Directed by:
Steven SpielbergScreenplay:
Steven ZaillianCinematography:
Janusz KaminskiComposer:
John WilliamsCast:
Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall, Embeth Davidtz, Małgorzata Gebel, Mark Ivanir, Andrzej Seweryn (more)VOD (5)
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Adapted from the novel by Thomas Keneally, Steven Spielberg’s masterful film tells the incredible true story of the courageous Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson). Initially a member of the Nazi party, the Catholic Schindler risks his career and life, and ultimately goes bankrupt, to employ 1100 Jews in his crockery factory during the Holocaust. Schindler’s Jewish accountant (Ben Kingsley) serves as his conscience, as Schindler conducts business with an obstinate and cruel Nazi commander (Ralph Fiennes), who viciously kills Jewish prisoners from the balcony of his villa overlooking a prison camp. Filmed entirely in black-and-white on location in Poland, Schindler’s List does not downplay the faults of its magnanimous and unlikely hero, but relates a story of the triumph of the human spirit in the face of horrific devastation and tragedy. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Spielberg's sensitive precision, Williams's music, Kaminsky's cinematography, Neeson's eyes, Fiennes's villain, Kingsley's everything, the little girl in the red dress walking through the black and white film... An unforgettable story. PS: Finally seen in the cinema on the occasion of the 25th anniversary. Indescribable experience.
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When Steven Spielberg puts forward his most fundamental mental dilemma alongside his opinions and beliefs, nothing can arise but the strongest and extra tasty cinematic coffee and his intellectual peak. While Schindler's transformation from an ordinary citizen to an unstoppable advocate for all neighbors gains intensity perhaps a bit inconspicuously, during the grand scenes and perfectly credible streams of thoughts from the mouths of the main characters, it becomes all the more emphatic. A truly unique and irreplicable work in its own way, in every aspect.
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I am sure I will only repeat what has been said many times about this immortal work of Steven Spielberg. For me, the film is actually perfect in every way. When strong emotions come, they do so without the need for manipulation, though of course it’s clear that given the subject matter, Spielberg had it easier in this respect at least – there is simply no emotional manipulation here either, we are "merely" being provided with the facts and it is up to each viewer how they can absorb these ancient facts or how the film ultimately affects them (how emotionally). In making Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg not only fulfilled his duty to the Jewish population, but also his duty to the entire world in ensuring that all generations of all nations are educated and informed about what man was capable of in the 1940s – both the most monstrous and the most noble. I waged an internal battle with the character of Oskar Schindler (the phenomenal Liam Neeson) for most of the film, and couldn't quite pin down his character or discern his intentions up until a certain point. The very respectable running time, in which there is not a single dead spot, gives a great amount of space to identify with the characters, their fates, and the fate they had to involuntarily accept. It's hard to say what Schindler's List would have been without Spielberg's evocative direction, likewise what it would have been without Zaillian's excellent screenplay, Williams' perfectly pitched soundtrack, or Janusz Kamiński's flawless cinematography. And did you notice that throughout the entire film, not once does the word "leader" appear in any language?
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If there is one single example of a film that is both excellent and thematically important, it is Schindler's List. Where else could you feel the indescribable horror and shame of the human deeds you have just seen, photographed in the most horrifying but at the same time most beautiful black and white composition imaginable? The scene with the little girl in the red coat, walking as a symbol of colourful innocence through pure hell, is probably the most powerful I have ever seen in a film, and it brings tears to my eyes every time; and even if it was the only one in the whole movie, I'd still never get this film out of my head – but it's not, not even close. Masterpiece.
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What can I write about this film if I don’t want to just dryly pull out all of the superlatives and assign them to every single component of its filmmaking? Welles had Citizen Kane, Coppola The Godfather, Kubrick A Space Odyssey and Spielberg has Schindler’s List. Portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, Amon Goeth is the personification of the collapse of the human spirit responsible for the greatest tragedy in our history. John Williams’s score is the pinnacle of contemporary film music, cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is an idol to me as a lover of black-and-white composition and the extermination of the Krakow ghetto is one of the most horrifying scenes that I have ever witnessed in a film. With Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg fulfilled the purpose for which he became a director. And I would love to frame every shot from it and I wish that I could turn back time and prevent the events on which it is based.
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