CLASSIC REVIEW: SCHINDLER'S LIST
As a part of my First Year Seminar, I had to watch Steven Spielberg's masterpiece Schindler's List and write an essay of it. I watched and reviewed The Reader as well this year, but looking into the film as the paper required me to, I found it fairly innaccurate of its depiction of the aftermath of the Holocaust. But this is an important film, an essential film every college-age person should see to inform them of the Holocaust. Aside from this, the acting, script, score, direction and cinematography aren't bad either. Without further ado, here's my paper/review of the film: (kind of spoiler alert, but everyone casually familiar with the movie already knows how it ends)
"As a movie buff, it is unavoidable in the discussion of great cinema to not talk about Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s film regarding the heroic actions of Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust. Ranked among the finest motion pictures of all time, the movie not only daunted me by its time duration and prestige, but its reputation as one of the saddest, most emotional films ever made. With all this in mind I eagerly pressed play, and was not disappointed by the cinematic triumph Spielberg brought to us over two decades ago now.
The true-to-life story is as follows: Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) comes and establishes an enamelware business near the Krakow Ghetto in World War II Nazi Germany. Despite being a Nazi party member himself, Schindler gets Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley in a very subtle, emotionally stifled role), a Jewish man to gain relationships in the community. The two strike up a partnership early on, and Stern is loyal to Schindler. He hires Jewish workers because they are cheap labor, and profits largely from this advantage. Because these Jews assist in creating the enamelware that helps creates valuable metals for the war, they are saved from having to go to the camps because their skills are “essential” to the war.
Things are going relatively well for Schindler, until ruthless SS Amon Goeth (a despicable Ralph Fiennes) comes to overlook the building of a concentration camp. Once this camp is completed, Goeth orders a liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto, killing and deporting many Jews to the camps, thus getting rid of much of Schindler’s employees. Schindler, never the fool, uses the immense amount of money he has made to bribe Goeth into creating a sub-camp for his employees. Later, Goeth is ordered to ship the last of the Jews in his camp to Auschwitz. Schindler recognizes not only the blow to his business this will bring, but begins to truly see the horror of the Nazis, and bribes Goeth handsomely into letting his workers be shipped to a bullet factory he plans on creating back in his hometown. He then creates his list—a list containing the names of the people he wishes to transfer to the new bullet producing plant.
After another bribe to an Auschwitz officer after the delivery of a train carrying the women went wrong, Schindler successfully employs his workers, showing them a great deal more of kindness and respect in his bullet factory, (where he does not really produce ammunition but rather buys from more established brands). As Germany surrenders, Schindler convinces the SS guards to go home, and, along with Stern who he’d saved earlier in the film from deportation, the Jews he has saved show enormous gratitude towards him, and he reluctantly accepts, wishing he had been able to save more.
Also featuring the real life “Schindlerjuden” at the end of the film ceremoniously laying stones on the real Schindler’s grave, this movie pulls no punches in delivering its depiction of one of the world’s largest atrocities. In addition to being a completely respectful and touching tribute to not just the 1100 Schindler saved but due to the six million plus that were killed, the movie triumphs with flying colors on a purely cinematic level. As the leading man of Spielberg’s masterpiece, Liam Neeson brings not only a convincingly German accent (to the American ear, anyway) but also a restrained, somber performance as the titular creator of the list. There are not a lot of big movie star moments where he Neeson can show off his emotional range until the very end, which is very much warranted. His Schindler is crafty but not arrogant about it, a womanizer but never a brute. I very much enjoyed seeing the development of this character, whilst abiding by the actual events of the real Oskar Schindler. His compassion grows, and his realization of what is wrong and right shines through. But even in the earlier parts of the film Neeson still brings a certain likability to the role.
But I believe everybody comes away with a complete respect for Ralph Fiennes, who immortalized himself here as one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time. It would be so easy to play a Nazi as over-the-top and as a caricature. Fiennes brings a more sinister kind of evil, a hideous, subtle arrogance to a man who knows his enemy cannot fight back, a sadist who does not torture his foes but drives the fear of death into them that they almost want it to come. He shoots at random in the camps because, to paraphrase Schindler, “they don’t offend or please him, they mean nothing to him.” A true monster of a human being, Fiennes should surely have won the Oscar that year.
Naturally, along with Spielberg’s legendary direction, which without this film would not have come together so grandly, the cinematography shoves the reader right into the eye of the storm, forcing them to bear witness to a story and a genocide that demands to be seen, to be heard from the voices of the six million. The much lamented length of this film is due to heart breaking, lengthy shots of the liquidation of the ghetto, the Aushwitz women being shoved into the showers (I breathed such a sigh of relief afterwards) and the burning of the corpses from the dead of the camps, which in turn has been scorched into my mind. But no scene in Schindler’s List affected me more so than watching the children get taken off by SS members into those trucks, waving merrily to their parents and loved ones. That to me has ingrained itself as one of the most anguishing scenes in movie history.
Overall, as is evident in this review, Schindler’s List rightfully deserves its ranking among the finest ever made. Every aspect of the film, its sobering writing, its sharp acting and the haunting score by John Williams cement it as one of Spielberg’s, if not any director’s finest achievements. It is a film I plan on only seeing this one time, but if that is enough to spread its message on the power of good vs. evil and to show how brave one can be amidst a sea of hatred and agony, that means Spielberg and Schindler have fulfilled their roles in life."
"As a movie buff, it is unavoidable in the discussion of great cinema to not talk about Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s film regarding the heroic actions of Oskar Schindler during the Holocaust. Ranked among the finest motion pictures of all time, the movie not only daunted me by its time duration and prestige, but its reputation as one of the saddest, most emotional films ever made. With all this in mind I eagerly pressed play, and was not disappointed by the cinematic triumph Spielberg brought to us over two decades ago now.
The true-to-life story is as follows: Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) comes and establishes an enamelware business near the Krakow Ghetto in World War II Nazi Germany. Despite being a Nazi party member himself, Schindler gets Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley in a very subtle, emotionally stifled role), a Jewish man to gain relationships in the community. The two strike up a partnership early on, and Stern is loyal to Schindler. He hires Jewish workers because they are cheap labor, and profits largely from this advantage. Because these Jews assist in creating the enamelware that helps creates valuable metals for the war, they are saved from having to go to the camps because their skills are “essential” to the war.
Things are going relatively well for Schindler, until ruthless SS Amon Goeth (a despicable Ralph Fiennes) comes to overlook the building of a concentration camp. Once this camp is completed, Goeth orders a liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto, killing and deporting many Jews to the camps, thus getting rid of much of Schindler’s employees. Schindler, never the fool, uses the immense amount of money he has made to bribe Goeth into creating a sub-camp for his employees. Later, Goeth is ordered to ship the last of the Jews in his camp to Auschwitz. Schindler recognizes not only the blow to his business this will bring, but begins to truly see the horror of the Nazis, and bribes Goeth handsomely into letting his workers be shipped to a bullet factory he plans on creating back in his hometown. He then creates his list—a list containing the names of the people he wishes to transfer to the new bullet producing plant.
After another bribe to an Auschwitz officer after the delivery of a train carrying the women went wrong, Schindler successfully employs his workers, showing them a great deal more of kindness and respect in his bullet factory, (where he does not really produce ammunition but rather buys from more established brands). As Germany surrenders, Schindler convinces the SS guards to go home, and, along with Stern who he’d saved earlier in the film from deportation, the Jews he has saved show enormous gratitude towards him, and he reluctantly accepts, wishing he had been able to save more.
Also featuring the real life “Schindlerjuden” at the end of the film ceremoniously laying stones on the real Schindler’s grave, this movie pulls no punches in delivering its depiction of one of the world’s largest atrocities. In addition to being a completely respectful and touching tribute to not just the 1100 Schindler saved but due to the six million plus that were killed, the movie triumphs with flying colors on a purely cinematic level. As the leading man of Spielberg’s masterpiece, Liam Neeson brings not only a convincingly German accent (to the American ear, anyway) but also a restrained, somber performance as the titular creator of the list. There are not a lot of big movie star moments where he Neeson can show off his emotional range until the very end, which is very much warranted. His Schindler is crafty but not arrogant about it, a womanizer but never a brute. I very much enjoyed seeing the development of this character, whilst abiding by the actual events of the real Oskar Schindler. His compassion grows, and his realization of what is wrong and right shines through. But even in the earlier parts of the film Neeson still brings a certain likability to the role.But I believe everybody comes away with a complete respect for Ralph Fiennes, who immortalized himself here as one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time. It would be so easy to play a Nazi as over-the-top and as a caricature. Fiennes brings a more sinister kind of evil, a hideous, subtle arrogance to a man who knows his enemy cannot fight back, a sadist who does not torture his foes but drives the fear of death into them that they almost want it to come. He shoots at random in the camps because, to paraphrase Schindler, “they don’t offend or please him, they mean nothing to him.” A true monster of a human being, Fiennes should surely have won the Oscar that year.
Naturally, along with Spielberg’s legendary direction, which without this film would not have come together so grandly, the cinematography shoves the reader right into the eye of the storm, forcing them to bear witness to a story and a genocide that demands to be seen, to be heard from the voices of the six million. The much lamented length of this film is due to heart breaking, lengthy shots of the liquidation of the ghetto, the Aushwitz women being shoved into the showers (I breathed such a sigh of relief afterwards) and the burning of the corpses from the dead of the camps, which in turn has been scorched into my mind. But no scene in Schindler’s List affected me more so than watching the children get taken off by SS members into those trucks, waving merrily to their parents and loved ones. That to me has ingrained itself as one of the most anguishing scenes in movie history.
Overall, as is evident in this review, Schindler’s List rightfully deserves its ranking among the finest ever made. Every aspect of the film, its sobering writing, its sharp acting and the haunting score by John Williams cement it as one of Spielberg’s, if not any director’s finest achievements. It is a film I plan on only seeing this one time, but if that is enough to spread its message on the power of good vs. evil and to show how brave one can be amidst a sea of hatred and agony, that means Spielberg and Schindler have fulfilled their roles in life."
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