SCHINDLER'S LIST

US, 1993, 187 minutes, Colour and Black and white.
Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Embeth Davidz, Caroline Goodall
Directed by Steven Spielberg

With Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg combined his considerable cinema talents with his acknowledgement of his Jewish past. In the years following, he sponsored a video library of interviews with Holocaust survivors. While feted for his entertainments like the Indiana Jones trilogy, ET and the Jurassic Park movies, Spielberg has always shown a serious side to his movie-making: Duel, The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, Amistad and Minority Report. The movie won Oscars for Best Film, Director, Screenplay (from Australian Thomas Keneally's Booker-winning novel, Schindler's Ark), Cinematography and Musical Score.

Screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Searching for Bobby Fischer, A Civil Action) has been able to write a powerful Holocaust story, an insightful overview of the war in Central Europe and a gallery of forceful characters which the cast bring persuasively to life. Liam Neeson has the role of a lifetime as Schindler. He is convincing as the eager wheeler-dealer and as the man who undergoes a deep conversion. Ben Kingsley is intelligent and repressed as Stern. Ralph Fiennes gives a tour-de-force portrayal of all that was evil in Nazi superiority and cruelty.

The black and white photography makes the Holocaust more visually graphic than colour. However, the colour for the initial candle being lit and extinguished as the smoke curls up anticipating the chimney smoke, for the little girl with the red coat, and for the final tribute to Schindler in Israel is fitting. Schindler's List is already a cinema classic.

1. The acclaim for the film? Awards? The work of Steven Spielberg, his reputation? The aftermath of his making the film, the video record of the Holocaust survivors?

2. The significance of the film in the early 1990s? For Jewish audiences around the world? For non-Jewish audiences? Western audiences? The memory of the Holocaust and its preservation? Anti - Semitism, the possibility of non-Jews helping the Jews and a breaking-down of prejudice? The impact on the audiences? The critics?

3. The work of Thomas Kennealy, the award-winning novel, the quality of the screen adaptation, focusing its scope, the story of Schindler himself, the Schindler Jews? The background story of Nazism, anti-Semitism, the concentration camps?

4. Oskar Schindler and his background: Czech, Aryan, Nazi, entrepreneur and profiteer? His basic humanity? His shrewdness, wanting to live the good life, his theory about luck and war, his libertine style, yet a good man, Catholic upbringing, having a conscience which could be appealed to? The experience of the war, the destruction of the Krakow ghetto, a conversion experience, his saving the Jews, losing all his money, the end and his being a war criminal? The Jews considering him a righteous man? His post-war failures, the collapse of his marriage? Jewish appreciation, the tomb in Jerusalem, the Schindler survivors coming and putting a stone on the grave alongside the actors who portrayed them?

5. Audience knowledge of the Holocaust, attitude towards the atrocities, the Jews and their suffering, anti-Semitism of the '30s and '40s? A challenge to the contemporary world?

6. The opening with the candle, the colour, the ceremonies, the flame extinguished, the curling smoke, the transition to the chimneys, to the Holocaust? The end with the candle being relit, the ceremonies, the light, the transition to colour and contemporary Jerusalem?

7. The black and white photography, its effect? The city of Krakow, the interiors, the streets and the buildings, Auschwitz, the factories? The musical score, the integration of Jewish melodies, the moods?

8. Krakow as the focus of the film, Poland in the 1930s, the number of Jews, after the war the few Jews in Poland? The city, the registering of all the Jewish citizens, their reaction, moving to the ghetto, leaving their beautiful homes and property, the squalor of where they had to live?

9. Ghetto life, the wealthy people and their money and treasures gone, crowded into hovels, their jobs, some playing music, others working in the factories, those who were the Jewish Police and the reactions of the Jews to these officials?

10. The introduction to Oskar Schindler, seeing him dressing, his Nazi emblems, at the restaurant, his arrogant attitude, the tables, his shrewdness in observation, the gifts, the approaches to the officials, the photos, the drinking, dancing? His name becoming important? His motivation for profit, buying the factories? His seeking out Stern, bargaining with him, discussions with the wealthy Jews in the car, their backing the enterprise?

11. His obtaining of the factory, the list of workers from the ghetto, enabling them to have some freedom outside the walls, freedom to barter, a better quality to their living? Taking in all kinds of workers, wanting experts but allowing even the cripples? Bargaining for Jewish workers rather than having to pay less for Polish workers? The Jews having to shovel the snow before they worked in the factory? Stern and his management, knowing what gifts and bribes to be given to officials? The crisis with Stern in the train, having forgotten to take his papers? Freeing him?

12. Schindler establishing himself as an important person in Krakow, his wife coming from Czechoslovakia, her being insulted by the doorman as if she were a mistress, her decision to leave? Schindler and his womanising? His style of life, the arrival of Goeth? Observing him, shrewdly relating to him?

13. Goeth, the Nazi and arrogant man, the house and his wanting to rebuild the villa, the engineer who explained the foundation difficulties and his shooting her and using her ideas? His line-up of the prisoners and picking the servants, arbitrarily shooting prisoners, sniping from his room? His choice of Helen as a servant? His relationships with women?

14. His meeting Schindler, the discussions about power and control, Schindler's shrewdness in explaining the magnanimity of pardoning? Goeth and his looking in the mirror, assuming the attitudes of a Roman Emperor, pardoning - yet shooting the boy? The destruction of the ghetto and his ruthlessness? The building of the labour camp? Any potential humanity? His celebrations - and the irony of Schindler and his kissing the Jewish servant girl at the party? Goeth and his relationship with Helen, Schindler talking with her and ultimately saving her?

15. The visuals of the destruction of the ghetto, the little girl in the red coat and the camera focusing on her, the symbol of the persecution? Her hiding under the bed (and the later digging up of the buried victims and finding her red coat)? The various ploys for survival, the young man pretending that he was asked to collect the bodies and saving himself?

16. The progress of the war, the factory closing, Schindler and his plea to the officials to keep it open? His decision to use his money to buy the workers, asking Stern to make up the list? The focus overseas on putting people on the list, increasing the number? Schindler being arrested, the arguments against his imprisonment, Goeth witnessing for him? His own freedom? The appeal by the young woman for the saving of her elderly parents in Krakow, his asking her to leave - yet his doing it? Going to the station, the trains and carriages in the heat full of prisoners, his genial persuasion of the Germans to hose down the carriages so that the prisoners would be cooled and have water to drink?

17. His ability to save the people on the list, getting the men in the train and their going to Czechoslovakia to work in the factory? The women, the wrong train, its being directed to Auschwitz, their increasing terror, their being shaved, going into the showers, expecting to be killed - as they had discussed amongst themselves with the rumours about the camps? The officials and their behaviour, the women not being killed?

18. The scenes in the camp, the various people going on the trains to their deaths, the round-up of the children, the women following and grieving at their children being taken, the devices which the children used to hide, the little boy and his being crowded out, hiding in the toilet?

19. Schindler and his setting up the factory, the work, the experts, sabotaging the production of weapons? Asking the rabbi to celebrate the ceremonies again? Churchill and the broadcast about surrender, the guards listening and Schindler inviting them to leave? His final speech, explaining that he was a profiteer and a criminal? The forging of the gold ring, the testimony to him, giving him letters of recommendation? His grief and lament that he could have done more?

20. An American epic of the 1990s, the memory of the Holocaust, the establishment of Israel, a film for anti-Semitism? The gratitude of the Schindler Jews for people like Schindler? The impact of the final sequence in Jerusalem with everybody putting stones on Schindler's grave?