Some of the best acting ever!

Rating: Null/10 (29 April 2004)

I can't believe I've finally seen this movie, after 11 years! This is Spielberg at his best, it must have been tremendously emotional to have watched the first run of this masterpiece. I'm not going to give a university professor like analysis of this movie, but suffice to say, it was worth the wait. Obviously there are several horrific moments of human brutality that we witness, but when I finished watching the movie, it wasn't so much the random killings and scenes of mass carnage that affected me the most...no, it was the sheer hopelessness that was portrayed by the Jewish prisoners. The feelings of utter doom, separation of families, and watching the children being hauled off to Auschwitz. I say this, because in some ways, I was prepared for the scenes of mass burnings and atrocities, thanks to the old 16mm high school history films back in the early 70's (remember those?). Ralph Fiennes is absolutely chilling and brilliant in his role, but it's Kingsley and Neeson that really steal the show. I've always admired Kingsley....I think his role in Ghandi is one of the top three performances of all time. He's truly the voice and conscience that we witness penetrating the soul of Schindler. But let's get to Neeson's role in this movie. To put it bluntly, how he never won the best actor for his role in this movie is beyond me. It's simply stunning. Don't get me wrong....Tom Hanks was great in Philadelphia, but I have to rate this performance as POWERFUL! One of the most powerful aspects of this movie was at the end, when they brought out the survivors along with the respective actors who played their role, and put the stones on Schindlers grave. I had tears in my eyes....this must have had a tremendous impact on the actors. So that's it....a simple summary to a complex movie in a horrific period in our history. It reminds us of the evil that has perpetrated in the hearts of men in the past and continues to do so in the present. This is a movie not to be forgotten and should be watched by all who enjoy top rate acting.