Schindlers List

[Weston]

http://www.filmreference.com/images/sjff_01_img0438.jpg

[J.R. Hudson]

I find this to be one the great films ever made and Spielbergs masterpiece.

[Blaine]

Without a doubt this is a masterpiece and Spielberg's defining work.

[CallaghanFilms]

It sits at # 28 on the ol' Callaghan Top 100 Films Of All Time List.


Edit:

Without a doubt this is a masterpiece and Spielberg's defining work.
ouch.
gotta go with Raiders...then Private Ryan...then ET....then Schindler's

I agree that it is a masterpiece (Spielberg is allowed more than one tho)

[Blaine]

It sits at # 28 on the ol' Callaghan Top 100 Films Of All Time List.
On my Top 100, it comes in at #6


[COLOR="DarkGray"]It sits at [B]# 28ouch.
gotta go with Raiders...then Private Ryan...then ET....then Schindler's
Raiders is an excellent movie (#43) and I love it. It just doesn't have the gravitas of Schindler. Private Ryan, one of the grittiest war movies ever (#41) and an all together thrilling movie. ET (#59 on my Sci-Fi list, not on my Top 100 All Time Movies List) I never connected with it. Schindler's List is Steven's grown up movie, followed by Private Ryan, then Munich (#68).

[J.R. Hudson]

It sits at # 28 on the ol' Callaghan Top 100 Films Of All Time List.


Edit:

ouch.
gotta go with Raiders...then Private Ryan...then ET....then Schindler's

I agree that it is a masterpiece (Spielberg is allowed more than one tho)

a masterpiece of such importance and weight must take prescedence over the popcorn.

[ExtremeSleuth]

great film. on my top 20 of all time

[CallaghanFilms]

a masterpiece of such importance and weight must take prescedence over the popcorn.
I don't know John...

If you are looking at the film who best captured the essence of its (factual-true-life) source material...then yeah, betcher arse it's the top pick.

If you are looking for the film that brought awareness to something as tragic and grandiose in scale as the holocaust...then abso-freakin-lutely it takes the cake.

But as a film, I find Private Ryan and ET to be unbelievably moving as well...and Raiders to be a sparkling example of damn-near-perfect filmmaking.

For fuck's sake, Hudson, I am not taking away from Schindler's in any way, shape or form. In fact the finale...

Oskar Schindler: I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know. If I'd just... I could have got more.
Itzhak Stern: Oskar, there are eleven hundred people who are alive because of you. Look at them.
Oskar Schindler: If I'd made more money... I threw away so much money. You have no idea. If I'd just...
Itzhak Stern: There will be generations because of what you did.
Oskar Schindler: I didn't do enough!
Itzhak Stern: You did so much.
[Schindler looks at his car]
Oskar Schindler: This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people.
[removing Nazi pin from lapel]
Oskar Schindler: This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this.
[sobbing]
Oskar Schindler: I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!...stands as one of the most powerful scenes in cinematic history IMHO.

[J.R. Hudson]

Here here !

[Blaine]

Kind of like trying to pick which of your children you love best...:thumbsup:

[CallaghanFilms]

Kind of like trying to pick which of your children you love best...:thumbsup:

agreed.

(:evil:and I smell a new top ten series coming on:evil:)

[Weston]

Its all really just how a certain film connects with you individually. As was mentioned no one can question the merits of this film in its importance....but as for all time lists and whatnot thats all up for opinion. For me I think I have a three-way tie going between Star Wars, Schindlers List, and ....believe it or not....The Village for my all time favorite film.

[MOVIE STUNTS]

Just saw Schindlers list again a few weeks ago and it was even better than i had remembered it, A true masterpiece. Oh yeah, and i think the Village rocks, and on that note just saw Lady In The Water, now that was a fun film, and i'm not ashamed to say it.

[J.R. Hudson]

The Village ?

(must accept others opinions ...)

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !

-


I liked the film, I place it high on 2004's best films list ... but in the same breadth as Schindler's and Star Wars ?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

LOL

[Blaine]

Okay, this thread is about to die a horrible death, it's time to spice it up a bit. I don't understand this almost religious fervor about Star Wars. It was an decent movie, even an above average "kids" movie. But all time great? I must have missed something.

Let the flaming begin...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

[MOVIE STUNTS]

The Village ?

(must accept others opinions ...)

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !

-


I liked the film, I place it high on 2004's best films list ... but in the same breadth as Schindler's and Star Wars ?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

LOL
Hold on, I didn't say it was even in the same class, it's obviously not. Star Wars, is also out of hand compared to Schindlers list. And all the new Star Wars were embarrassingly bad IMO.

[J.R. Hudson]

Okay, this thread is about to die a horrible death, it's time to spice it up a bit. I don't understand this almost religious fervor about Star Wars. It was an decent movie, even an above average "kids" movie. But all time great? I must have missed something.

Let the flaming begin...:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

Being a 7 year old and seeing Star Wars for the first time is a magical experience but even today it just holds up

It's close to a perfect film. It truly takes you to another place inside that silver screen and does not let go until the end. Empire accomplished the same for me.

[MOVIE STUNTS]

Hey i'm with you on the whole childhood thing, it was the stuff dreams are made of. Hard to find anything of that lucidity in the present. I feel that way about alot of movies for different reasons. But like the Village thing I just doesn't enter into the same weight class, hell its a different sport all together.

[Blaine]

Being a 7 year old and seeing Star Wars for the first time is a magical experience but even today it just holds up

It's close to a perfect film. It truly takes you to another place inside that silver screen and does not let go until the end. Empire accomplished the same for me.
And that's the thing that I really missed, John. I wished I could have been a child of seven, because, as you said, it would have been magical. Unfortunately, it is a generational thing. Don't get me wrong, I like the movie. The thing is, it just isn't the same move for me that it is for you...or my stepsons for that matter. The oldest, Ron, had all the Star Wars paraphernalia. I'm certainly not raggin' on your movie as I'm sure there are movies that have moved me that other people say, "huh?"

[Yas Kassana]

A totally heart-wrenching movie. Ralph Fiennes is the epitome of evil in this movie. Who said on this board this guy was a hack? I'm sure someone did.

[Billy Pilgrim]

I find this to be one the great films ever made and Spielbergs masterpiece.

Don't let Ray Carney see that.

[MalcolmOng]

I can never decide which movie is my fav, so i'll say its definitely in the top 10 of my list. Notable films here include Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Pixar Films

[Billy Pilgrim]

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I can't even remember how many times I've watched that and my Michel Gondry DVD. I want to see his new film.

[jpeck]

Science of Sleep looks good, getting a lot of mixed reviews.

I have been waiting all year for September and October, lots of movies to watch. :D

[Weston]

The Village ?

(must accept others opinions ...)

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !

-


I liked the film, I place it high on 2004's best films list ... but in the same breadth as Schindler's and Star Wars ?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

LOL


Hey i'm with you on the whole childhood thing, it was the stuff dreams are made of. Hard to find anything of that lucidity in the present. I feel that way about alot of movies for different reasons. But like the Village thing I just doesn't enter into the same weight class, hell its a different sport all together.

Come on fellows...I know that. I'm not saying its up there with the best movies ever made as far as quality goes. I'm just saying its up there for ME PERSONALLY. I was just using this as an example of how peoples tastes vary. For me a film this remarkable with atmosphere, music, and mood ....things that are important to me as a filmmaker and film viewer.... it goes that far on my list. I know its nowhere near any classics....just for me personally.

I'm not saying it should be regarded by anyone else as being anywhere close to Star Wars and Schindlers List.

[J.R. Hudson]

Don't let Ray Carney see that. It is a mystery that not only this guy has a job, but that some people are actually paying attention to this assclown of a professor.

This guy has true disdain for films like Bonnie and Clyde, Clockwork Orange, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Near Dark, Blue Velvet, Heathers, Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction ....

This guy made a quote saying:
I'm afraid I can't see much difference between Spielberg's serious movie (Schindler's) and his boy's book movies
He actually says this about Schindler's List:


Spielberg could have done it with Schindler's List if he had dared to make a movie sympathetic to the SS. You may smile, but I'm not joking. How about a movie that deeply, compassionately entered into the German point of view in order to reveal how regular people with wives and children could be drawn into committing such horrors? How about a movie that showed that, at least potentially, we are them? A film that didn't locate the bad guys in an emotional galaxy far away? Of course, Spielberg could never make that film even if he tried to, because it would require too much insight on his part. And if he did make it, it would certainly not get Academy Awards-because it would not merely cycle through Good Housekeeping approved responses. It would make viewers really have to think. And thinking, real thinking, is always dangerous. They might be forced to realize things about themselves that they would rather avoid. They just might be made to squirm a little.
Did he even watch the film ? I doubt it. That paragraph says nothing of truth about the film. He has ZERO taste in film. He is living off of the Cassavetes soul and pimping it for his own ego. He oughta be ashamed.


Come on fellows...I know that. I'm not saying its up there with the best movies ever made as far as quality goes. I'm just saying its up there for ME PERSONALLY. I was just using this as an example of how peoples tastes vary. For me a film this remarkable with atmosphere, music, and mood ....things that are important to me as a filmmaker and film viewer.... it goes that far on my list. I know its nowhere near any classics....just for me personally.

I'm not saying it should be regarded by anyone else as being anywhere close to Star Wars and Schindlers List.
I was having a bit of fun and truly understand; The Return of the Living Dead is in my Deserted Islands List.

[Weston]

I was having a bit of fun and truly understand; The Return of the Living Dead is in my Deserted Islands List.


Cool....i didnt mean to sound aggrivated or anything..just making sure everyone understood. I've not seen Return of the living dead....its pretty sad how few movies i have seen. Perhaps thats why movies like the Village rank so high for me...

[jpeck]

Yah I know off topic, but I am following the discussion.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/gallowan/trofld1.jpg
I love this before the movie starts.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/gallowan/trofld2.jpg
Great zerg on the cops when they are called to the cemetery.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/gallowan/trofld3.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/gallowan/trofld4.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/gallowan/trofld5.jpg
This scene is great, showing the rain that is carrying the zombie virus/plague in it, as it carries through the ground and into graves. We then see a zombie crawl up through the earth.

If you haven't seen it, go check it out. You can buy the dvd for $5. Not amazing, brilliant or one of the best, but is entertaining as hell.

[jpeck]

Back on topic.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b395/gallowan/schindler1.jpg

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[J.R. Hudson]

It's never off topic when discussing TROTLD

[Billy Pilgrim]

It is a mystery that not only this guy has a job, but that some people are actually paying attention to this assclown of a professor.

I love John Cassavetes, and his articles and books about him, but he is extremely pretentious and obscurist. I'm not really into mainstream movies, but sometimes art and the mainstream mesh well and create good films that are genuinely good. I think he either knows that but refuses to admit it, or hasn't even really given the filmmakers and films a chance. He probably saw Raising Arizona and thought all the Coen's films are like that, without even considering Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Blood Simple, etc. I think perhaps he's too stubborn to find anythign redeeming in the films he badmouths.

Oh yeah, and I too love Return of the Living Dead. The sequels are awful though.

[J.R. Hudson]

I am growing to like Cassavetes more and more; I have thius far seen more of the John in front of the cmaera than behind but have just loved The Killing of a a Chinese Bookie and A Woman Under the Influence

The sequels to Return are a sham; too bad

-

I agree with you on Carney. Something tells me he is simply a pretencious arse who has really done nothing of his own; whoring the legacy of JC for his own benefit

[kgg]

"Spielberg could have done it with Schindler's List if he had dared to make a movie sympathetic to the SS. You may smile, but I'm not joking. How about a movie that deeply, compassionately entered into the German point of view in order to reveal how regular people with wives and children could be drawn into committing such horrors? How about a movie that showed that, at least potentially, we are them? A film that didn't locate the bad guys in an emotional galaxy far away? Of course, Spielberg could never make that film even if he tried to, because it would require too much insight on his part. And if he did make it, it would certainly not get Academy Awards-because it would not merely cycle through Good Housekeeping approved responses. It would make viewers really have to think. And thinking, real thinking, is always dangerous. They might be forced to realize things about themselves that they would rather avoid. They just might be made to squirm a little."


**
Not the angle I would have taken but in essence he is right. Spielberg could never make a movie that didnt have good and evil defined perfectly, in a very child-like way. He made the movie in black and white because, he said, people remember WW2 as black and white. Nope--HE remembered it as black and white, the people who lived through it remembered it in color. Awful things happen on sunny days. That's life. But for Spielberg really bad things dont happen in color--they have to be in another universe--black and white sets it apart--in history. I certainly hope he didnt have it in B and W to be arty or just to get mileage out of the red coat scene.

I thought the most disturbing scene to Spielberg's world view in the movie was when the little kid does the "cut throat" sign. But it was a little kid-younger veen than Elliot,-hardly old enough to understand--so maybe it was a cop out. If it had been a nice teen to adult German family standing on the sidelines, it would have been too disturbing for Spielberg. He cant have people with shades of grey.
And he couldnt kill a sympathetic character between Sugarland Express(I exclude Quint--not entirely sympathetic and a work for hire job) and Saving Private Ryan.

Schindler's List is not a challenging movie thematically-it was challenging only because Spielberg made it--and he was mainly known for making popcorn movies with simple characters (forget Color Purple--ET was still his most praised movie until Jurassic Park)and joking about nazis(Hitler signing Indiana Jones' book). SL is just stating the obvious--Nazis were bad. Oscar Schindler was not as nice a guy in real life as portrayed in the movie where he was hardly a grey character.


ET was big--HUGE in the 80s. Everywhere i looked they talked about this film as Spielberg's best. It even got a couple of theatrical runs--and he talked about never having it on video(until piracy forced him to). Its 2002 rerelease bombed. And he went in and changed the guns to walkie talkies because he didnt think it was convincing that soldiers or government agents would use guns against kids( kids harboring a diseased alien organism?). Still it bombed. Bad timing after 911? Or was it just that the movie no longer seemed as interesting. By contrast--the Thing bombed in 82--but has endured quite well over the years.

So the question of what type of legacy Spielberg will have is hard to determine --because a film that is received favorably now may not be so well remembered in 20 years.
Some of his recent movies like AI and War of the Worlds got some nasty reviews--charging he was trying to stick a happy ending on it(though he followed the HG Wells novel fairly closely--he was trying to please everyone).

He even changes views about his own movies--like Close Encounters. Dysfunctional dad abandons kids to chase aliens. He would never do that movie today.

My vote for Spielberg's underdog movie goes to the Lost World. It was his first post Schindler movie --uneven, strangely detached with plot holes and ludicrous moments as if he was trying to tell the audience he was bored with his summer movies, much darker than Jurassic Park with its Hookesque touches, was widely hated, and yet it is his only movie that has irony.
A) the little girl who feeds the creature and gets attacked for it. B)The nice guy Eddie who gets rewarded for saving his team mates by getting bitten in half(arguably the first sympathetic character in his popcorn movies to be killed )
C)the paleontologist who is afraid of snakes and gets killed by a dinosaur because of it D) the other kid whose dog gets eaten E) the endangered baby dinosaur gets the final kill and F) the message of the movie being that people are generally best kept away from interfering in "lost worlds."


Now that's dark.

Flame away. I'll try to drop by later to get warmed up.
;)

[J.R. Hudson]

Flame away. I'll try to drop by later to get warmed up.

No worries on the flaming as the majority of your post is simply off base and lacking in any sort of truth. That in itself is not a flame. But most of what you write here, is simply not true. There are several comments you make that immediately leap out at me as WTF comments. You sound like you're reciting something from 'How to read film' which we all know is bs anyway


Not the angle I would have taken but in essence he is right. Spielberg could never make a movie that didnt have good and evil defined perfectly

Munich leaps out immediately as a defining example to knock that statement out of the park. Not too mention the fact that Oskar was a greedy bastard from the onset and could obviously care less to the Jewish cause. Maybe you and Ray should go watch the watch the film ?


And he couldnt kill a sympathetic character between Sugarland Express(I exclude Quint--not entirely sympathetic and a work for hire job) and Saving Private Ryan.

Of course, it is always convenient to make that statement and then postdate it with an excuse ...

But

Aside from the many innocent victims in JAWS ....

Jurassic Park - Donald Gennaro and Robert Muldoon both are axed. Hardley evil characters and definatley leaning on the sympathetic. They were good guys.

Always - Pete Sandich dies and is the centerpiece of our film

Empire of the Sun - Mrs. Victor

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom - Kao Kan

Schindler's List - Could not kill a sympathetic character ?

Jurassic 2 - You summed that up with

and ofcourse what you already contradicted


A) the little girl who feeds the creature and gets attacked for it. B)The nice guy Eddie who gets rewarded for saving his team mates by getting bitten in half(arguably the first sympathetic character in his popcorn movies to be killed )
C)the paleontologist who is afraid of snakes and gets killed by a dinosaur because of it D) the other kid whose dog gets eaten E) the endangered baby dinosaur gets the final kill and F) the message of the movie being that people are generally best kept away from interfering in "lost worlds."


So the question of what type of legacy Spielberg will have is hard to determine

He is widely considered the finest filmmaker working today, of the last 20 years and possibly ever. His legacy is not in question but your post is.

I do praise your lengthy, detailed post. Even for the fluff.

I'll be here all week ;0

[MalcolmOng]

Well a little off topic here but i enjoyed 'The terminal' for one, and also Catherine Zeta Jone's character was definitely a sympathetic one - yet she got 'axed' so to speak. Along with the indian janitor... 'axed'. Granted i didn't understand the overtly villainous portrayal of the chief security guy, but other than that i really really enjoyed 'The Terminal'. How could you say spielberg couldn't let bad stuff happen to sympathetic characters?

[Draccan]

[deleted by user]

[Billy Pilgrim]

I wonder what Kubrick's Holocaust movie would have been like had he made it.

[ExtremeSleuth]

just got done rewatching Schindler's List again. no matter how many times i see it, it'll never grow old. great film, great film

[CallaghanFilms]

just got done rewatching Schindler's List again. no matter how many times i see it, it'll never grow old. great film, great film
__________________
Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world. She had to walk into mine. Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca)
Here's lookin' at you kid- Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca)
Hey, Ravines...
It should read "...she walks into mine."

[CallaghanFilms]

He is widely considered the finest filmmaker working today
http://bizart.com/animated/ag_checkmark.gif
of the last 20 years
http://bizart.com/animated/ag_checkmark.gif
and possibly ever
& http://bizart.com/animated/ag_checkmark.gif

[CallaghanFilms]

Kind of like trying to pick which of your children you love best...:thumbsup:

#01 Raiders of the Lost Ark (#3 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#02 Saving Private Ryan (#17 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#03 E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (#22 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#04 Schindler’s List (#28 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#05 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (#31 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#06 Jaws (#34 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#07 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (#46 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#08 Jurassic Park (#81 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#09 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (#90 on the Callaghan All Time List)
#10 Artificial Intelligence: AI (Just missed the cut for the Callaghan All Time List)


To sum up...
9 outta the the best 100 films of all time (damn near 10%) were created by the genius of Spielberg IMO!

[SPZ]

Not Spielbergs best. Want a good holocaust movie? See Life is Beautiful, with Begnini. Same "black and white" story, but freshly presented. A lot more powerful than Schindler, in my opinion.

[J.R. Hudson]

Not Spielbergs best. Want a good holocaust movie? See Life is Beautiful, with Begnini. Same "black and white" story, but freshly presented. A lot more powerful than Schindler, in my opinion.


What film do you consider Steve's best work ?

Life is Beautiful and The Pianist are both wonderful films ...

But Schindler's blows them out of the water, IMO of course. I find Life 'too cute' for my tastes and The Pianist 'too somber' whereas Schindler's List balances all of our emotions seamlessly; the humor, the cuteness, the horror, the comedy, the smiles, the tears ....

[Daniel Wee]

How come no one has mentioned Janusz Kaminski at all in this thread? I would have thought that he contributed a large part to the success of SL.

Daniel Wee

[SPZ]

Well, John, in my opinion, for Steve's best work I would say A.I. I know the script is part Kubrick, but I really think its Spielberg at his best, playing with the elements he feels most confortable with.

[Editor]

Well, John, in my opinion, for Steve's best work I would say A.I. I know the script is part Kubrick, but I really think its Spielberg at his best, playing with the elements he feels most confortable with.

:huh: :huh: :huh:

[SPZ]

:huh: :huh: :huh:

I know, its just my personal opinion, really :)

[J.R. Hudson]

How come no one has mentioned Janusz Kaminski at all in this thread? I would have thought that he contributed a large part to the success of SL.

Daniel Wee

Of course Janusz is the man and his collaboration with Steven over the years has produced some killer work; let us not confuse who is the real magician behind the curtain.

It is Steven Spielberg

-

Take a look at all of Spielberg's masterpieces:

From Jaws to Raiders to E.T. and Schindler's List and Jurassic Park and Close Encounter's ...

The cinemaphotographer's have changed but not the stroryteller. I do find that since Janusz came onboard starting with Schindler's List, Spielberg's films have never looked better.

[They are Them]

Take a look at all of Spielberg's masterpieces:

From Jaws to Raiders to E.T. and Schindler's List and Jurassic Park and Close Encounter's ...

The cinemaphotographer's have changed but not the stroryteller. I do find that since Janusz came onboard starting with Schindler's List, Spielberg's films have never looked better.

agreed!