Extremely rewarding film

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2004)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
The true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) a German businessman during World War 2 who saved the lives of around 1100 Jews by creating a use for them as labourers in his factories before moving them to his hometown as a safe refuge from Auswhictz in the closing days of World War 2.
I'm not sure quite what Spielberg was trying to accomplish by filming this project in black and white,but if he was trying to add a darker,more authentic tone than the film already had,he has failed.There was colour back in those dark times of the Holocaust,and it would have had a more real edge had it been included (with the exception of a little girl running through a crowd in one scene in a red jacket looking like she'd popped right out of a Butlins advert!)What he's succeeded more in doing is paying homage to those b/w war movies from the late 50s/early 60s,and perhaps added a nice touch of film noir for good measure.
As a kid (when I originally saw this film) a film running at nearly three and a quarter hours would have seemed like an eternity,but I must say watching it again today the length did seem to run by comparatively quickly.The film does seem to suffer from a lack of narrative flow,although the actual story remains no less engaging.
It is certainly a harrowing account of surely one of the most evil events in human history.We see Jews being treated with less dignity and respect than dogs,and the Nazis certainly put less value on their lives than them.
Neeson delivers a commanding central performance as the wartime businessman propelled by his own needs and desires,but offered salvation through his care and concern for the plight of the Jewish people.There's good support,too,from Ralph Fiennes (who would go on to accomplish even bigger and greater things-not including The Avengers!) as the heartless,sadistic Nazi soldier and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's wearisome accountant.
Overall,this film doesn't manage to be quite as shocking as it was trying to be by being filmed in black and white (which not everything in life is,anyway!).Senior Spielbergo would go on direct another powerful war film some years later by the name of Saving Private Ryan,which had an unforgettably powerful opening sequence involving the Normandy landings which was filmed in colour and managed to stick in the memory much more prolificly.However,it is gut-wrenching stuff nonetheless and certainly not a film that deserves to be forgotten in a hurry.*****