The Importance of this Special Film In Relation to History

Rating: 9/10 (6 April 2003)

I would like to make my feelings known for the first time ever on the internet about one of my favorite films. I do not think that Schindler's List is the greatest film of all time (although I am absolutely delighted that it is rated at #4 on the IMDb list and was #9 on the AFI list of the greatest films ever in the last century) but it is certainly one of the top three greatest war films of all time. It was more than poetic justice that Steven Spielberg was finally vindicated when he was named as the Best Director of 1993 and this film the very best of that year. What made it special for me personally (since I am an Anglophile) was that the top four acting roles went to Brits: Liam Neeson as Oscar Schindler; Ralph Fiennes as Goeth; Ben Kingsley as Stern; and Caroline Goodall as Emilie Schindler. The fact that it was filmed in black and white with stunningly effective cinematography enhanced the film's uniqueness although it was obviously an Oscar bid by Spielberg, who had agonized over whether to have the project helmed by Roman Polanski before he himself took on the burden. (How ironic that only recently Polanski was justly honored for his great work for directing The Pianist, which I think is the best film since Titanic). I can understand why there is a continual debate about the significance of this film, but it cannot be denied that it is a necessary work of art and a very valuable history lesson, particularly now that we are once again a nation at war with anti-Semitic totalitarianism. I support anyone's right to free speech, but I am truly appalled that many Americans want to deny that there was even a Holocaust, or wish to forget what happened in the past, and find personal satisfaction in condemning this movie as overrated or mere Jewish propaganda to downplay any other horrific crimes committed by other nations in times of war throughout history. I was not at all surprised when Titanic became such a huge hit (the biggest in fact since Gone With The Wind) that even schoolchildren began doing book reports on the subject and the entire movie-going planet seemed to erupt in Titanicmania. Common sense will tell anyone willing to take the time to think about it that the Holocaust was the Titanic at least five thousand times over, and to be honest, I would rather drown in freezing ocean water two miles deep in the dead of night than face death in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. I still think it was ridiculous that James Cameron asked for a moment of silence for the victims of history's most celebrated shipwreck at the end of his Oscar acceptance speech, when Steven Spielberg merely (and politely) asked that the nation's schoolteachers "please teach this in your schools" when he was so honored for making a film about the most ghastly crimes of the millennium. There is a huge difference between escapist entertainment and serious enlightenment when it comes to movie making. Just ask Steven Spielberg, who has also directed some of the biggest blockbusters ever made. His heart's desire is clearly the driving force behind all of his films; Schindler's List most of all.