Schindler's List

Rating: 10/10 (17 March 2005)

The first film from Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning director Steven Spielberg (Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park) expressing the passion of his Jewish religion (the second - Oscar winner - being Saving Private Ryan) is a brilliant look into the horrific incidents in the Holocaust, based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally. Set in the Nazi German concentration camps of World War II, filled with thousands of innocent Jewish people, where greedy, unsuccessful businessman Oskar Schindler (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Liam Neeson) hoping to make profit from the Jewish slave labour manufacturing. Later we are introduced to one of the lead villains, overseeing the progress of the camp, the evil Amon Goeth (BAFTA winning, and Oscar and Golden Globe nominated Ralph Fiennes). As time goes by, more and more Jews are trying to escape capture, torture and death by the Nazis, Oskar sees how much pain and suffering these innocent souls are going through, and starts having changes in heart. So with the help of friend and almost colleague Itzhak Stern (BAFTA nominated Sir Ben Kingsley) they begin to type a list (hence the title) for all the Jews he can afford to buy and take away to another camp for a new manufacturing business. He manages to "evacuate" approximately 1,100 victims, and he becomes the unlikely hero (after not doing much earlier) by releasing all of them. Also starring Caroline Goodall as Emilie Schindler, Jonathan Sagall as Poldek Pfefferberg, Embeth Davidtz as Helen Hirsch and Malgoscha Gebel as Victoria Klonowska. There are horrific and memorable moments of realistic suffering, torture and death, a hideous real villain and a great unlikely real hero, moments of colour (i.e. the beginning, the girl with the red coat, and the ending) and a teary ending with many survivors paying their respects at Schindler's grave. It won the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Music for John Williams, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and Best Picture, and it was nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Best Sound, it won the BAFTAs for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score, Best Adapted Screenplay, the David Lean Award for Direction and Best Film, and it was nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Make Up Artist, Best Production Design and Best Sound, and it won the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Screenplay - Motion Picture, and it was nominated for Best Original Score. Steven Spielberg was number 56 on The 100 Greatest Pop Culture Icons, Ralph Fiennes was number 83 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars, Fiennes was number 28, and Liam Neeson number 15 on The 50 Greatest British Actors, Oskar Schindler was number 13 (Hero) and Amon Geoth number 15 (Villain) on 100 Years, 100 Heroes & Villains, the film was number 4 on The 100 Greatest War Films, it was number 3 on 100 Years, 100 Cheers, it was number 9 on 100 Years, 100 Movies, and it was number 9 on The 100 Greatest Films. Outstanding!