CONSENSUS #2. Schindler’s List (1993)

 

SYNOPSIS: "Schindler's List" is the true story of a German businessman named Oskar Schindler. Schindler used his war plant to employ Jews who would have otherwise ended up in concentration camps. He starts off as simply greedy and ends up a humanitarian. The film, by Steven Spielberg, is the gold standard for Holocaust films and covers many of the horrific aspects of the Jewish experience including the cleansing of a ghetto, the train trip to the camp, the selection process, and the showers. All of this within the framework of a flawed man's attempt to save as many Jews as he can.

BACK-STORY: “Schindler’s List” was released in 1993 and immediately took a position among the great movies of any genre. It was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. Modestly, he tried to convince Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, and Billy Wilder to direct the pic, but for various reasons they turned him down. The movie is based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally. Keneally was inspired to write the book by one of the Schindlerjuden (“Schlinder Jews”). The movie was shot on location in Krakow, Poland. The film won numerous awards. It was awarded Oscars for Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, and Original Score. Liam Neeson was nominated for Best Actor and Ralph Fiennes for Best Supporting Actor. It was the most expensive black and white film made up to then (topping “The Longest Day”). It had been 33 years since a black and white movie had won Best Picture (“The Apartment”). It is #8 on AFIs latest list of greatest American motion pictures.

TRIVIA: 

1.  In 1980, author Thomas Keneally stopped at a leather goods store in Los Angeles and the owner Leopold Page told him the story of Schindler and gave him some documents and a copy of the list.  This inspired him to write Schindler’s Ark.  Page was a consultant for the film.

 

2.  Spielberg learned of the book in 1982 when it was published and later the studio bought the rights, ahead of Billy Wilder who wanted it to be his last film.  Spielberg met Page and promised him he would make the movie is the next ten years, but the project sat for over a decade because Spielberg was not ready for such a serious film.

 

3.  Universal was cold toward the movie because it was skeptical of the box office potential.  It agreed Speilberg could make the film if he made “Jurassic Park” first.

 

4.  Originally, Warren Beatty was to play Schindler, but Spielberg decided he wanted someone with less clout.

 

5.  Spielberg refused his salary, referring to it as “blood money”.  His profits went to establishing the USC Shoah Foundation in 1994.  It collects memories and audio-visuals of interviews of Holocaust survivors.

 

6.  Originally, Spielberg wanted Polish and German with subtitles, but then he decided it would take eyes away from the images.

 

7.  The studio did not want black and white, but Spielberg wanted a more serious look and a documentary feel.  Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski was inspired by German expressionism and Italian neorealism.

 

8.  Audrey Hepburn told Spielberg about an incident she witnessed as a child in Europe of a little girl with distinctive clothing getting loaded onto a train.  Coincidentally, there was a little girl in a red coat that was well-known in the Krakow Ghetto.  Roma Ligocka survived, however.  She wrote a biography entitled The Girl in the Red Coat.  The little girl in the movie was three-year old Olivia Dambrowska. She promised Spielberg not to watch the movie until she turned 18, but she snuck a watch at age 11 and was traumatized.  Spielberg meant the girl to represent the U.S. government’s lack of concern for the Holocaust.

 

9.  Ralph Fiennes gained 28 pounds to play Goth.

 

10.  To cheer him up during the filming, Spielberg had Robin Williams call him and do routines.  He also watched a lot of “Seinfeld”.

 

11.  It was the first movie shown on TV to get a TV-M (today TV-MA) rating.

 

12.  Spielberg got permission to film in Auschwitz, but decided to just do outside filming out of respect.  Most of the film was shot in Poland with the camp being built in an abandoned rock quarry.  The filming took 72 days, four days less than scheduled.

            Belle and Blade  =  N/A

Brassey’s              =  5.0

Video Hound       =  5.0

War Movies         =  N/A

Military History  =  #31

Channel 4             =  #4

Film Site                =  yes

101 War Movies  =  yes

Rotten Tomatoes  = #21

HISTORICAL ACCURACY: This is a difficult movie to analyze for historical accuracy. There is contradictory evidence on many of the incidents in the film. However, based on my research, it appears that the movie is factually accurate for the most part. Keneally is a reputable author and his novel was well researched. He understandably labeled the book a novel because he invented dialogue. This is not particularly unusual in the field of historical fiction. Also, the Schlinderjuden have verified the accuracy of the film.

Oskar Schindler’s personality and modus vivendi are realistic. If anything, he was a bigger cad than Neeson portrays him as. Emilie was certainly a forgiving wife. He was not a one woman man. Neeson gets the charm right. What is downplayed a bit in the film is Schindler’s voluntary involvement with the Nazis. The movie leads you to believe he was a Nazi just because it was good for business. This overlooks his more active role in the Abwehr (German espionage) before arriving in Krakow.

The role of Stern (Ben Kingsley) is apparently close to the real Stern. The “partnership” angle may be overplayed. There is evidence that the list was more the work of a Marcel Goldberg and may not have had a lot of input from Schindler. Goldberg was a loathsome figure who accepted bribes to get people on the list which resulted in people being removed from the list. The Schindlerjuden did not have fond memories of him and he would have made a poor character in this film. Some critics claim Schindler was in jail for bribing Goeth at the time the list was compiled and that Stern was not working for him any more at the time. I lean toward Spielberg’s take on this issue.

Goeth is accurately portrayed. The essentials are there. He did snipe at inmates, but from a hill (his house did not have line of sight to the camp). The evil haunted mansion on the hill was justified in the film. When Goeth was executed after the war for war crimes, it was specifically for killing over 500 Jews personally. It could be argued that the real Goeth was more evil and without any redeeming qualities. It is highly unlikely that Schindler was able to even temporarily humanize him. As far as his creepy relationship with his Jewish housekeeper Helen, she appears to be a fictional character.

The depiction of the massacre in the Krakow ghetto is realistic. There even was a little girl in a red coat although the movie does not try to be accurate on her. She survived. Living conditions in the camp are well done. The scene in Auschwitz gives a good idea of what that camp must have been like.

The time line is admirably correct. The movie does not take events out of sequence. There is a simplifying of how quickly his first plant went from having a few Jewish workers to all Jewish workers, but this is cinematically excusable.

With regard to the anecdotal events in the film, they are a mixed lot. Several are obviously fictional: Schindler rescuing Stern from deportation, Schindler witnessing the ghetto evacuation from a hill, the Jewish engineer execution. The kissing of the Jewess at the birthday party is true, however.

The most problematical scene is the women being shipped to Auschwitz. It appears to be added to the film for emotional manipulation. It is based on an incident at the same time of some women being rerouted to a camp called Gross-Rosen. A name that doesn’t quite have the impact of Auschwitz, does it? As to the women being shoved into what appears to be a gas chamber, that is almost surely bull crap. Highly effective bull crap.

Interestingly, the movie does not go far enough in the redemption area. Schindler’s progression to sainthood may seem Hollywoodized, but it leaves out all the efforts he made for his workers beyond giving them the security of employment. He spent his own money providing them food, clothing, and medical care. The movie underplays his encouragement of their religious rituals which included Jewish burial rites. Most significantly, the screenwriter chose to leave out an incident where Schindler accepted shipment of two boxcars of literally frozen Jews and personally aided their recovery. One less justifiable omission is the role that Emilie played at the second plant. She achieved sainthood herself by cooking for the workers (who got 2,000 calories as opposed to the usual 900) and caring for the sick. The movie gives her nothing to do except stoically support her philandering husband.

Speaking of Hollywoodizing, the closing pushes the limits of realism. Not surprising for a Spielberg film. The bit about the ring (as someone sniffed, you can’t melt gold the way they did) and the final speech are on the cheesy side. It might have been a good idea to tack on the actual survivor scene to leave that as the last image.

CRITIQUE: Is it possible to make a film about the Holocaust that shows its horrors and yet is inspirational and has a happy ending? This would seem undoable without hitting a hornet’s nest worth of derision. Amazingly, Spielberg has pulled it off. The achievement is awe-inspiring. This is especially impressive because Spielberg stepped out of his comfort zone to make a movie that was not aimed at 14 year-old boys. It is really his first adult movie and he deserved to be rewarded for it.

The movie is technically top notch. The choice to go black and white was a daring gamble that pays off big time. It is now hard to imagine the movie in color. The cinematography was an easy choice for the Oscar. The lighting enhances the lensing. The look of the film is not ostentatious, however. You do not marvel at what you are seeing, you just register its proficiency. John Williams (who at first thought he was not up to the seriousness of the film) is nicely understated in his score and does not push emotional buttons like you hear in many epic movies (including some of Spielberg’s more recent films). His Oscar was deserved. It was his last victory.

The acting is fantastic. Neeson gives his best performance. He nails the complex personality of Schindler. Schindler’s redemption arc must not have been easy to play. The character is refreshingly multi-dimensional . Neeson even handles the final speech without marring the rest of his restrained work. Ralph Fiennes matches him. Fiennes gained almost thirty pounds by drinking a lot of beer to get ready for the role. He is the embodiment of malevolence. AFI placed Goeth at #15 on its list of Top 50 Villains (Goeth is the highest nonfiction character). Kingsley has a less flashy role, but his portrayal of the wary and wily Stern is perfect. The supporting cast is solid. Special note goes to Embeth Davidtz as Helen Hirsh who lives in constant fear of Goeth’s mood swings. The scene where he soliloquys to a petrified, very vulnerable Helen and goes from positing that Jews are not subhuman vermin to ruthlessly beating her is a strong scene with great acting. There are several scenes in the movie that showcase the talents of the cast.

The plot is linear and traditional. There are surprises within the structure, but the general flow is toward your typical Spielberg positive ending. Thankfully, the ending is relatively true so it does not come off as contrived. Although there is no evidence for it, you would think Spielberg looked hard for a Holocaust script that had a happy ending. Those are pretty rare. (“Escape from Sobibor” had already been filmed.) The themes are fairly clear. Obviously, redemption is one of them. Some others are that evil exists and can’t be cured. One man can make a difference is another. Lastly, the movie emphasizes the role of conscience in human behavior. Goeth’s lack of conscience makes him, not Helen, subhuman. The film is thought-provoking. You can’t watch the movie without wondering what you would have done in the situations presented in it.

CONCLUSION: “Schindler’s List” is the best Holocaust movie. You can argue that it is not relentlessly bleak enough to truly replicate the horror, but that would have defeated the purpose of reaching a mass audience. As a retired high school history teacher I have no problem with this compromise. The movie has enough horror to teach fools that the Holocaust was horrific. There is nothing wrong with having positive role models in a Holocaust film.  I personally would not have it as high as #2, but it clearly belongs in the top ten.

100.  The Manchurian Candidate (1962) 

99.  The Bridges at Toko-Ri

98.  Mrs. Miniver

97.  To Hell and Back

96.  Run Silent, Run Deep

95.  The Alamo (1960)

94.  Sands of Iwo Jima 

93.  Land and Freedom

92.  Ulzana’s Raid

91.  The Sea Hawk

90.  The Man Who Would Be king

89.  Hail the Conquering Hero

88.  The Cruel Sea

87.  They Died With Their Boots On

86.  Foreign Correspondent

85.  Ride With the Devil

84.  Casualties of War

83.  The Train

82.  Empire of the Sun

81.  Life Is Beautiful

80.  Twelve O’Clock High

79.  The Story of G.I. Joe

78.  She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

77.  Catch-22

76.  Oh!  What a Lovely War

75.  The Tin Drum

74.  Scipio Africanus

73.  Ministry of Fear

72.  Colonel Redl

71.  The Third Man

70.  Battleground

69.  Beau Geste

68.  Three Kings

67.  Hell’s Angels

66.  Hope and Gloty

65.  Pork Chop Hill

64.  Good Morning, Vietnam

63.  Gettysburg

62.  Battleship Potemkin

61.  Tora! Tora! Tora!

60.  Kagemashu

59.  The African Queen

58.  Duck Soup

57.  Notorious

56.  The Searchers

55.  The Dawn Patrol (1938)

54.  Best Years of Our Lives

53.  The Dam Busters

52.  The Killing Fields

51.  Birth of a Nation

50.  Ballad of a Soldier

49.  The Big Parade

48.  In Which We Serve

47.  Gallipoli

46.  Stalag 17

45.  Sergeant York

44.  Wings

43.  The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

42.  Battle of Britain

41.  Guns of Navarone

40.  The Deer Hunter

39.  A Bridge Too Far

38.  El Cid

37.  Breaker Morant

36.  The Thin Red Line (1998)

35.  Cross of Iron

34.  Braveheart

33.  Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

32.  The Dirty Dozen

31.  Rome, Open City

30.  From Here to Eternity

29.  The Longest Day

28.  Spartacus

27.  Alexander Nevsky

26.  The Big Red Line

25.  The General

24.  Stalingrad (1992)

23.  Platoon

22.  Battle of Algiers

21.  MASH

20.  The Great Escape

19.  The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

18.  Ran

17.  Napoleon

16.  Full Metal Jacket

15.  All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

14.  Apocalypse Now

13.  Glory

12.  Dr. Strangelove

11.  Casablanca

10.  Paths of Glory

9.    Bridge on the River Kwai

8.    Das Boot

7.    Saving Private Ryan

6.    Henry V  (1944)

5.    Grand Illusion

4.    Patton

3.    Lawrence of Arabia

2.    Schindler’s List