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Germany set out for war in the 1930s and got it by 1939.
Their armies were superbly trained and quickly defeated all
who opposed them, with the exception of Britain.
In total domination of Western Europoe, the Balkans and most
of Eastern Europe the Germans and their Nazi leaders then
set out on an insane plan to wipe out those who they thought
were sub-humans. Jews, Slavs, homosexuals and the physically
and mentally ill.
To achieve this they began by working people to death in
slave camps and when that wasn't going fast enough, they tried
shooting them, experimenting on them and lastly The Final
Solution - gassing them.
Millions of people - including more than 6 million Jews and
gypsies - were butchered by these criminals whose actions
made them sub-humans.
The atrocities can barely be believed when you read them
and watching film of the countless bodies being bulldozed
into mass graves are gut wrenching in the extreme.
One of the most powerful movies ever made about the Holocaust
comes from Steven Spielberg and is his adaptation of the book
Schindler's Ark by Thomas Kenneally.
Spielberg's movie was known as Schindler's List and is based
on the tale of a German entrepreneur who starts out looking
after only himself and ends up verging on sainthood by saving
hundreds of people from Nazi extermination.
Schindler is played to perfection by Liam Neeson in possibly
his best acting role ever. He absolutely dominates the film
as both an amoral seeker of riches (and women) and a man who
finally sees just what horrendous things are being done around
him and trying to do something about it.
His main foil is the Nazi officer Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes)
who is truly the epitomy of an evil man. Given complete power
over unfortunates Goeth and his men murder and torture at
will. Goeth enjoys his role as God and Fiennes performance
is again one of the best he has ever done.
The last of the trio of superb performances comes from Ben
Kingsley who plays Itzhak Stern, a Jewish accountant who is
forced to assist Schindler and over time influences him for
the better and helping him to prepare his list of those who
will hopefully survive the concentration camps.
The video transfer is black and white and is utterly stunning.
There are no imperfections and the movie is like wandering
through an animated collection of some of the great photojournalists
like Robert Capa and W. Eugene Smith mixed with the printing
brilliance of people like Ansell Adams and Robert Mapplethorpe.
(Without the latter's subject matter).
Mind you there is one spot of colour - a little Jewish girl's
red coat - and that appears every now and then and sums up
the journey of millions of people. The sound is very good,
but nothing exceptional.
Conclusion: Movie 85% Extras 80%
Continued:
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