Schindler’s List

Steven Spielberg, 1993 (9.6*)
Best Picture (AA, BAA, GG)

AFI and Time Mag Top 100

Spielberg once said that he made films like Jaws, so he could then afford to make films like Schindler’s List.

This is a true story of factory owner Oscar Schindler, a formerly failed capitalist who now sees a chance to benefit from free labor. He personally hired Jews to make munitions, kept their families together and provided a list of his workers who were to be protected, thereby sparing them the camps.

Liam Neeson gives his best performance as Schindler, a man torn between making weapons of destruction to aid the Nazi cause, yet who also wants to save his Jewish workers from their fate. Also turning in a career best performance is Ralph Fiennes as a sadistic Nazi camp officer, who will occasionally pick up a rifle and shoot a prisoner at random just to relieve his boredom.

Shot in black and white, with one color highlight as a visual indicator (no spoilers!) 7 Oscars, Schindler

Now No. 7 on the IMDB 250 and No. 27 on our compendium of top ranked 1000 on the net

Quote: I need the little kids because their tiny hands can reach inside artillery shells. (Schindler)