The Bottom Line
Pros
- Compelling drama about an important topic (the Holocaust)
- Great visual storytelling by director Steven Spielberg
- Outstanding performances, cinematography, and music
Cons
- DVD provides no audio commentary track of any kind
- Apart from one excellent documentary, the DVD extras are skimpy
- Some people find movie overly sentimental in one or two places
Description
- DVD containing Holocaust movie "Schindler's List" (1993)
- Film won 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Steven Spielberg)
- Movie stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley
- DVD contains powerful 77-minute documentary "Voices From the List"
- DVD is a two-sided disc
- DVD available in two formats: anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) or full-screen (1.33:1)
- MPAA rating: R for language, some sexuality and actuality violence
- Excellent picture and sound quality
- Feature run time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- DVD release date: March 9, 2004
Guide Review - "Schindler's List" DVD Review
"Schindler's List" (1993) won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Steven Spielberg). Also, it ranks ninth on the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest movies. I've always been an admirer of "Schindler's List," and when I watched it at home recently on DVD, I came to realize I regard it as a masterpiece of world cinema.
To my way of thinking, Spielberg's movie brilliantly captures experiences representative of those of millions of European Jews during the Holocaust. But I believe Spielberg wanted to make a film attuned to mainstream moviegoers' sensibilities, and he succeeded by weaving the horrors of the Holocaust into an inspiring story about how 1100 Jews survived because of the efforts of German entrepreneur Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson).
I'm very impressed with the way Spielberg was able to use his enormous talents to make a film about the Holocaust that mainstream audiences can connect with. The location shooting in and around Krakow is memorable, and the stunning black-and-white cinematography featuring a lot of hand-held camerawork gives the movie the appropriate historical feel. Also, the music, which includes evocative period pieces and violin solos by Itzhak Perlman, sets the proper tone. The performances are strong as well, particularly those of Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as cruel commandant Amon Goeth, and Ben Kingsley as accountant Itzhak Stern.
