Schindler's List (1993)

 

Dir: Steven spielberg

I learnt that Spielberg had the rights of the novel on osker schindler 10 years before he made Schindler's list. He thought he was not mature enough to handle a holocaust film. I would like to say "Thank you Mr. Spielberg" coz what you made is truly genuinely and in every cinematic realm, A MASTERPIECE.


Schindler's list is the story of Osker chindler, Who was a Nazi businessman, trying to take advantage of the war and make huge money in jewish poland, but ended up saving the lives of some 1100 jews by hiring them as his factory workers.


The most beautiful part of the film is that it takes its time. The change in schindler's character is not shown to be an overnight change, in which a savior is born, but it is meticulously engineered as the story unfolds. The film is a little over 3 hours, but trust me you wont feel a second worth wasted. The director takes out sequences which aptly set base for the next sequences to follow. The screenplay is tight and every character has been etched out beautifully.

The actors, whether its Liam neeson as Oskar Schindler, who reproduces the panache and vulnerability  of Schindler at the same time beautifully, or its Ralph fiennes as the Nazi general Goeth, who is carved out as a perfect human portrayal of suffering inside a ruthless murderer. All the mill workers play their part well too.

The decision by Spielberg to shoot the film in black and white proves to be a big big plus point for it. The black and white look gives the perfect war documentary look to the film and at times you completely forget if its actually a scripted movie. Lights and cinematography are above par/brilliant as characters have been defined so exquisitely through lights (Schindler's face is shown in partial lights till the time he rescues the jews just to show the good and bad sides of his character).
Most of the film was shot with a hand held camera, giving it a war documentary feel and making it more REAL. The cinematographer deserves all the appreciation.

Spielberg has also beautifully used parallel editing in the shot where the rich couple is forced to leave their home and Schindler gets it for free and then the beauty of dialogues make it a wonderful sequence where schindler says "It couldnt have been better" and the evicted jew lady while in her ghetto home utters "It could have been worse".

All in all it has some really wonderful dialogues and near perfect editing to depict all the metaphors that one could comprehend in a war.
Steven spielberg has made a masterpiece where he has managed the largest of crowds with ease, shot the most depressing scenes with an intent to make the viewer comprehend, and produced a movie which would always live on as one of the greatest work of cinema.
Its simply one of the very best movies. I give Spielberg's War drama 9/10.