As I view Steven Spielberg’s film, Schindler’s List, I am always in awe of the reality of the making of the film. Schindler’s List is a film about the Holocaust. This Holocaust film is not just like any other movie about the Holocaust. All of Schindler’s List is filmed in black and white, which gives the viewer an even more real perception of the time period the Holocaust takes place in. Schindler’s List is based on the story of Oskar Schindler, and what he personally did to save thousands of Jews from being tortured and killed in concentration camps. Oskar Schindler is a German businessman who wishes to gain fortune through buying a factory from Itzhak Stern, a Jew who can no longer own his business. Schindler makes Stern his manager and with time hires Jewish men, women, and children to work at his factory, the whole time saving their lives. Schindler’s List is a film that gives viewers a raw visualization of what really happened during the Holocaust. Many film critics say that Steven Spielberg created the best film of all time with Schindler’s List, this opinion is shared by film critic Kent Jones who states that, “There’s no denying the extent of Spielberg’s mastery here: the visceral black and white images perfectly poised between harsh elegance and verisimilitude, the brilliant orchestration of the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto, the graphic shock of the many sudden shootings through-out the movie” (Jones par. 1).
Jones, Kent. "Schindler's List." Film Comment 40 (2004): 77. ProQuest. Oklahoma State University. 5 Mar. 2008.
Source 2
Some directors may, but most directors do not have a deep personal tie with the movie they are trying to make. Most of the time a director makes a movie, makes the money, and starts the whole process over again with a new project. This is understandable, but it makes the process even more touching when one hears Steven Spielberg’s story of when he was in Poland doing research for his film, Schindler’s List. Spielberg chose to direct a film that he calls, “not a Hollywood Holocaust film” (Royal par. 1). Schindler’s List is a film that I feel someone needs to be prepared for. The film is an incredibly graphic and raw representation of what the Holocaust truly consisted of. It shows the transformation of an individual that started out as a friend of Nazis. It shows how no matter how strong his surroundings were telling him to let these people die; he could not find it inside himself to not save their lives. Spielberg says that in this film, “he could not be himself” (Royal. par. 2). Spielberg describes it as going against all of his impulses to make a movie that was not comfortable for him to make, but a movie that was challenging for him. While researching the movie in Poland, Spielberg was deeply moved by the landmarks he visited and recollects, “To touch history, to put my had on 600-year-old masonry, and to step back from it and know that I was standing were, as a Jew, I couldn’t have stood 50 years ago, was a profound moment for me, so I went there the first time to research a movie and wound up researching my own Judaism” (Royal par.1). I was touched by this quote by Spielberg and knowing a director had this personal tie to the film he was directing should make viewers anxious to see the movie.
Royal, Susan. "Schindler's List: an Interview with Steven Spielberg." Inside Film Online. 4 Mar. 2008
Source 3
Schindler’s List is not only a movie that will make you think about the Holocaust, it is a movie that will show how a single person’s courage and love can make a difference in others lives. Most Holocaust movies show the least disturbing parts of the Nazi movement so as to save some viewers from covering up their eyes, but Schindler’s List does not cover anything up. This film will give a viewer a real perception of what the Jewish people had to experience. Just like any film that documents history, there was some controversy associated with the films release. Some critics argued over whether the film was a sensationalistic version of the novel, then some critics, like Harvey Greenberg, praise the film and declare that, “Spielberg’s narrativity is far more sophisticated and complex than elsewhere in his oeuvre” (Greenberg par. 2). As a viewer, I would also agree with Greenberg and say that this is arguably one of the most well-made and significant films of Spielberg’s time.
Greenberg, Harvey. "Spielberg's Holocaust: Critical Perspectives on Schindler's List." Film Quarterly (1998): 58-60. JSTOR. Oklahoma State University. 4 Mar. 2008.