Product Details

• Actors: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagall
• Directors: Steven Spielberg
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English, German, Hebrew, Polish
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: August 29, 1995
• Run Time: 197 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (628 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303168507
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,637 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
Steven Spielberg had a banner year in 1993. He scored one of his biggest commercial hits that summer with the mega-hit Jurassic Park, but it was the artistic and critical triumph of Schindler's List that Spielberg called "the most satisfying experience of my career." Adapted from the best-selling book by Thomas Keneally and filmed in Poland with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, Spielberg's masterpiece ranks among the greatest films ever made about the Holocaust during World War II. It's a film about heroism with an unlikely hero at its center--Catholic war profiteer Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who risked his life and went bankrupt to save more than 1,000 Jews from certain death in concentration camps.

By employing Jews in his crockery factory manufacturing goods for the German army, Schindler ensures their survival against terrifying odds. At the same time, he must remain solvent with the help of a Jewish accountant (Ben Kingsley) and negotiate business with a vicious, obstinate Nazi commandant (Ralph Fiennes) who enjoys shooting Jews as target practice from the balcony of his villa overlooking a prison camp. Schindler's List gains much of its power not by trying to explain Schindler's motivations, but by dramatizing the delicate diplomacy and determination with which he carried out his generous deeds.

As a drinker and womanizer who thought nothing of associating with Nazis, Schindler was hardly a model of decency; the film is largely about his transformation in response to the horror around him. Spielberg doesn't flinch from that horror, and the result is a film that combines remarkable humanity with abhorrent inhumanity--a film that functions as a powerful history lesson and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the context of a living nightmare. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
The story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a dashing and resourceful German Catholic businessman who saved more than a thousand Polish Jews from almost certain annihilation by the Nazis, is extraordinary even by the standards of Holocaust literature. Steven Spielberg's film, adapted by Steven Zaillian from the 1982 book by Thomas Keneally, runs better than three hours and doesn't seem a minute too long. Spielberg respects the essential mystery of the protagonist's heroism, and uses his prodigious skills with an intensity that he hasn't shown in a long time: he captures images of experiences that most of us thought we would never see represented adequately on the screen. This is by far the finest, fullest dramatic (i.e. nondocumentary) film ever made about the Holocaust. And few American movies since the silent era have had anything approaching this picture's narrative boldness, visual audacity, and emotional directness. Along with Neeson, who is brilliant, the standouts in the large cast are Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, and Embeth Davidtz. The wonderfully expressive black-and-white cinematography is by Janusz Kaminski. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

163 of 194 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cinematic masterpiece!, February 21, 2001

By	Mike Powers "mkp51" (Boothbay, ME United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Schindler's List (Widescreen Edition) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Meet Oskar Schindler. A German living in occupied Poland during World War II. A member in good standing of the Nazi party. A womanizer, a war profiteer...and ultimately a man of conscience. A man who became one of the great unsung heroes and humanitarians of the war.

"Schindler's List" chronicles Oskar Schindler's spiritual odyssey from war profiteer to humanitarian and hero. Winner of seven Academy Awards® in 1993, including Best Picture, this harrowing and heart-rending film is Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, and perhaps one of the finest and most important movies ever made. It depicts Schindler's ultimately successful attempt to rescue 1,100 Jews from Hitler's "Final Solution" by getting them to safety outside Poland.

Dynamic performances abound in this beautiful movie, Especially noteworthy are Liam Neeson as the suave Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as the monstrously depraved Nazi colonel, Amon Goeth, and Ben Kingsley as the dignified, principled Jewish prisoner Itzhak Stern.

"Schindler's List" is definitely not light entertainment! This beautiful movie allows viewers to feel like they're actually a part of one of the darkest, most horrific periods in history. (I'm sure this is the reason the film was shot in black-and-white, with only minor "colorized" bits included.) The story of the Holocaust needs to be told over and over again, in hopes that future generations can understand the horrors perpetrated on an entire race of people and prevent future occurrences. "Schindler's List" is perhaps one of the best and most effective vehicles for telling that story I've ever experienced.

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A phenomenal movie that everyone should see, May 26, 2000

By	"maelstrom1" (Edmonton, Canada) - See all my reviews

Schindler's List is my favorite historical drama of all-time for a number of reasons. Not only is it a masterpiece from a cinematic point of view, but it is priceless for the story it tells to the world.

First of all, the acting is superb. Liam Neeson does well as Oskar Schindler, but in particular I liked Ben Kingsley (as Istak Stern, Schindler's accountant) and Ralph Fiennes (as Amon Goeth, the camp commandant). All of the performances were very convincing and reflect the good casting.

Another great feature of this film is the soundtrack. Slow, soaring music tells of the painful circumstances of the Jews and of their conflict with the Nazi regime. Mixed in with the instrumental pieces are Jewish melodies which also gave me a sense of the cultural traditions of the Jewish people.

From a technical point of view, the decision by director Spielberg to shoot the movie is black-and-white was a good one. In fact, I think it makes the movie better than it would have been in color. The few color segments throughout the movie are aptly placed and help to focus the viewer's attention on particular details through the eyes of Schindler. The scenery and photography were excellent compared to other movies I have seen and contribute to the whole atmosphere of the 1940s. Some people may be put off a bit by the length (over 3 hours) but believe me, every minute is worthwhile. Unlike other long movies, there are no lulls or useless scenes -- everything counts.

The best part of the movie without any doubt is the story itself, the tale of Oskar Schindler and how he was able to save 1100 Jews from the Auschwitz gas chambers by employing them in his enamelware factory and eventually his shelling factory. Schindler's ambition and personal success shines through amidst the Jewish tragedy and shows how one man, if he has the willpower, can accomplish what appears to be impossible. Based on the novel by Thomas Keneally (which I have not yet had the opportunity to read), this movie digs deep into the human soul and shows how different people are able to survive.

There are many touching moments in this film; in particular, near the end when the war has been declared over and the Nazis must flee from the Soviet army. This part and the modern-day segment that follows are both truly heart-warming tributes. I finished watching this movie for about the fourth time yesterday, and even though I didn't cry, tears welled up in my eyes (and this rarely happens when I watch movies).

This movie is a must-see not only for its excellence in the film genre but for the story it presents to the viewer. Although it is not suitable for young children (due to its violence and mature content), any mature individual should see it so they can understand that a spark of good can still exist in a fire of evil. This movie deserved all of the Academy Awards that it received and will likely remain in top ten lists for at least the next fifty years. Highly recommended.

95 of 116 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The List Is A Life, June 5, 2002

By	Erik North (San Gabriel, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Any way you stack it, Steven Spielberg's 1993 masterpiece SCHINDLER'S LIST is one of the most important and enlightening films ever made. It is a heartfelt, deeply personal film about one of the ghastliest events in human history--the Holocaust--and how one man, a Nazi profiteer by the name of Oskar Schindler, while motivated by money, managed to save some 1200 Jews from the gas chambers of Auschwitz during World War II.

Spielberg wisely does not gloss over the fact that Schindler was every bit the womanizer as he was an astute, cagey businessman who made deals with the Nazis to set up an enamelware factory in the Cracow ghetto and employ the Jewish populace there. But his very trusted secretary Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) manages to awaken a latent spark of humanity in the once cold-blooded Schindler. By the time the war is over and the facts are known about the Nazi atrocities, Schindler is financially broke but spiritually enriched. "He who saves one life saves the world entire."

Filmed in somber, documentary-like black-and-white by Janusz Kaminski, SCHINDLER'S LIST features superb performances by Neeson and Kingsley, as well as British actor Ralph Fiennes as the extraordinarily chilling Nazi commandant Amon Goeth, whose basic senses of Nazi business Schindler must appeal to while keeping the fact that he is sheltering the Jews a secret. Spielberg spares nothing in showing us the horrors of the Nazis barbarism; and although it is, not surprisingly, a very lengthy film (three hours and ten minutes), a lot happens for us to absorb, so it never becomes ponderous or heavy-handed.

Winner of seven Oscars, including a Best Director nod to Spielberg that was long overdue, SCHINDLER'S LIST shows us the worst in humanity, but also the best as well. Even in so much pain and death, there is hope. And that is why this film is such a masterpiece.