Technically it's perfect and often it's very moving, but I wouldn't call it a 'masterpiece'

Rating: 7/10 (17 November 2013)

Schindler's list tells the story of Oskar Schindler (Neeson)who is a Nazi businessman who decides to open a factory that employs 'skilled' Jewish workers to make pots and pans (as well as other metal products). He then trades these goods and ends up making an awful lot of money. He employs Itzhak Stern (Kingsley)as his accountant and ultimately his 'right hand man'. Whilst he is clearly exploiting his workers, they don't mind as they would rather work for Schindler than be under the brutal regime of the SS. When Schindler's workforce are taken from him by the evil general Amon Goeth (Fiennes) and when he witnesses the horrors of how Goeth and his men are treating them, Schindler decides to take action and tries to save as many of those that are being persecuted as possible.
If I was to judge this film on a technical basis only then it would get a 10 for me; the directing, the cinematography, the acting were all perfect in my book. I also liked that it was filmed in black and white as this helped to not only capture the 'bleakness' of the Holocaust, but it also helped in getting a feel for the era. I also liked how the era had been recaptured and created - it certainly had an authentic feel to it. Finally we come to the acting and for me it was Fiennes that shone as the evil General Amon Goeth - he was really creepy and absolutely personified evil. Neeson and Kingsley were great too, but for me Fiennes put on the best performance.
So having said all that, you might be wondering why I'm only rating this 7/10? Well for me, it is technically perfect, but Schindler's list (at well over 3 hours long was far too long in my opinion). The first hour was brilliant and the last 30-45 minutes were also very good. It was the middle part of the film that dragged for me. I personally felt that 2 1/2 hours max would have been sufficient, but at 3 hours and 15 minutes it was just ridiculous.
Having said that this is still a film that everyone should watch. It's not an easy watch at times, but it's still a very important film. As a side note, the end of the film is probably one of the most 'moving' and 'touching' moments I've ever experienced when watching a film. Great film - but a tad too long in my opinion.