I absolutely love Schindler’s List(#8), I really do. Yes, I realize it is one of the most depressing movies ever, but it’s also one of the most moving films I have ever seen. Schindler’s List tells the story of Oskar Schindler(Liam Neeson) , a war profiteer who has a change of heart and manages to save over 1000 Jews during the holocaust to work in his factory. Also in this film is Ben Kingsley as Schindler’s Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern and Ralph Fiennes as SS officer Amon Göth.
I have to say, this movie means a lot to me as an actress as well as a film buff. Whenever my old acting teacher would talk about Schindler’s List. He’d tell us to listen to the accent or lack or accent that all of the characters in this movie use. Some, like Ralph Fiennes, use very strong German accents, whereas Liam Neeson uses little to no German accent. Despite this discontinuity, no one notices the problem because the acting in this movie is so damn good. This is the key to accents. Spielberg was smart when he told the actors in this movie to only use an accent if it helps them better understand who they are as a character. Instead of putting on a fake accent to seem more believable, the actors in this movie become so immersed in their characters that it doesn’t matter at all whether they speak with enough of a German accent. Spectacular.
While on the subject of amazing performances, Ralph Fiennes gives one of the greatest performances that I have ever seen in any movie in Schindler’s List. His Amon Göth is one of the most terrifying and evil characters that I have seen in any movie. One of the reasons he’s so terrifying is because you can’t even see the actor behind the performance; all you see is Amon Göth. His speech when the concentration camp is so intense and captivating that I had to watch it again when I first saw this movie. Also, his accent is spot on, which I think is wonderful as accents were my specialty in high school drama.
Spielberg’s decision to use black and white on this movie was a very good choice. It makes the movie seem so much more real, as footage of the holocaust was in black and white. It also allows for more intense lighting to be showcased, which is fantastic. Also, the idea of using selective color on things like the candles and the girl with the red jacket is super effective when showing the changes that Schindler goes through over the course of the movie.
No matter what I say I cannot do justice to this spectacular movie. In a strange way, it is one of my favorite movies of all time. The amount of emotion I feel when watching this movie is incredible. Also, from an acting standpoint this movie blows me away. Everyone gave their absolute all on this picture and it shows. Out of all the films I have seen on this list, this is the one that has moved me the most. It’s a depressing watch, but it also gives you hope for the future. If anything, I think this movie should be even higher up on the list then it is.
