A master director's masterpiece. This landmark film about Oskar Schindler, a German entrepreneur/conman, who despite his nature, works to spare the lives of Jewish workers during the Holocaust. Schindler is a scheming man who plays the Nazi machine for everything that its worth. He opens a munitions factory and brings in Jewish slave labor. Schindler manipulates the system to move more and more Jewish workers into his factory which means they will be spared the certain doom of the concentration camps. Even at the risk of his own life, and even though his factory fails to produce anything, he manipulates the Nazi authorities into giving him more workers. With every name on his work roster, he has spared another soul.

At the center of the film is Liam Neeson as Schindler. He is wonderfully understated in the role and actually offers the audience little to attach to. The character is a slippery fellow and Neeson doesn't make him too approachable. Until the end, Spielberg avoids presenting the man in a theatrically heroic light. Much of his character's arc is masked and the man is left remarkably untouched by Steve Zaillian's script. We end the film not knowing much more about Schindler than we did at the beginning other than the enormous gift he gave to those under his care. In this sense, the man himself seems to be of little consequnce when compared to the greatest of his deeds.

The entire film is masterfully handled. Spielberg, who can get heavy handed (watch Amistad and Artificial Intelligence: A.I.), is very delicate with how he handles this production. He approaches every scene with a strange calmness. Even scenes of sharp violence are handled with gripping documentary feel. Even though it's shot in black and white, the film carries the gravity of reality. Spielberg smartly allows his scenes to naturally play out and gives the actors space to work. A major reason this is Spielberg's best film is because this is the best he has ever done working with actors.

Ben Kingsley portrays Schindler's accountant Itzhak Stern. Kingsley has made some serious horrendous films (Suspect Zero, Bloodrayne, The Last Legion) and his performance here reminds us that a man of his talent stooping to do such films is like Pavoratti singing Britnet Spears songs. Stern acts as Schindler's conscious and often directs him through the moral minefield of his acts. Like Neeson, Kingsley keeps his performance toned down and lets the story speak for himself. His unaffected performance perfectly contrasts with the brutish, emotionally troubled figure on the other side of Schindler's life, Amon Goeth, portrayed by Ralph Fiennes. This film made Fiennes' career and for good reason. He nearly steals the show as the violent narcissist head of the concentration camp. The image of his flabby, tired body poised on a balcony using his prisoners are target practice is chilling. As we get to know Goeth, we come to understand how his thinking would lead him to perform such a cruel act. Spielberg doesn't slap a simple "Nazi" sign on his forehead, he delves into the man's troubled mind and shows the fragile human behind the monstrous sins. In my opinion, Amon Goeth is one of the great villains ever put to film.

This is one of the rare films I think should be shown in high schools, not only because it is a reminder of what happened but as a reminder that it can happen again. It also shows that even though the greatest evils are committed by individuals so are good deeds. We decide the course of history and what we do has an impact on the generations that follow. If you have not seen this film you really need to watch it as soon as possible. It is one of the films I think everyone should see once in their life.


Cautions: There is shockingly graphic violence and full frontal nudity throughout this film. Even if you're against such things, I will point out that of all films it is this one where I know it is absolutely called for. None of the violence, none of the sexuality or violence is put in for any other reason other than to advance the story and bring reality to the production. The film would be lessened without it.

Short Round is the prototype of Jar Jar Binks.

What do you do when you create one of the best films in history? Jettison everything people loved about your film and replace it with an emotionally retarded love story, comical chase sequences, with everything topped off with a scene of a guy getting his heart torn out.

That last point is what makes this one of the more important movies in cinematic history. Its not because it shows George Lucas' inclination to utterly decimate every positive thing he has ever done, but rather the reaction to the violent imagery in this film. The violence in this film (along with that in Red Dawn) lead to a great deal of concern among parents and eventually the government. To stave off any governmental intrusion into the workings of Hollywood, the MPAA released the PG-13 Rating. This was meant to be a middle ground between PG (family friendly) and Rated-R (adults only) movies. The result of this rating has been a blurring of the lines between what is for adults and what children should see. This is known as "ratings creep", which means filmmakers have been able to, over time, push content that was once allowed in Rated-R movies into movies that can be seen by kids. And we wonder why the culture has gotten so coarse so quickly.

Back to the movie - it stinks, it stunk when it was released, it still stinks today. Don't believe me, check out the trailer, it stinks too.

Every genre has its masterwork, the singular piece that defines the expectations of its category.Saving Private Ryan boldly established a new standard with its release in 1998. Beginning with a stunning, first person look at the invasion of Normandy to the riveting battle closing the film, this is one of the great films ever released and the most important war film since Oliver Stone’s Platoon.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, WWII film follows a small group of U.S. Soldiers who are sent into enemy territory to locate Private Ryan and bring him home. In a moment of mercy, the United States military makes the choice to spare the young man to send him back to his mother who has lost all of her other sons to the war. The plot, while it may seem contrived, works well and is played out to full effect by screenwriter Robert Rodat. The scope of the film is smartly kept tight and keeps directly on path. It is common for war films with larger casts to splinter into an episodic collection of narratives that eventually weigh the pieces down (A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day). Rodat’s script is certainly episodic but it doesn’t break into multiple tangents. Rodat also does well managing his large cast of characters. With ensembles it is easy to lose character development and focus. Rodat weaves in logical and compelling soliloquies for each character to build them up enough for us to care that they are in peril.

This is one of those films where you can go back ten years later and identify brand name actors milling around in the supporting roles. The cast is populated with the likes of Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Paul Giamatti, Nathan Fillion, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Adam Goldberg, and Barry Pepper. Each of these men may be household names (or at least faces) now, but when the piece was released they were relative unknowns. At the front and center of the film is Tom Hanks who is very generous with his screen time and allows the young actors plenty room to work. Given that Hanks is one of the only recognizable faces in the piece it means he has to work extra hard to meld into the film. It would be very easy for him to appear as Tom Hanks pretending to be a soldier. An example of how this doesn’t work is Ted Danson’s cameo. Danson is inserted into the piece and sticks out like a sore thumb. He is easily identifiable in the sea of unknown faces and the piece suffers while he’s on screen. The entire time I kept asking “Why is Sam Malone doing in France?” Thankfully, Hanks’ provides a detailed performance that anchors the film and enriches the story.

Spielberg’s is at the top of his game and is playing to his strengths. I’ve always maintained that Spielberg is at his best when he’s killing Nazis (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler’s List). Thanks to Spielberg’s brilliance, this film created a new template for war films. Its look, the way it was filmed, even the sound recording have influenced war films and video games since and will continue to do so for decades to come.


Cautions: This is a war movie therefore there's plenty of brutal violence and grisly death scenes. This film particularly has vibrant battle sequences and deaths that are some of the most striking to ever to be put to screen. There's also plenty of salty language but given the subject matter, it is permissible.

Worldview: This piece moves beyond the simple "war is hell" bromides and delves into the motives of the men on the ground. War is certainly hell but it can also be used to promote goodness in this world. The sacrifice of the men and women involved in our wars are worthy of our respect. This film expressly demands us to make certain we earn the right to accept the sacrifices of the men who have died for our freedom.


Related Reviews:
War movies
The Big Red One (1980)
Paths of Glory (1957)


Other Critic's Reivews:
Crazy4Cinema
ScreenIt!