Schindler's List Cinema Critique

             I watched Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. The movie was released in 1994 and made $321.9 million dollars in the box office. The movie takes place in Poland during World War II. The Nazis have taken over the country and have sent the Jews into ghettos to “live a better life”. In reality, the Nazis used the ghettos to confine the country so they could eliminate the Jews quicker and easier. Oskar Schindler has been hiring the Jews into the workforce for quite sometime. He values them for their knowledge, unlike the Nazis. He notices that he is losing money and jobs are getting left unfinished; this is only because of the war. When he gradually becomes concerned for his workers, he tries to put a stop to the Nazis. The problem is that the Jews who are not considered worthy of Schindler’s company, are placed in the ghetto and eventually die. However, Schindler is only able to hire in so many people. In the end, Schindler saves close to 1,200 lives. 

           I loved this movie, I thought it was brilliant! The Holocaust is my favorite time period in history. It’s hard to believe that the Germans even thought of doing this and pulled it off. The Holocaust is held near to my heart because I knew a survivor. Esther died a few years ago, but I think this movie gives great respect for those who went through this disturbing event. I don’t think it downplays the Holocaust at any point. Spielberg is such a smart director. I loved that he shot the film in black and white, this made it super authentic to the time period. It added an element that I wouldn’t expect to make a difference. I also realized how strategically the lighting needs to be in a black and white film. Lighting is not going to show up as well compared to a colored filmed. I noticed that color was added onto a little girl at one point. I think this was supposed to represent the innocence of the Jewish. There were a few scenes that caught my eye. I’m not sure what they would be called, but I know there’s a name for it. The scenes were played pretty much simultaneously, switching back and forth between the two. The scenes showed a shot of Schindler and his lover, while the other shot showed his workers getting killed. I think it was supposed to represent his blindness of the Holocaust at first. I could say so much more about this amazing film, but for right now these are the biggest standouts to me.

           Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It’s about a disturbing topic and gets pretty morbid at points, but I think that’s what makes it so impressive. It hard to capture and not downplay any of the little details, even the big details. I would definitely recommend this movie. It is R rated and 3 hours long, but it’s worth every second. The film is Spielberg’s favorite film he’s ever done and he really didn’t expect everyone to like it so much. The film is actually getting re-released this month for its 25th anniversary. Over the course of the semester I have learned to love film making and have acquired a new skill. I'm not looking to go into a career within this industry, but I think cinematography is a useful hobby. I learned how much work goes into just one second of a film, even a half a second. It's amazing how a full movie is pulled off. I learned the importance of lighting and how it can make someone look scary or happy. I learned what makes up a great film. For example, sound effects, picture quality, and sound. I learned how crucial pre-production is and that you really can't make a decent film without it. Thank you Muench for a great semester and teaching me a new passion!