BIG'S BIG MOVIE LIST

Stephen Spielberg waited ten years to tackle Schindler's List (1993). He felt unprepared at age 37. Supposedly, his decision was sealed after a studio executive suggested he simply make some sort of donation instead of make a depressing Holocaust film. Universal Studios, anticipating the existential drain this film would be on its director, set a condition in Spielberg's contract that he had to shoot Jurassic Park (1993) first.

 

Afraid that he wouldnt do the story justice, Spielberg sought out some of the greatest directors of the time to see who, if anyone, was up to the challenge. Martin Scorsese felt that a Jewish director would be the best person for the charge and subsequently declined. Roman Polanski, a Holocaust Survivor who at 8 years old fled the Krakow ghetto during the day of the liquidation, also declined. Billy Wilder, while wanting to make this his final film, ended up convincing Spielberg to direct. He refused to accept a salary for production, believing any money he made from this film would be “blood money”.

 

I grit my teeth on this one, knowing that Schindler's List was, at its core, a movie about the Holocaust. I was aware of its critical acclaim, but had never, even once, seen a second of its footage. I toyed with the idea of putting it off and finding something more lighthearted to watch on this rainy afternoon, but something in me said “No. you've been putting this off enough already. Time to nut up on some Spielberg.” At the end of the day, I'm glad that I watched it.

 

He's wealthy. He's vain. He's an industrialist. He's Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), the shrewd, callous businessman at the center of the stage. Attempting to establish and run a factory in Poland producing enamel pots and pans under military contract, Schindler seeks out the services of someone with the acumen and administrative ability to run such an operation, and he finds that in Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley). Under Stern's advisement, Schindler hires Jews to work in his factory, as hiring Poles would cost more. Stern, through forged documents and his experience with bureaucracy, is able to get many Jews redirected and assigned to work in the factory, effectively saving them from the concentration camps. Its not until Schindler witnesses the “liquidation” of the Krakow ghetto while horseback riding one afternoon that he starts to sympathize with the Jews, and begins taking active strides toward safeguarding and sheltering as many Jews as his fortune will allow, amassing a list (with the aid of Stern) of over 800 people to “work in his factories”. All told, he helped to save the lives of roughly 1,100 people by war's end.

 

 

Make no mistake about this movie: It is solid gold. I mean, it's Spielberg for goodness sake! Early nineties Spielberg! Hot on the heels of E.T. And Jurassic Park, he released a beautifully made, painstakingly detailed and profoundly sorrowful film about one of the greatest atrocities in recorded history, and he absolutely nailed it. Liam Neeson is excellent, despite his feelings that he didn't really capture the role, and Ben Kingsley is pure perfection. Ralph Fiennes was cast because he has an evil sexual energy, and he channels that pretty well to capture the role of Amon Goeth (even for a Nazi, this guy is a real heel) The film used a cast of 20,000 extras in stunningly authentic scenes including a work camp and a mirror-image set of Auschwitz, and the grit and desperation of the time can practically be tasted at certain points throughout this 3-hour masterpiece (which is oddly just long enough)