Books2Movies Club discussion

As I know this film only by its renown -- yes, I haven’t seen it yet -- introduction shall be strictly limited to the following paragraph:

Schindler's List is a 1993 epic drama film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and scripted by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally, an Australian novelist. The film tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel (SS)-officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern. John Williams composed the score.
(source: wikipedia)
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This is thread for the film, opinions and thoughts about it -- if you wish to discuss the book itself, please go to the book thread.

It's a great movie, maybe the best one from Spielberg.

This was one of my film texts for my year 11 English here in Australia. The film is one of those where all the elements are perfect for the horrible period during the war that it portrays. Liam Neeson is one of my favourite actors (I remain convinced he should have an oscar on his CV) and his work in this movie was amazing. Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes are also astounding actors and in this film they were incredible. The best acting is emotional and able convince you they are who the characters are. This film boasts some of the strongest acting I've seen. Still it's not a movie to really enjoy so much as to watch and remember what a terrible time in history it was...

I have definitely seen the movie ... words cannot describe the impact!

I saw Schindler's List in high school, in my Civics course. It is very intense; you cannot help being moved by this depiction of a dramatic and depressing period in history. I have yet to the read the book. However, I was similarly impacted by Art Spiegelman's Maus, Vol. 1: My Father Bleeds History and Maus, Vol. 2: And Here My Troubles Began , which I read in one of my college history courses. (As the pronunciation of the name implies, Jewish characters are animalized as mice, and Nazis as cats. Still, you cannot help seeing them as people, despite the images.) Like the movie,these graphic novels go beyond telling a story from generic point of view, chiefly delving into the perspective of single man which is brought to life by his son. (Like me, some may find that some of the language and images are offensive and/or disturbing--a few of images did make me cry. But I try to look past the surface for deeper meaning.) I personally recommend reading these two graphic novels to those interested in the movie and its subject.

The moment that really struck me in the movie Schindler's List were the people at the end who were actually in the camps!

I obtained a degree in engineering, although I don't practice that profession anymore. I was very strongly affected by the scene in which the engineer approaches the camp komandant (Ralph Fienes) and tells him that the building is incorrectly designed. He turns to his ADC and says, "Shoot her." When the guy hesitates he reiterates the order, saying, "We can't let these people speak to us like that." So she's killed. The kommandant then instructs the construction crew to build it as she said.

When I saw that scene, I realized that there exists a sense of security from the perceived value of knowledge. "People won't harm me, because I know useful things." My sense of security was badly shaken at that point. I've never forgotten that.

I love the power of this film. I've watched it several times.

Emory - excellent point > that's exactly what I was thinking when watching that scene. I was sure that because she knows what she is talking about and is useful to the Germans, they would not harm her. In fact - quite the oposite happened and she was shot for speaking up!

Now that I have more time for a longer "movie" review...

This is the second time that I have seen it and at this point I do not understand how I was allowed to watch it the first time around - as a child! :S
Amazing movie, but incredibly gruesome!

I loved Schindler's character and personality - his faults made him all the more real and loveable... I know that his drinking and womanizing ways would have been off-putting under different circumstances, had the movie not dealt with more serious issues - but that's the power of "context"... Liam Neeson played it masterfully, but the real "Oscar winner" (even though neither won and Kingley was not even nominated!) was Ben Kingsley! His portrayal of the stoic, resigned and reserved Jewish accountant, Stern, moved me to tears more than once. In fact, the relationship between Schindler and Stern was very moving! While they behaved in the strict boss-employee fashion at all times (until the very end), an underlying camaraderie and mutual respect could be sensed throughout the movie and it was extremely touching!!! The movie portrays Schindler as a hard, unyielding tycoon, who gets what he wants and who is used to having things go his way; however, underneath his ruthless profiteering shell, he ended up being a soft-hearted saviour of many. The movie made Oskar seem much softer than the book, especially at the end, so I am thinking there was a bit of Hollywood-isation at work here (which is understandable).

While I appreciated the reality of the movie. It was one of those movies that I could only watch once because of the magnitude of the storyline, I have really enjoyed the book for adding those details that the movie did not. I have come to appreciate the strength of human spirit especially what the women had to endure just to get to Schindler's new factory.

I also want to point out that while we read this book, an article came out in the New York Times that discusses the research that has been done to count the number of places of incarceration during this period. The number of camps and ghettos they found is way higher than originally thought.

Here is the link to copy and paste in your browser: http://nyti.ms/YQ0JU2

@Elena: Great point about Kingsley's acting! I also thought that Ralph Fiennes did a great job as a sadistic psychopath.

@Jeanne: Thanks a lot for the link. That story is a very sobering reminder that it's almost impossible to overestimate the extent of mankind's inhumanity.

Schindler's List is truly a great film. I would even go so far as to say it is one of the few truly important films ever produced by Hollywood.

The movie was great, but I think it played too much with our emotions, and didn't quite capture the immensity of the suffering Jews went through as the book did. I agree with Elena, that Schindler appears much better person in the movie than in the book, just in order to make us like him more. Making him a bit more like he was really, wouldn't make him less important, actually it would've been better for us to see there are many shades of human personalities, that show their true color in times of need and despair. He wasn't an angel, but his heart wasn't rotten. Many oppressors appeared good neighbors in time of peace but became twisted torturers in time of war as many trials for genocides across the world may testify. He knew what's right thing to do. Ralph Fiennes did an amazing job, he was terrifying. They all did great performances.