Poll Position: Schindler's List (1993)

Last week's poll ended up being a very close race in the last few days. To be honest I thought Schindler's List would win, but I knew putting A-Team and Darkman in the poll might throw a wrench in the works. Schindler started off very strong, but A-Team surprised me by taking the lead late on Friday. Some last minute rallying appears to have been drummed up by @wideawakewesley after he tweeted people to vote for Schindler, once again bringing it into the front just in time.

Schindler's List is a Steven Spielberg film based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who saved 1100 Jews by protecting them as his factory workers. I seem to have a track record for liking this kind of film, hit the jump to see if that holds true.

Schindler's List briefly starts in colour, but then becomes a black-and-white film for nearly it's entire length. This caught me off guard as I wasn't expecting a movie made in 1993 to be in black-and-white. It works very well though as it marks the modern and past time periods it shows in the film. I'm also quite certain that different considerations have to be taken into account when filming in black-and-white such as for costuming and the cinematography, all of which I thought was very well done.

Schindler and Stern type up THE LIST

As is the norm for myself, in no part thanks to my ignorance of film in the past, and the very reason why I'm doing all this, I didn't know what Schindler's List was about going in. This does however sort of work in my favour though since it's as if I'm seeing it when it was first released, untainted by spoilers or early knowledge.

Schindler's List is about the rise to riches of a German businessman named Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson. At first it's all just business to him, and since Jews don't have to be paid as much, he hires them exclusively to run his pot and pan factory. However, as the war begins to escalate, he witnesses the persecution of the Jews and begins to take steps to keep them safe using his friendship and influence with the German officers in command. I really liked the story, and the script and acting in all cases was great.

I was caught off guard with the brutality and graphic scenes of public executions and the way in which the holocaust was depicted in the film. Simply put, nothing is held back. It shows people being stripped down and forced to line up, property being stolen, children being separated from their parents and taken away, bodies being desecrated and a number of other terrible scenes. Of course I've heard about all these things happening, but the way the movie introduces you to many of the Jewish characters, and then to see these things happen to people you can recognize in a line is a whole new level of disturbing.

A girl in a red jacket runs through the chaotic streets to hide

There are several instances of tremendous tension throughout the movie, and you really feel the chaos and fear going through the crowds. That feeling of not knowing what's going on or what's going to happen next. Are you being put in this line or group to be spared or killed? Should you run or stay put? There's simply no way to know the best course of action. The movie really conveys a real sense of helplessness and hopelessness.

I really liked this movie, the way it shows the war from the Jewish side of things all the way from the start to the end was amazing. I also really liked that you got to know or at least recognize so many of the Jewish characters. Schindler's List is great, and I highly recommend everyone to see it. It may be long, and it may be frightening, but it's also an important thing to be aware of and experience. As my final thought, I'd just like to say that I'll never forget this movie, and I'll never forget the girl in the red jacket.