Schindler's List
Movie, 1993, The '90s, Set in The violin theme
Schindler's List is #15 of 29 in release order and #15 of 29 in chronological order in the John Williams.
The story
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
Schindler's List recap
Schindler's List (1993) follows Oskar Schindler, a German businessman and Nazi Party member who ends up saving more than a thousand Jews during the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg directs this historical drama, shot mostly in black and white and adapted from Thomas Keneally's novel Schindler's Ark. Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in occupied Kraków to make money, bribes German officials and takes over an enamelware factory staffed by Jews from the ghetto. His Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) runs the business and quietly lists as many people as possible as essential workers. SS officer Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes) builds the Płaszów camp, orders the ghetto cleared and shoots prisoners from his balcony. During the clearance, Schindler sees a little girl in a red coat, one of the only colours in the film, and later sees her body. He grows close to Göth through bribes and gets a sub-camp at his factory. The main theme, a lament for solo violin played by Itzhak Perlman, carries the film's grief; Schindler's List follows Jurassic Park and precedes Saving Private Ryan.
Schindler's List ending explained
Schindler's List ends with survivors and the actors who play them placing stones on Schindler's grave in Jerusalem, in colour. When Göth is ordered to ship his prisoners to Auschwitz, Schindler pays to move about 1,100 workers to a munitions factory in Brünnlitz, rescues the women sent to Auschwitz by mistake, and makes sure the factory produces nothing usable. When the war ends he breaks down, saying he could have saved more. The workers give him a ring inscribed, "Whoever saves one life saves the world entire."
Post-credits scenes
No. Schindler's List has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Schindler's List
Schindler's List isn't on a US streaming service right now. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 9.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes 98%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Jurassic Park, before Saving Private Ryan.
- Chronological order: after Jurassic Park, before Saving Private Ryan.
Cast
- Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler
- Ben Kingsley as Itzhak Stern
- Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth
- Caroline Goodall as Emilie Schindler
- Jonathan Sagall as Poldek Pfefferberg
- Embeth Davidtz as Helen Hirsch
- Małgorzata Gebel as Viktoria Klonowska
- Shmuel Levy as Wilek Chilowicz
- Mark Ivanir as Marcel Goldberg
- Béatrice Macola as Ingrid
- Andrzej Seweryn as Julian Scherner
- Friedrich von Thun as Rolf Czurda
Directed by Steven Spielberg.