Steven Spielbergs Schindlers List A Legend - Essay Example

?Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List – A Legend Introduction: Steven Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s List” is no doubt one of the most historical phenomenal films that have ever been made. It was released sometime in the year 1993, yet even until now after 20 years, the film is still considered as one of the best of all times. As Craig Kornblau, President of Universal Studios Home Entertainment relates: “Schindler’s List is a rare masterpiece of filmmaking that remains as riveting and moving today as it was for moviegoers 20 years ago. It stands as a powerful reminder of the heroism and humanity of those willing to stand up against intolerance.”(“Universal” ) The powerful effect of the film over humanity is overwhelming. Due to the prodigious outcome, credits have been given mostly to one of the most respected director-film-maker Steven Spielberg. In fact, the movie has won many awards which include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor Award, and other Oscar awards and a long list of other nominations. Schindler’s List: The Movie “Schindler’s List” is originally derived from a book written by Thomas Keneally titled “Schindler’s Ark” which won the Booker’s prize for fiction – one of Britain’s most prestigious literary awards. It is a story of a businessman named Oskar Schindler who made a brave choice of saving many lives of Jews from the cruel hands of the Nazis. He is considered as a hero in the eyes of the Jews community as he prevented many lives of Jews from being incarcerated in their death sentence in the hands of the Nazi rulers. The Style In the film of Steven Spielberg, the story of the Holocaust was made into action. It went further to include other real life testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the historical event. Spielberg went into deeper facts through interviews and actual visitation of the places where mass murder supposedly occurred. This three-hour movie is styled differently. Unlike any other hit movies in the Hollywood, “Schindler’s List” is being filmed in documentary form. The actual events were portrayed in patches of scenes that came from real life experiences of those who knew better- the survivors and witnesses. Series and factions of the whole genocide story were being reduced into scenes from various perspectives. This reduction or miniaturization of the specific and detailed events are as much as part of the gigantic cataclysm of the Jews extermination plan of the Nazis (Leventhal, R.). Various scenes were made into action depicting the experiences of the Jews under the Nazi rule. There are scenes of Jews transported in trains and held in forced labor camps, and scenes of families broken as men, women, children and old people were separated from each other. There are also scenes of people going into gas chambers being killed at once as gas fumes are being released with Jews being imprisoned inside the chambers. This series of events add up to the horrific totality of the genocide plan of the Nazis. These massive murders and life exterminating events to stamp out the Jews lineage in the face of humanity were being made into reality by the actors directed by Steven Spielberg. It takes a lot of various perspective of the Holocaust event to totally capture what really happened in the history. Replicas and literal imitations of the events were acted by chosen actors quite effectively. Supporting props and scenic settings as backgrounds helped in the total output scene on cameras. As the film is being shown as a documentary, the events do not limit to the world of the life of the protagonist alone. Although most part of the movie progressively follow the events that happened with Oskar Schindler, but the events does not limit to his experiences alone. Stories of various Jews were portrayed one by one to provide different perspective. Black and White “Schindler’s List” is a uniquely fabricated film done by the hands of the expert. Unlike Spielberg’s usual movies that are full of stunning and spectacular effects, with myriad of kaleidoscopic digital computer magic, “Schindler’s List” is a totally a complete irony. Instead, it is done in black and white, flat and devoid of hues. Although the movie is done during the modern times where technological advancement is at peak, Spielberg chose to have it in monotone. This choice made the film look more honest, devoid of pretense, and straightforward providing a horrific realism. The absence of pyrothechnical wizardry in his creation where Spielberg is quite popular with made the film a catch of fresh breath in the modern world. Though the shots seem dry, the scenes were still made with perfect angles to best captivate the real emotions. With the absence of flamboyant effects, the film creates a state of art output without showing any hint of manipulation of truth. Instead, what is revealed is a remarkable story as believable as it can be. There is an appeal of credibility for the movie making the moviegoers being aware of what happened in the history. This can serve as factual basis of what the world history is all about- where the Holocaust event is concerned (Malcolm, D.). For people who have known about the Holocaust, the movie can be an interesting review of the history that can be viewed again and again. For those who are blind about these events, the film would serve as an eye opener. The drama and horror intertwined in the movie gives a psychological effect to the viewers moving their hearts and emotions. The emotional and psychological effect of the movie can even last for long or even a lifetime as what is revealed is based on facts. There is no doubt that the choice of Spielberg to have the film in black and white is a tough decision yet a very important key to the major success of the movie that made it a blast even after twenty years it was first shown. Color is one major ingredient in a certain movie creating catastrophic effect to the message of the story. As the black and white scenes of the film rolled gradually, the emotional aspect is greatly intensified. The true image of violence, trauma, war, and real life drama arouse the basic emotional instincts in the primitive side of the human brain. The monochromatic graphics shows authenticity of what the Holocaust is all about. The documentary style colored in black and white with the splendid touches of the director creates an aesthetic beauty in the audience which made it seem that history is being unfolded before their very eyes. The overall emotion being aroused is instantly felt evoking a nostalgic feeling that will last (Stone, A). From the Eyes of the Camera Steven Spielberg is always known to be a great director to magnify small things and to capture dinosaur-size actions in a single camera shot. His talent in this field is indeed unquestionable. However, with the case of “Schindler’s List” Spielberg has yet again done something that is unexpected. A war scene and hell has been captured in a black and white film. He angled his perspectives in various lives, may it be in the eyes in Oskar, an ordinary Jew, the little girl with the red hood, a Nazi in command or even from the perspective of the Almighty. The war and the Holocaust scene as a whole is a tremendous event that happens not just one day but made history for years. With Spielberg’s magical wand, he captivated these scenes, one a time to capture a whole. If not everything in noted, still, the sense of the historical Holocaust event has been undeniably felt. The camera’s perspective became the general narrator of the film. The angles captured are not limited, thus, an omniscient narrative is being portrayed further adding to the realistic effect that the movie is trying to imbibe to the audience. The camera stills the emotions of the Jews and the Nazis, from the corner office of Schindler to the busy streets of where Jews are lined up sentenced to death. There are also shots taken from the rooftops, showing the massive deaths, and close up angles with emphasis of emotions of the victims. Such example was evident as the red girl with the remarkable red hood was emphasized while she was still walking and alive until she died and was included in the heap of dead bodies. Such dramatic emphasis is very noticeable evoking tears from anyone who can sympathize with the innocent girl (Piet, K). The Setting The story of the Holocaust happened in Poland. As Spielberg tried hard to capture the story in the most detailed honesty, he traced back to where the real events happened. He went into the real locations as per testimonies of the survivors and witnesses. Although not all scenes were shot in the exact place of the events, still, he tried to create a very close replica to the actual places. The scenes of the film were actually shot in Poland where the events actually occurred. Spielberg was not able to shot the scenes in Plaszow due to the restrictions of the movie crew from entering Auschwitz. Instead, he just created a replica of the place at their nearby site. Before Spielberg started to create the movie, he walked in the streets where the survivors were. He talked with them personally and felt what they had to say. Their stories did not fall into deaf ears. Instead, Spielberg listened with his heart. He captured their stories and depicted their perspectives along the many scenes in the documentary like film he created. Originally, Spielberg wanted to shoot the scenes in Auschwitz, but he was stopped by the Jewish Organization about the inappropriateness of the act. As they reason that it is quite unlikely to have the film shot where the Jews were actually buried (Leventhal, R). The settings of the other scenes of the movie was shot in locations full of props and created structures to make the real images be captured in cameras. Mostly, hand held cameras were used to make the scenes appear more realistic. He shot scenes in Cracow, one of the most significant cities in Poland where the presence of historical structures are still standing proud until now. The place is almost a half day travel from Auschwitz, where the genocide execution of the Germans was done. Heaps of dead bodies were being piled in this place, where they are also being buried at once. As the place is still rich with artifacts from the historical event, Spielberg tried to capture their significance one by one. Spielberg made use of Cracow, most specially the cathedral, where Schindler was notably meeting with Jews doing their underground commercial transactions (Stone, A.). Other scenes were done in some places where brutality of the Nazi’s actions was executed to the Jews. There are various scenes in concentrated camps where the Jews were imprisoned, scenes in the train carrying the Jews as they were being transported to Auschwitz, scenes from the factory where some Jews hide in safety and many more. Different perspectives were also shot such as balcony site where a Nazi official can look from above to the Jews prisoners below. The camera exposed both the expressions from the perpetrators and the victims revealing their raw emotions in flat black and white screens. The most horrific scenes of gas chambers and poison showers were also portrayed in the film evoking such emotion from anyone looking at them. Despite the monochromatic effect of the film, the scenes were shot with artistry. Modern facilities were used in the set such as the use of steady cameras, hand held cameras, overhead cranes, complete light set ups and zoom lenses. The use of these equipment were as much as part of the total success of the phenomenal movie. The Movie after 20 years As the movie “Schindler’s List” celebrates its 20 years anniversary, there is still reason for celebration for the movie’s success. The movie firmly stands its purpose- that is to move humanity to what is in the human history. The lessons and the actual events are by far the most touching in human history that can cause hearts to me moved and eyes to be wet with tears. As most movie critics, reviews, and scholarly commentaries relates, the movie is indeed one phenomenal hit that has ever been made. It does not only reveal what actually happened in the world history, it also creates a deep impact in the humanity both psychologically and emotionally. As what the protagonist has done in the movie, a positive choice can affect and move history. All in all, the movie deserved to be considered as a legend. Works Cited “From Universal Studios Home Entertainment: Schindler’s List”. PR Newswire Association LLC. A UBM Place Company. 2013. Web. 05 May 2013. Leventhal, R. “Romancing the Holocaust, or Hollywood and Horror:Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. Department of German. University of Virginia. 1995. Web. Malcolm, D. “Schindler’s List”. Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011. Web. Piet, K. “Revisiting Schindler’s List for the AFI Project. Filmaster. 23 June 2008. Web. “Schindler’s List”. Penguin Readers: Teacher Support Program. PDF. Pearson Education Limited. 2008. Web. Stone, Alan. “Spielberg’s Success”. Boston Review- A Political and Literary Forum. 1995-2005. Web. 6 May, 2013. Read More