidtz, Caroline Goodall, and Johnathan Sagale
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rated R for strong images of Holocaust violence, nudity, sexuality, and some language


I think every mentally competent human being---those with even a shred of emotional dignity---agrees that the Holocaust was a time in history that us, as people, do not want to be remembered for. The slaughtering of so many innocent people from the command of a cowardly fool (Adolf Hitler, a name that is usually associated with pure evil) is a dark time for anyone associated with it. Yet Steven Spielberg’s "Schindler's List" offers a shred of hope.

It tells the story---set in World War II era Germany---of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who sets up a factory in Poland in which Jews can work. The ironic thing is that Schindler, the film’s glorified hero, was actually something of a ‘slimy’ man before the horrors of the Holocaust entered his life. The film starts his portrayal by making him out to be a shamelessly greedy, womanizing alcoholic who is always looking for a good time, and a little bit of money. His factory is to make money for him (and maybe his partner Itzhak Stern, played very well by Ben Kingsley) only, but he then starts to realize the kind of cruelty all these Jews are subject to in the concentration camps, mostly seen, from his eyes, at the hands of Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes, in one of the most brilliant performances I have ever seen on screen)—the good things in life brought the bad stuff out of him, while something as undeniably bad as World War II changed the flawed man into such a great person.

He then composes a list, and whoever is on that list will be set free after a certain amount of working time. Schindler ends up saving the lives of 1100 Jews, severely risking his own life for them. In an admirably lived-in portrayal, Liam Neeson’s distant but confident performance helps to carry the movie, even when Schindler’s scenes are upstaged by those that feature the character of Goeth.

I sometimes feel that SCHINDLER’S LIST is more well-known for its technical details than the sheer brilliance that inhabits the script, performances, and direction. Not that the technical details don’t deserve attention. The movie’s running time is 3 hours and 17 minutes. This is a problem to some. I watched it a little at a time for a couple days, but I wasn’t really *enjoying* it, so I took one night and I watched the full thing, with few breaks. I’m glad I did. Watching it like that, the film completely absorbed me and the time flew by. I didn’t even notice that the movie was so long.

Another much spoken about aspect is the fact that Spielberg decided to film the whole movie in black and white, except for a few flashes of color, both used metaphorically—one with a little girl in a red dress running down the streets as Jews are being killed, another as a dead man passes by and a red patch of blood is seen on his shirt. Both of these are seen by Schindler, and the effect hits home. I think Spielberg’s decision to make "Schindler's List" black and white was an excellent one.

People like me, of my generation, and even the one before me, who never witnessed the evil that was World War II, have only distantly viewed the tragedy---almost as if in black and white: unclear, unfocused, far into the past. This may not have been the full meaning; "Schindler's" hidden messages are numerous, and the point that I make might not be the one that Spielberg was trying to clarify. In any case, this is his best film. His direction is flawless, and the acting is wonderful in a way few other performances are.

The disturbing and depressing scenes in this make Spielberg’s own modern classic "Saving Private Ryan" seem like a mere imitator. Not because there’s excessive gore; there isn’t. But Spielberg isn’t afraid to throw unsettling images at us to make the depiction of this instance all the more horrific. We see in intense detail things like a one-armed Jewish worker being shot just for the sake of being shot…the blood stream from his head trickles down to where that second arm would have been. The abusive Goeth, half-drunk, makes an attempt to seduce his beautiful Jewish maid (Embeth Davidtz), only to erupt in rage, blaming his disillusionment on her. The liquidation of the ghetto, shot in distressing detail. Goeth going through a group of soldiers, shooting every other one of them. A little boy trying to find a hiding spot, only to find that every place is occupied. Children are taken away to another camp as their parents look on helplessly. A huge group of women waiting hopelessly (yes, I know, I need a thesaurus) as they’re about to get gassed.

Spielberg and editor Michael Kahn all weave these nightmarish visions into a masterpiece representing humans at their worst. I was told before I saw the film: “This is a film every American should see. No--this is a film everyone in the world should see.” They were right--it is.

The score, by John Williams (!) is, for a change, hauntingly elegant, suiting the film perfectly. Film scores are always important parts of movies like this, and Williams’ stuff here resonates through the picture wonderfully. The cinematography was great, which, I thought, was a little surprising. The end, in which “Schindler’s Jews” all place a rock on his gravestone, has something sweet, poignant, unbearably emotional, and odd about it that it’s basically impossible not to be moved (I, for one, couldn’t believe so many of those survivors were still alive…and there are a lot of them, which almost makes Schindler’s accomplishment even more triumphant). Spielberg really staged that finale well, and it makes the reality of this story considerably more 3-D.

To sum it up: Schindler’s List is one of the ten best movies ever made. See it if you have an interest in history, remote or fanatic. See it if you like movies, a little or a lot. I think the bottom line, the point I’m trying to make is this: see this movie. Don’t miss out on it, or you’ll be missing the essence of filmmaking at its finest.


-Alex, June 2002