Rating: 
Summary: A more powerful film I cannot imagine
Review: My last book was Pat Conroy's "Beach Music". That work finds another angle to show the insanity of the Holocaust (the despised yet pitiful "Judenrat", mildly covered in this film) when one might have thought there was nothing more new to cover. Coincidently this weekend I caught this movie, so at this point I'm pretty sober about the misery humans are capable of inflicting upon one another. The major plot, of course, involves the amazing feat of saving approximately 1,000 Jews from death by the unlikliest of sources: the Catholic, womanizing, profiteering businessman Oscar Schindler. The movie indeed does hint that profit may have been the original motive in using cheap labor to finally be a "success" in business. But there is no doubt that genuine human feelings were involved when his entire fortune is used to pull one of history's great con jobs on one of history's most ruthless regimes (sadly, there were others just as bad). We also not only see the ghastly and heartbreaking scenes of physical depravity, but the movie goes even further. Not only was this a plan by Germany to kill people, it was a campaign to humiliate and degrade them every step of the way to their deaths. Through murder, intimidation, and propaganda, a band of thugs took over a nation with what seems to be goal of wiping out an entire race of people. So while we see the scenes in the camps, an angle I'm going to take in this review is the, and I hate to say it, brilliant efficiency of how it was carried out. Before WWII ever started, there were years of grooming of the German people for this task. Imagine you had lived at this time, with very few media outlets, and you were bombarded for years with newspaper and radio articles about the "atrocities" Jews committed. This tactic really softened up the country for what was to come. We see how propaganda decends to public humiliation. Then slowly laws are passed taking away more and more rights of these people (remember also that gypsies, the handicapped and homosexuals got this treatment, also). Then comes the order that all Jews were to be isolated in very small areas and how they were to survive there was up to them. This is roughly where the movies opens. The next move was the charade of the "labor" camps. These facilities were merely fronts to weed out the weak, who were the most defenseless, and the least likely to cause a stink if missing. It was merely a tactic to do "research and development" on ways to mass dispose of humans. It is from the ghettos and these camps that Schindler gets his first "skilled workers". The final depths are shown when the Nazis flat out drop the charade of "work" camps, and flat out start sending them to death camps. The comparateley minor victory of Mr. Schindler saving a few humans is achieved here, but it is also where Speilberg clearly shows the "business" of mass murder. When some of his people are diverted to a death camp, we are taken through the procedure. The "product" comes in via a well-designed rail system. They are divided into product categories, where "salvage" in the form of hair and clothes are removed for the war effort. Before recieving the humiliating camp clothing, the product is "decontaminated" via a shower. This shower may contain water or poison gas, depending on the capacity to process the finished product. The central effect is a huge smokestack, ghostly lit at night. Billowing 24 hours a day. Looks like any other factory smokestack, but when you realize what the smoke is, you it's flat out frightening. The movie is not for the faint of heart, but anyone seeing it should emerge a better person for it.
Rating:
Summary: A modern classic
Review: Schindler's List is a very disturbing masterpiece. One can easily describe it as the greatest of the Holocaust movies. Steven Spielberg's wonderful direction coupled with sterling performances from Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Raplh Fiennes leaves an indelible mark on the viewer. Oskar Schindler (Neeson) is an affluent German, who enjoys all the luxuries of life. But when he sees that a great war looms, he knows he can make big business out of it. He meets a Jew (Kingsley) and makes a deal with him... that he'll employ Jews in a variety of jobs. Out of nowhere the list grows to 4 figures, and Schindler knows that he has much to fight for. Despite the melodrama, the movie should be rated as one of the top 10 movies of all time. A feather in Spielberg's cap, it won him the Best Director Oscar.
Rating:
Summary: There are no words for this movie
Review: Along with Saving Private Ryan, Shakespeare in Love, and Braveheart, Schindler's List was one of the only movies I thoroughly enjoyed in the 90's. In fact I would wager that it is the best and most substantive American movie released during the 90's. To say anything else about this visceral testament to the Holocaust is cliche.
Let me put it to you this way- Spielberg's mother was being interviewed about raising him and her experiences with his films. She was talking about this movie and what she felt was the most emotional scene for her. As soon as she mentioned the shower scene involving the newly deported Schindler workers, she cried so hard that the interview had to stop for a few seconds before she could regain herself. And that's not even seeing it.
(I apologize for the barb) I can only say that if you hate this movie, then you are truly a Phillistine and a beast.
Rating:
Summary: The best film ever made!
Review: THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY IS THE BEST EVER. THE DIRECTION IS THE BEST EVER. SPIELBERG IS A MASTER. THE FILM EDITING IS SUPERB. THE ACTING IS GREAT. SCHINDLER'S LIST TELLS THE STORY OF OSKAR SCHINDLER. HE BECOMES A PROFITALBLE BUSINESS MAN IN KRAKOW, POLAND. WE ARE ALSO INTRODUCED TO AMON GOETH WHO IS PORTRAYED BY RALPH FIENNES. FIENNES GIVES THE BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE FILM. FIENNES LOST AT THE OSCARS TO TOMMY LEE JONES. IF YOU WATCH FIENNES AND THEN YOU WATCH JONES, YOU WILL NOT UNDERSTAND HOW IN THE WORLD FIENNES DIDN'T GET AN OSCAR. LIAM NEESON IS SUPERB AS OSKAR SCHINDLER. KINGSLEY GIVES A FINE SUPPORTING PERFROMANCE. THE BEST PICTURE OF THE DECADE AND ALSO THE BEST PICTURE EVER MADE. I DON'T SEE HOW CITIZEN KANE IS NUMBER 1 ON AFI 100 GREATEST. IF THEY DIDN'T WANT TO GIVE IT TO SCHINDLER'S LIST, THEY SHOULD AT LEAST GAVE IT TO THE GODFATHER. ALL IN ALL, THE FINEST FILM EVER MADE. THE CAMERA MOVES BEAUTIFULLY JUST THE WAY SPEILBERG LIKES.
Rating:
Summary: Schindler's List: Saving Even One Life Has Value
Review: One of the darkest, most lamentable eras in the long catalogue of inhuman crime has had the light of recognition thrust upon it in Steven Spielberg's SCHINDLER'S LIST. The viciousness of genocide is so soul-destroying that each new generation needs to be reminded that the gap from internment camp to death camp is hardly a gap at all. When Hitler's ovens first began their grisly business on a small scale in 1939, it was only a matter of a year before his death camps began to swallow their victims in the millions. Oskar Schindler was very much like the 'ordinary' German who could see no evil, except for one thing. He began as an industrialist who saw in the Jew a means to an end of money. He started to change when the distinction between the means and the end began to grow fuzzy. He finished as a humanitarian who used the former end to safeguard the former means. This change in his world view was a gradual one. Liam Neeson, who plays Schindler, has difficulty in broaching this topic, even to himself, but when he does, he determines to be the proverbial one man who can make a difference. He is not alone, of course. Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) guides him more by example than exhortation. But it is primarily these two who must work in solitude to make a dent in the daily killings. The movie's many graphic scenes of death emphasize the often personal nature of the killing. Amon Groeth (Ralph Fiennes) kills for joy, but in the end all that his superiors require of him is that he not stop doing so. The mass killing is done on such a scale that not only the audience must wonder whether the decision to implement the Final Solution must have been happily shared by the entire spectrum of the German people. The film's not so subtle suggestion is that Spielberg's film,like Goldhagen's book HITLER'S WILLING EXECUTIONERS, is a blanket condemnation of an entire people. If only one man like Oskar Schindler could have made the impact that he did, then the viewer is forced to accept that had Germany had more Schindlers, then the List might have been immeasurably longer. The concluding scene of the survivors meeting to place their little rocks of remembrances on the graves of those who did not survive is a stark reminder for this and all generations to come that the struggle to save human lives must always be a just one, even if faceless bureaucrats dictate otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Never Forget
Review: 'Schindler's List' is a movie that you will never forget. If everyone in the world could just see one movie together, this would be it.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most POWERFUL movies of all time. A must see!
Review: I don't even know what to say to begin this review, except this. This film is one of the best and most moving historical pieces that I have ever seen. Based on the novel by Thomas Kineally (I hope I spelled that right) this film is a powerful testament to the fact that one man can make an incredible difference in the lives of many people. In this case the man in question is Oskar Schindler, a Nazi Party member and war profiteer.
I cannot find enough praise to ladle onto this film. The screenplay by Steven Zallian is absolutely first-rate stuff. But you need GOOD actors to pull off any script and make it work. Enter Liam Neeson. I had not heard of him until I had seen DARKMAN (1990) and thought that in that case he saved a film with his compelling performance. He absolutely BLEW me AWAY here. Oskar's change from a businessman who cared for nothing except money, profit, and his own public image to a compassionate humanitarian willing to throw away his last cent to save over 1,100 people's lives is heartwrenching, beautiful and inspiring. Liam pulls the role off with incredible skill and passion. Standing beside him as the PERFECT counterbalance is Ralph Fiennes as the German commandante Amon Goethe. This man is cold enough to make Jack the Ripper look like Charlie Brown. His eyes speak volumes of icy hatred without a word being spoken. And that voice...the quiet chill in it... is like molten magma boiling under the surface, just before it erupts with deadly fury. Goethe is a man that seems to give new meaning to the phrase "less than human". He is utterly frigid, merciless, and utterly compelling as the man you cannot help but cringe at in fear and hatred. My hat is off to Ralph Fiennes for doing such a wonderful job as one the screens most memorable and chilling villians. Ben Kingsley is also wonderful as Itzhak Stern, an ordinary man who ends up working for Schindler as his accountant and plays a pivotal role in the saving of the 1,100+ Jews on what becomes known as "Schindler's List". All of the actors and actresses involved in this film gave 100% believable and compelling performances here. There were quite a few moments in this film as I watched it for the the first time that there was not a dry eye anywhere in the theater. Kudos must also go to Steven Spielberg for his masterful and compassionate directing of this picture. I am THANKFUL this thing was shot in black-and-white. To see all that violence and attrocity in full color would have been overkill. The picture is violent and horrifying enough as it is. Plus the black and white filming gives the picture the feeling of a documentary, and I think that is exactly what Steven Spielberg wanted to do here. He did not want to "create" and tell a "story" He wanted to show people the horror of one of the blackest periods of time in human history. He wanted to be sure we were so transfixed by this that the lessons it tells will remain etched in our hearts forever. And he pulls it off quite wonderfully with room to spare. One final note of congratulations must be given here. I give that note with pride to Mr. John Williams, the composer of music that for years has touched the hearts of many generations of people. Rather than go with grand and scary cinematic music as he has in the past done, what John Williams did here is to make a score that is simple, very gentle, very elegant and absoulutely heartbreaking to hear. His use of the violin (masterfully played by Itzhak Perlman, KUDOS!) along with piano, flute, gentle strings and tragic but inspiring choir pieces and songs stands as perhaps the most heart-touching score in movie history. It perfectly captures the terrifying plight of a people facing extinction and the desperation and despair in their daily lives as they struggle to survive one of the darkest times in history that this planet and the human race has ever known. In short, this is a BEAUTIFUL, tragic, and ultimately grand picture that NEEDS to be seen. It WILL grab hold of your heart and MAKE you feel. It will make you think. It will make you shake your head and weep that humans be so cruel to one another. You will at the end weep again, in joy that one man had the courage to stand up and defy tyranny to save the lives of 1,100 people. If only we all had that kind of heart and that kind of courage.
This is NOT a movie for young kids. As I have said before it is very violent and tragic. It is however in the end beautiful and inspiring and heartwarming in a very real way. It is undoubtedly.... as the headline for my review says, one of the most POWERFUL movies of all time. Sit back and give it a look. The way you look at movies and life itself may never be the same again after you see this picture.
Rating:
Summary: A movie about one part of the war
Review: First of all I thought the acting was good!I have a few questions about the content.I'll put that another way.I would like to see a movie that might address why the allies did not know about these camps until the Allies entered Germany.Allied bombers had no problems locating German factories and other military and civillian targets, but I never heard of prisoner of war camps or concentation camps being bombed-explain that-maybe the pilots were very lucky!Also I do not understand how people could be killed only for their religious beliefs but allied prisoners who were killing your countrymen were taken prisoner and treated according to some war rules!That doesn't make sense to me.I do not doubt nor defend any justice in the killing of any Jewish people in any way, that was horrible!I just have some questions.I will say that my mother and her family were on the receiving end of allied bombing thank God it wasn't in Dresden or Hamburg! My father is post war U.S. soldier and mother postwar West German!She accepts that as war and has been flying a U.S.flag long before 9-11-01 happened.I guess my review drifted of course abit,the movie and actors were great but alot of innocent people died in that war,not just one group!Also Hollywood sometimes gets critisized for violence but rarely gets praise they sometimes deserve,people have been killing each other long before Hollywood was around,sometimes mankind can be worse than animals to each other and over and over again. A song by Molly Hatchett "Fall of the Peacemakers".I'm also dissapointed in Steven Spielberg-he pimped his wife out in a movie "It's a Girl Thing"-she looked like she enjoyed it though!
Rating:
Summary: One of Spielberg's Greatest Epics!
Review: To say Schindlers List is a cinematic achievement still degrades this film. Spielberg put all of his heart behind this and it really shows. From the acting, to the directing, to the scarring images of the concentration camps, this is without a doubt a landmark achievement. The ending is just about the saddest ending ever. You will let a tear out of your eye, even if you are a hard hearted old man. Oskar Shindler (Liam Neeson) is a very rich man, stuck in the middle of the holocaust, as a Nazi. He took every cent he had to make sure that over 1,000 "Jews" would not die at the hand of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi. He literally went bankrupt just to save the lives of these people, who did nothing wrong, but because of their relegion were massacered in the thousands because that ignorant S.O.B Hitler wanted to rule the world. To see this and not weep should be a sin. I hope that everyone else feels the same way. I absolutely cannot wait for this DVD to be released, (hopefully it will have a ton of extra features). "This pen, this pen right here, could have saved two more lives. This car that I own could have saved another...fifty. I---I---I just wish I could have saved more" --- Oskar Schindler
Rating:
Summary: BOLD & AFFECTING.
Review: In his boldest attempt to create a "cinematic masterpiece" and finally get noticed by a stubbornly disinterested Academy, Spielberg bypasses the heart and goes right for the jugular in this first ever big-budget Hollywood drama on the Holocaust. Undeniably driven by sincerity, Spielberg's Oscar-winning Best Picture is alternately impressive, maudlin, focused and well-acted. Filmed in black and white, the film deals with the Nazi extermination of Polish Jews and how one man, Oskar Schindler, transformed from a philandering opportunist (and Nazi profiteer) to a capitalist saviour to 1,200 imprisoned Jews. With fluid camerawork, Spielberg re-creates life for Krakow's Jews during Nazi occupation - from resettlements in the ghetto to their internment in the camps. Schindler is ably portrayed by Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley as an accountant who assists Schindler and Ralph Fiennes as camp commander Amon Goeth are especially effective. Spielberg's scenes of Nazi atrocities are definitely emotionally wretching.
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