Schindler's List facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Schindler's List |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
Produced by |
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Screenplay by | Steven Zaillian |
Starring |
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Music by | John Williams |
Cinematography | Janusz Kamiński |
Editing by | Michael Kahn |
Studio |
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Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date(s) | November 30, 1993(Washington, D.C.) December 15, 1993 (United States) |
Running time | 195 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $22 million |
Money made | $322.2 million |
Schindler's List is a 1993 American movie set in World War II, and directed by Steven Spielberg. It is based on Schindler's Ark, a 1982 book by Thomas Keneally. The movie and the book owe their names to the list of over a thousand Jews who worked in the title character's factory.
Ideas for a film about the Schindlerjuden (Schindler Jews) were proposed as early as 1963. Poldek Pfefferberg, one of the Schindlerjuden, made it his life's mission to tell Schindler's story. Spielberg became interested when executive Sidney Sheinberg sent him a book review of Schindler's Ark. Universal Pictures bought the rights to the novel, but Spielberg, unsure if he was ready to make a film about the Holocaust, tried to pass the project to several directors before deciding to direct it.
Principal photography took place in Kraków, Poland, over 72 days in 1993. Spielberg shot in black and white and approached the film as a documentary. Cinematographer Janusz Kamiński wanted to create a sense of timelessness. John Williams composed the score, and violinist Itzhak Perlman performed the main theme.
Schindler's List premiered on November 30, 1993, in Washington, D.C., and was released on December 15, 1993, in the United States. Often listed among the greatest films ever made, the film received universal acclaim for its tone, acting (particularly Neeson, Fiennes, and Kingsley), atmosphere, score, cinematography, and Spielberg's direction; it was also a box office success, earning $322 million worldwide on a $22 million budget. It was nominated for twelve awards at the 66th Academy Awards, and won seven, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Spielberg), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score. The film won numerous other awards, including seven BAFTAs and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked Schindler's List 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all time. The film was designated as "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress in 2004 and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Following the success of the film, Spielberg founded the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the goal of providing an archive for the filmed testimony of as many survivors of the Holocaust as possible, to save their stories. He continues to finance that work. Spielberg used proceeds from the film to finance several related documentaries, including Anne Frank Remembered (1995), The Lost Children of Berlin (1996), and The Last Days (1998).
Contents
Plot
In Kraków during World War II, the Nazis force local Polish Jews into the overcrowded Kraków Ghetto. Oskar Schindler, a German Nazi Party member from Czechoslovakia, arrives in the city, hoping to make his fortune. He bribes Wehrmacht (German armed forces) and SS officials, acquiring a factory to produce enamelware. Schindler hires Itzhak Stern, a Jewish official with contacts among black marketeers and the Jewish business community; he handles administration and helps Schindler arrange financing. Stern ensures that as many Jewish workers as possible are deemed essential to the German war effort to prevent them from being taken by the SS to concentration camps or killed.
Cast
- Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler
- Ben Kingsley as Itzhak Stern
- Ralph Fiennes as Amon Göth
- Caroline Goodall as Emilie Schindler
- Jonathan Sagall as Poldek Pfefferberg
- Embeth Davidtz as Helen Hirsch
- Małgorzata Gebel as Wiktoria Klonowska
- Mark Ivanir as Marcel Goldberg
- Beatrice Macola as Ingrid
- Andrzej Seweryn as Julian Scherner
- Friedrich von Thun as Rolf Czurda
- Jerzy Nowak as Investor
- Norbert Weisser as Albert Hujar
- Anna Mucha as Danka Dresner
- Adi Nitzan as Mila Pfefferberg
- Piotr Polk as Leo Rosner
- Rami Heuberger as Joseph Bau
- Ezra Dagan as Rabbi Menasha Lewartow
- Elina Löwensohn as Diana Reiter
- Hans-Jörg Assmann as Julius Madritsch
- Hans-Michael Rehberg as Rudolf Höß
- Daniel Del Ponte as Josef Mengele
- Oliwia Dąbrowska as the Girl in Red
Accolades
Spielberg won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film for his work, and shared the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture with co-producers Branko Lustig and Gerald R. Molen. Steven Zaillian won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won the National Board of Review for Best Film, along with the National Society of Film Critics for Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematography. Awards from the New York Film Critics Circle were also won for Best Film, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Cinematographer. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded the film for Best Film, Best Cinematography (tied with The Piano), and Best Production Design. The film also won numerous other awards and nominations worldwide.
Category | Subject | Result |
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Academy Awards | ||
Best Picture |
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Won |
Best Director | Steven Spielberg | Won |
Best Adapted Screenplay | Steven Zaillian | Won |
Best Original Score | John Williams | Won |
Best Film Editing | Michael Kahn | Won |
Best Cinematography | Janusz Kamiński | Won |
Best Art Direction |
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Won |
Best Actor | Liam Neeson | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actor | Ralph Fiennes | Nominated |
Best Makeup |
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Nominated |
Best Sound |
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Nominated |
Best Costume Design | Anna B. Sheppard | Nominated |
ACE Eddie Award | ||
Best Editing | Michael Kahn | Won |
BAFTA Awards | ||
Best Film |
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Won |
Best Direction | Steven Spielberg | Won |
Best Supporting Actor | Ralph Fiennes | Won |
Best Adapted Screenplay | Steven Zaillian | Won |
Best Music | John Williams | Won |
Best Editing | Michael Kahn | Won |
Best Cinematography | Janusz Kamiński | Won |
Best Supporting Actor | Ben Kingsley | Nominated |
Best Actor | Liam Neeson | Nominated |
Best Makeup and Hair |
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Nominated |
Best Production Design | Allan Starski | Nominated |
Best Costume Design | Anna B. Sheppard | Nominated |
Best Sound |
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Nominated |
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | ||
Best Film |
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Won |
Best Director | Steven Spielberg | Won |
Best Screenplay | Steven Zaillian | Won |
Best Cinematography | Janusz Kamiński | Won |
Best Actor | Liam Neeson | Won |
Best Supporting Actor | Ralph Fiennes | Won |
Golden Globe Awards | ||
Best Motion Picture – Drama |
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Won |
Best Director | Steven Spielberg | Won |
Best Screenplay | Steven Zaillian | Won |
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | Liam Neeson | Nominated |
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Ralph Fiennes | Nominated |
Best Original Score | John Williams | Nominated |
Year | List | Result |
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1998 | AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies | #9 |
2003 | AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains | Oskar Schindler – #13 hero; Amon Göth – #15 villain |
2005 | AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movie Quotes | "The list is an absolute good. The list is life." – nominated |
2006 | AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers | #3 |
2007 | AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) | #8 |
2008 | AFI's 10 Top 10 | #3 epic film |
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: La lista de Schindler para niños