Schindler's List
Movie, 1993, The '90s, Set in Kraków
Schindler's List is #15 of 35 in release order and #15 of 35 in chronological order in the Steven Spielberg.
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) tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved over a thousand Jews from the Holocaust by employing them. Steven Spielberg directs, mostly in black and white, from Steven Zaillian's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's novel Schindler's Ark. Liam Neeson plays Schindler, a Nazi Party member and charming opportunist who arrives in Kraków in 1939 to make money from the war. His Jewish accountant, Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), runs his enamelware factory and quietly classes workers as essential to protect them. When the ghetto is liquidated in 1943, Schindler watches from a hill and spots a little girl in a red coat, one of the film's few touches of colour. The Jews are moved to Płaszów labour camp under commandant Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes), who shoots prisoners from his balcony. Schindler begins spending his fortune on bribes. Schindler's List follows Jurassic Park, released the same year, and precedes The Lost World.
Schindler's List ending explained
Schindler's List ends with Schindler fleeing as the war ends, having saved about 1,100 people. When Płaszów is closed, he and Stern draw up a list of workers to move to a new factory in Brünnlitz, and he rescues a train of women sent to Auschwitz by mistake. At the surrender, the workers give him a ring inscribed with a Talmud line about saving one life, and he breaks down over the people he did not save. In colour, survivors and actors place stones on his grave in Jerusalem. It won seven Oscars, including Best Picture.
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 The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
- Chronological order: after Jurassic Park, before The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
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.