Schindler's List 1993

The Film:

I'm not really sure what to say about this film by way of an introduction. It's one I've seen several times in full, and have also used clips of in lessons. I saw it at the pictures (on my own) when it first came out and - like I did with Cry Freedom a few years earlier - I cried on the bus on the way home.

This is without doubt one of the most important films on our list. The world is (hopefully) a better place because it has been made. The production led to the development of an archiving project called "Survivors of the Shoah" which recorded and videoed the stories of those who went through some of the horrors depicted in the film - a vital project to have been completed in the 1990s, as most of those who participated have now died. Whatever else Spielberg has done (good or bad) - this is what he should be remembered for.

To say I'm "looking forward" to watching it again would probably be a poor choice of phrase - but it's been a while since I've watched the whole thing, so it will be interesting to see if it has lost any of its impact.

The Ceremony:

21st March at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion - and it's Whoopi's first year. She was a surprise choice and became the first African-American and the first woman to host the show. Critics were worried beforehand that she might be a bit of a loose cannon - but she was generally very well received, and went on to host another three times.

Other than that, it was pretty much business as usual, but with a conscious attempt to be classier than in previous recent years. There were vocal performances from Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen and Janet Jackson among others - and a lavish Debbie Allen dance number (of course). Oh, and the lovely Paul Newman was there - winning his Jean Hersholt Award!

Other Notable Winners That Night:

Thankfully Harvey Keitel put some clothes on - and stayed
out of the picture!

It was a serious year all round this year - out of the eight big categories, there was only one comedy film nominated (Dave - for Original Screenplay).

Apart from Jurassic Park (which took three technical awards), the other two big winners were The Piano and Philadelphia. I love Philadelphia and - despite a massively virtue-signalling role - Tom Hanks deserved his Oscar, up against some heavyweight competition. However, just like with Tom Cruise in Rain Man, Denzel Washington got totally overlooked in the less showy but just as brilliant supporting role!

I'm not a big fan of The Piano, but the photo above is the sort of thing we've not seen since the 40s. Hooray for three women winning three big awards for the same film!

Also of note - Wallace and Gromit won the first of their three Oscars this year, for the splendid The Wrong Trousers. One of the greatest pieces of stop-motion animation ever!

And while we're here....this also happens to be the year in which I appeared in an Oscar-nominated film! I've looked closely several times but my performance appears to have been mainly consigned to the cutting room floor. In various abandoned takes I would have been seen grabbing Daniel Day Lewis from behind to stop myself from falling over and helping Emma Thompson regain her balance after she fell into me. There were a lot of people in that crowd scene and we were directed to riot! Daniel and Emma were both nominated for their performances in In The Name of the Father. I was not. (But my Bacon number is 3!)


Best Song:


With the over-abundance of Disney stuff winning this award in the 90s, I was slightly bothered that we were going to have an inappropriately cheery video to add to this post. Fear not, there isn't a Disney in sight this year, just The Boss! This is a deeply sad and serious song - and all the more deserving for it. 

What We Could/Should Have Been Watching:

There is absolutely no question in my mind that the right film won this year. Because of its cultural and historical significance. Because it was about time Spielberg won something. And most of all, because it is such a good film.

Two of the best - at their best!

Having said that, the other four nominees were also pretty good films. The Piano I've mentioned - good, but not one I particularly like. I've decided not to give the award to In The Name Of The Father, because that would be biased, seeing as I'm in it (honest guv!), but it's a great film! The Fugitive is also a much better film than it has any right to be, mainly because of its Oscar winner, Tommy Lee Jones. However, my favourite of the other nominees is probably Remains of the Day. If it had been released a couple of years earlier, it's likely to have won two acting awards and maybe even Best Picture - comparing this to Hopkins Oscar-winning role a few years earlier and you can't deny how good an actor he is (even if he always sounds just a little bit Welsh in everything!).

The biggest shock to me in looking at these nominations is the absence of Philadelphia in both Best Picture and Best Director category. Just shows what sort of a year it was.....(ps - the 90s start going downhill pretty quickly....)

Our Verdict:

Helen Hirsch - one of the characters that makes the film

Oh my word this film is a masterpiece! And it has lost nothing of its power or greatness over the years or, indeed, with repeat viewings. Everything about a Spielberg film that makes it a great Spielberg film is here in it's most perfect form.

First of all, Spielberg can tell a good story. He knows how to construct a film to provide pace, intrigue, moments of excitement and shock, light and shade etc. One of the things that I had forgotten, having not seen this all the way through for quite some time, is how the whole film hangs together as perfectly told story. It never forgets that it is following a narrative that needs key characters, plot points etc. And yet, at the same time Spielberg never forgets the responsibility he has taken on to document the horrors of history. Those scenes are there, they don't pull any punches, and they deliberately put individual human faces on unimaginable numbers.

The list is life!

That's the second great Spielberg-esque element of the film. His ability to shoot great spectacle - crowd scenes, action sequences etc - without them ever losing the connection to the characters and just becoming something impressive to look at (yes, I mean you David Lean!). The whole film looks good. The choice to film in (almost all) black and white has been criticised, but I think it works. The use of colour to highlight the girl in the red dress is possibly the only point where Spielberg sentimentality spills over too much, but I like the point he is making. Starting (with the candle flame) and ending (with the tributes) in colour works brilliantly and frames the film well.

No words

The often-derided Spielberg sentimentality is reined in just enough for me. It's important that we care for these people. It's important that we feel for their plight and it's really important that we cry (or an equivalent reaction!) and Spielberg uses his tricks sparingly to ensure that this happens. The reality and brutality is there, but so are the ordinary people with their ordinary lives dealing with extraordinary circumstances, and we get to know these people just enough to feel it personally when the worst happens.

Prepare to cry buckets - either all the way home on the bus
or in front of a class of 30 teenagers.....

The cast is superb - proper A-list serious actors at their peak. The three key leads are all superb, particularly Ralph Fiennes at a relatively early (and very pre-Voldemort) stage in his film career, taking on the role of a man who has become a monster, managing to play him with (practically) no sympathy and no trace of cartoonish villainy.

The last Spielberg motif is the absolute triumph for me. Even thinking about that John Williams score reduces me to tears. The violin solo is an extraordinary piece of music and it gets me every time. (Maybe it's something about Jewish music? The other film clip I have to apologise in advance to my classes for is the opening scene of Prince of Egypt - guaranteed to set me off!)

The closing scenes with the modern day "Schindler Jews" and the actors with their real life counterparts laying stones on Schindlers grave are beautiful and a fitting conclusion to what Spielberg intended to achieve with this film.

It would be wrong to say I love this film. However, I think it's probably the most important of all the films on our list, and it manages to be an "important" and "worthy" film without compromising on any of the elements that also make it a really good film. G-d bless Steven Spielberg!