Every year more and more good and not very good content is added to the cinema piggy bank. The film industry continues to gain momentum, constantly inventing new special effects, as well as filming remakes of old productions.
However, there are masterpieces created just once, which are unlikely to ever be decided to retake. One such cinema achievement is the 1993 Schindler List.
Movie making: start
In 1983, a book called Schindler’s Ark fell into the hands of Steven Spielberg (director and producer). Its author is Thomas Kenilli, who took the plot from the real life of Poldeck Pfefferber, a Jew who was saved thanks to the German industrialist Oscar Schindler.
Poldek was burning with the idea of ​​revealing to the whole world the name of the savior of the Jews, because the first attempt to remove autobiographical work was made back in 1963 by screenwriter Howard Koch. However, this did not happen.
Continuation: after 10 years
After reading the novel, Stephen Spielberg was encouraged, but the decision to create a project on the Holocaust was given to him rather difficult. Despite the fact that the studio Universal acquired the right to implement this project in the same year, the director began to work only after 10 years. During this period, Spielberg repeatedly tried to transfer the work to others, this list included: Sidney Pollack, Martin Scorsese and Roman Polanski. Each of them refused for personal reasons.
Filming of the "Schindler's List", the reviews of which are presented in the article, lasted a total of 72 days and were completed 4 days ahead of schedule.
Plot
In 1939, by order of the fascist command, Jews were obliged to arrive in large cities for registration and resettlement in the ghetto (places for isolating Jews from all others).
At this time, an industrialist from Germany Oscar Schindler arrives in Krakow with the aim of creating a factory in which enameled dishes will be produced.
After receiving all the permissions for the desired idea, Oscar can only back it up with a monetary base. Based on the poor situation of the Jews, driven into the ghetto, Schindler makes an advantageous offer to the rich Jews, whom they cannot refuse at all: due to the inability to use their money (due to the ban imposed by the Nazis), they exchange them for goods offered by Oscars.
Schindler gives control of the factory to Yitzhak Stern, who at that time was a member of the local Jewish Council. The people willingly decide to work with a German industrialist, since in this way they can leave the hated ghetto at least for a while. To help his brothers, Stern skillfully forges documents that confirm their professional skills.
It goes uphill, and Schindler is bathed in money. He is convinced of his theory about the war: it is precisely these cruel conditions that guarantee the prosperity of business.
However, the views of the protagonist begin to change at the very moment when German officer Amon Goet arrives in Krakow. The purpose of his arrival is the order to liquidate the ghetto.
Schindler, more and more filled with humanism, specifically enlisted the support of Goethe to further save his workers.
When Amon receives another order to close the Plashov camp and send the Jews from it to Auschwitz for extermination, Schindler uses his previously acquired useful contacts, thus persuading his workers to remain alive. Schindler and Stern begin to make a list of those who will have to avoid one of the worst deaths - Auschwitz. It was this picture that served as the name for the film, whose slogan reads: "This list is life."
Most of his workers easily get to Czechoslovakia, where they will have to continue to work in Schindler’s hometown Zwittau-Brinnlitz. However, everything is not going according to plan, when a train with women and children is mistakenly sent to a concentration camp. Everything would end in tragedy, if not for the main character, who gave a bribe to a high-ranking official.
All the money the factory brings to Schindler, he spends on bribing the officers guarding his company until the war ends and Germany does not tolerate surrender.
As a “fascist and slave owner," Schindler needs to go on the run. In parting, the saved Jews give him a letter and a golden ring made of the tooth crowns of one of the workers.
The next morning, a Red Army officer arrives with good news, announcing that the Jews are now free. Workers are served in the nearest village.
Recent episodes
The end of the film "Schindler's List" penetrates to the core: real shots are shown in which the rescued Jews and their descendants lay stones on the grave of their hero. In the most recent episode, a man whose face is hidden lays flowers on a monument. This person is the actor who played Schindler himself.
A genuine list of rescued Jews was found only in 2000, 7 years after the picture was taken. It had 800 men, 300 women and 100 children.
Oscar Schindler died in 1974 and was buried in Israel - in the place of people who survived thanks to him. The phrase, sounding in the film, is posthumously carved on the grave: "He who saves one life, saves the whole world."
Actors of the 1993 Schindler List
The large-scale picture has about 150 roles; for the translation into Russian, the dubbing actors took about 4 months to complete the dubbing.
The responsibility for the leading role of the German industrialist and savior of Jewish souls was assumed by William John Neeson and was nominated for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and a British Academy Award award for Best Actor.
The role of Yitzhak Stern was played by the already excellent actor Oscar at that time, Ben Kingsley, also known for the film “Island of the Damned”, “The Lucky Number of Slevin” and others.
Amon Goethe played the main anti-hero in the 1993 Schindler's List film by Rafe Fiennes, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The actor was so similar to his prototype that when he met with the former prisoner of Auschwitz, Mila Pfefferberg, the latter could not restrain the trembling of excitement.
For this role, Rafe even specially recovered by 13 kilograms. According to Spielberg, he invited this actor because of sexuality, which is not the devil himself.
In the role of Oscar Schindler’s wife, actress Caroline Goodall appeared, known for the films “White Flurry”, “Silver Wind”, etc.
Also in the film "Schindler's List" was attended by such actors as Ambet Davidz, Jonathan Segal, Malgos Gebel, Shmuel Levy and others.
Dubbing
The film was translated into many languages, and Russia was no exception.
In the voice acting of the film "Schindler's List" in 1993, the actors did their best. About 150 people were involved in the process.
Only some of the famous Russians:
- Andrey Martynov (Oscar Schindler);
- Alexey Borzunov (Yitzhak Stern);
- Andrey Tashkov (Amon Get) and others.
Reviews
There are many reviews of critics and audience responses to this cinematic picture. We can say that the public fairly estimated the sentimental picture, which hardly could have left anyone indifferent.
According to “KinoPoisk” reviews, the film “Schindler’s List” is in the top 250 best and takes the 4th place in it, skipping ahead only three of the same ingenious paintings: “Shawshank Redemption”, “Green Mile” and “Forrest Gump” .
In the percentage ratio, 91% are positive comments, the remaining 9% include both negative and neutral reviews of the film.
Reviews of the film "Schindler's List" in 1993 present a different vision of the picture. However, in one the majority of opinions agree: no one is forgotten, and nothing will be forgotten.
Music from the movie "Schindler's List"
In 1994, the author of brilliant compositions, John Williams received an Oscar, and a year later he won the Grammy Award.
The original score was written with violinist Yitzhak Perlman. The album bears the same name for the film and includes 14 tracks.
Achievements
In the top of the best films "Schindler's List" you can rightly put in the top five masterpieces. The success of the painting was legitimized by as many as 7 Oscar statuettes:
- best movie;
- Best Director (Steven Spielberg);
- The best work of the operator (Janusz Kaminsky);
- Best Screenplay (Stephen Zaillan);
- best editing (Michael Kahn);
- the best scenery (Allan Starsky);
- best original soundtrack (John Williams).
Budget and fees
Schindler’s List is the most expensive black and white film in the history of cinema (its budget is $ 25 million).
Charges in the United States amounted to about 96 million dollars, and around the world - about 225 million.
An interesting twist: Steven Spielberg refused his earned fee, believing that it was "bloody money." Instead, he decided to found the Shoa Foundation on them, the purpose of which was to store documents, testimonies and interviews of the victims of the extermination, which included the Holocaust.
Interesting Facts
- In order to take on this picture, Steven Spielberg took as much as 10 years.
- Thanks to director and filmmaker Billy Wilder, who managed to work on the first version of the script, Spielberg agreed to a future masterpiece. It was Wilder who persuaded him to take this serious, but correct step, as was confirmed in the future.
- The scene showing the liquidation of the ghetto of the city of Krakow, took only one page in volume, in connection with which Spielberg decided to stretch the picture to 20 pages, as well as up to 20 minutes of film adaptation. To recreate the episode he was helped by eyewitnesses of those terrible events.
- Auschwitz refused the request to shoot the film in it, because the director had to do a lot of work, namely: to recreate nearby scenery that imitate this concentration camp in detail.
- Since it was decided in advance that the film “Schindler's List” would be depicted in black and white, it was impossible to use anything that had a green tint in the film, as it could negatively affect the black and white film.
- Almost 40% of the filming was carried out in a mode that requires working with a manual movie camera.
- The film crew needed to provide clothing for about 20 thousand extras, because costume designer Anna B. Sheppard posted an ad in Poland stating that the studio needed war clothes. Due to the difficult situation in the country at that time, the Poles with great desire sold things from the 30s and 40s.
- Despite the fact that the film is black and white, the color still appears in it, but only once. It is at this moment that the main character’s consciousness turns over when he faces the image of a little girl in a red coat. A red coat is the main idea of ​​the whole picture. Enthusiastic reviews about the film "Schindler's List" after this episode were not long in coming.
- Schindler's current listing was put up for auction in 2013.
- It was with this film that Spielberg began working with Kaminsky, which continues to this day. All future paintings of Stephen began to be removed only by Janusz.
- Roman Polanski (author of the famous film “The Pianist”) refused Spielberg’s offer to take the plot under his wing for the reason that his past was closely intertwined with the theme: the director’s childhood was 8 years old next to the Krakow ghetto, where he escaped on the day of liquidation. However, his mother was not saved and later died in Auschwitz.
- Spielberg initially pondered the idea of ​​making a film in Polish and German, inserting English subtitles into it.
- Lawyer for singer and actor Pete Doherty, whose name was Emon Sherry, committed suicide after watching this picture. According to his wife, his psyche was influenced by detailed displays of concentration camps.
- In the story, Amon Geth was hanged the first time, which is actually not true: in a true story, he died only after the third attempt.
Finally
Reviews for the movie "Schindler's List" will appear with each subsequent year, since the masterpiece has no expiration date. Thanks to such paintings, each new generation gets acquainted with terrifying, but necessary for memory events of the past. The cruelty of man knows no boundaries, just as he knows no boundaries and his talent.