Do not miss this.

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2011)

Schindler's List is based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally and on a true story about a German factory worker, Oskar Schindler, who is a member of the Nazi party and due to his decreasing number of employees, employs the Jewish residents in his factory. Schindler's List explores the true dark side of the Second World War. Unlike most World War Two based movies, Schindler's List is based on the Holocaust; the cruelty of the Jews during the period. The film is also a history lesson; it explores all the years of the war; starting from 1939, the start of the war, to the very end, although the main focus is Oskar Schindler whose actor is Liam Neeson (Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, A-Team movie). The character, not only is represented as a womanizer and laid-back, but he is obviously the odd one out; he does not see the Jews as bad people unlike the other Nazis and because it is his job to employ factory workers, cannot resist temptation in saving the Jews from the camps, where the Jews are imprisoned. This shows the message that working on the evil side is the only way to rescue innocent people, which is what would have occurred during a brutal era like World War Two. This is why the film deservedly won the Academy Award for Best Picture. John Williams' incredible score links very well with the German Jewish culture, but also represents sadness and bleakness in the story, because it tempts the viewers to feel sympathy for the Jews. The black and white tone also suggests the darkness of the story, but also links with the 1940s setting when most films used the colour tone. Even if it looks older than other nineties movies, Schindler's List was definitely a modern film; for one reason, the film combines black and white with colour; the first shot consisting of a group of Jews paying respects to Oskar Schindler is filmed using colour and the viewer will easily spot a tiny amount of colour during one of the crowd scenes. Another reason is due to the following actors in the film; Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Thunderbirds movie) who plays Ishaak Stern, Ralph Fiennes (Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit) as Amon Goth and Caroline Goodall (Hook) the actress of Emilie Schindler. Schindler's List was directed by Steven Spielberg who won an Oscar for Best Director and is considered one of his best works ever. It proves that Steven does not just direct thrilling adventure movies!