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Schindler’s List

February 6, 2012 by · Comments Off on Schindler’s List 

Schindler’s List, Schindler’s List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally.

It stars Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel (SS)-officer Amon G?th, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler’s Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern.

The film was a box office success and recipient of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score, as well as numerous other awards (7 BAFTAs, 3 Golden Globes). In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked the film 8th on its list of the 100 best American films of all time (up one position from its 9th place listing on the 1998 list).

Schindler’s List won seven Oscars at the 66th Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It was the first black and white film since The Apartment to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively, but did not win.

At the British Academy awards, the film won Best Film, the David Lean Award for Direction, Best Supporting Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Cinematography, Editing and Score. Schindler’s List won Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Director and Best Screenplay, with John Williams awarded the Grammy for the film’s musical score.

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

February 6, 2012 by · Comments Off on E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial 

E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote.

It tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed “E.T.”, who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

The concept for E.T. was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after his parents’ divorce in 1960. In 1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the stalled science fiction/horror film project Night Skies. The film was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a budget of US$10.5 million. Unlike most motion pictures, the film was shot in roughly chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional performances from the young cast.

Released by Universal Pictures, E.T. was a blockbuster, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time, a record it held for 11 years. Critics acclaimed it as a timeless story of friendship, and it ranks as the greatest science fiction film ever made in a Rotten Tomatoes survey. The film was rereleased in 1985, and then again in 2002 to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary, with altered shots and additional scenes.

Schindler’s List Director

February 6, 2012 by · Comments Off on Schindler’s List Director 

Schindler’s List Director, Cast: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Embeth Davidtz, Jonathan Sagalle
Director: Steven Spielberg
Producers: Steven Spielberg, Gerald R. Molen, Branko Lustig
Screenplay: Steven Zaillian based on the novel by Thomas Keneally
Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski
Music: John Williams
U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures

There have been numerous documentaries and dramatic productions focusing on the Holocaust, including a television mini-series which many consider to be the definitive work. As a result, in deciding to film Schindler’s List, director Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park) set an imposing task for himself. His vision needed to differ from that of the film makers who preceded him, yet the finished product had to remain faithful to the unforgettable images which represent the legacy of six million massacred Jews. Those who see this motion picture will witness Spielberg’s success.

The film opens in September of 1939 in Krakow, Poland, with the Jewish community under increasing pressure from the Nazis. Into this tumult comes Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a Nazi businessman interested in obtaining Jewish backing for a factory he wishes to build. He makes contact with Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), an accountant, to arrange financial matters. For a while, there is no interest and nothing happens.

March 1941. The Krakow Jewish community has been forced to live in “the Ghetto”, where money no longer has any meaning. Several elders agree to invest in Schindler’s factory and the DEF (Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik) is born – a place where large quantities of pots are manufactured. To do the work, Schindler hires Jews (because they’re cheaper than Poles), and the German army becomes his biggest customer.

March 1943. Germany’s intentions towards the Jews are no longer a secret. The Ghetto is “liquidated”, with the survivors being herded into the Plaszow Forced Labor Camp. Many are executed, and still others are shipped away by train, never to return. During this time, Schindler has managed to ingratiate himself with the local commander, Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), a Nazi who kills Jews for sport. Using his relationship with Goeth, Schindler begins to secretly campaign to help the Jews, saving men, women, and children from certain death.

Spielberg elected to film this motion picture in black-and-white, and it’s impossible to argue with his choice. Director of Photography Janusz Kaminski has made effective use of shadow and light, meticulously limiting the application of hue. The opening scene is in color, as is the closing sequence (which features the surviving “Schindler Jews”, each accompanied by the actor who played their character, placing a stone on their savior’s grave). There are also two instances when color is allowed to bleed into the blacks, whites, and grays. One little girl’s jacket appears red so that she stands out from the masses, and a pair of candles burn with orange flames. When color is used, it makes a point and an impression.

Schindler’s List gives us three major stories and a host of minor ones. First and foremost, it tells the tale of the Holocaust, presenting new images of old horrors. These are as ghastly and realistic as anything previously filmed, and Spielberg emphasizes the brutality of the situation by not pulling punches when it comes to gore. The blood, inky rather than crimson in stark black-and-white, fountains when men and women are shot in the head or through the neck.

The second story is that of Oskar Schindler, the Nazi businessman who saved 1200 Jews from death. Schindler starts out as a self-centered manufacturer, concerned only about making money. He hires Jews because they’re cheap, not because he likes them. But his perspective changes, and he risks losing everything to save as many lives as he can. His eventual lament that he couldn’t save more is heartbreaking.

The third story belongs to Amon Goeth, the Nazi commander of Krakow, a man who teeters on the brink of madness. Despite his intense hatred for Jews, he is inexplicably attracted to his Jewish housekeeper, Helen Hirsch (Embeth Davidtz). Disgusted by his feelings, he lashes out at her with a display of violence that is almost Scorsese-like in its blunt presentation. As written, Goeth could easily have become a conscienceless monster, but Spielberg works carefully to show unexpected depth and complexity to his character.

Often, the experiences of the minor characters provide the most lasting images. Helen’s story is memorable, as is the plight of young Danka Dresner and her mother as they strive to avoid death while staying together. There’s a Jewish couple that marries in the Plaszow camp, even though their chances of survival are dim, and a Rabbi who survives a close encounter with a Nazi gun.

The Lion King

January 4, 2012 by · Comments Off on The Lion King 

The Lion King, “The Dark Knight Rises” trailer has gone to the lions. The new Batman trailer has been mixed with “The Lion King” making for an extremely entertaining trailer. The video uses the audio of the new Batman flick and footage from the famous 1994 Disney movie. Seventeen years after “The Lion King” touched the hearts of audiences across the country, makers of the animated-film introduced its 3D version for the very first time this past September.

But more exciting than wearing glasses to see your favorite characters come to life, is seeing them come to life as Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne. The funny trailer was released December 30 and already has almost 10,000 views.

The new twist on the two trailers has been dubbed, “The Lion King Rises,” and introduces Zazu as Alfred, Scar as Bane, Simba as Bruce Wayne and Nala as Selina Kyle.

On December 19, the new full-length trailer of “The Dark Knight Rises,” went viral. The movie comes as Christopher Nolan’s final film of the Batman trilogy.

The film introduces Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman) and rumor has it, Batman may die in the final flick. “The Dark Knight Rises,” follows “Batman Begins” in 2005 and “The Dark Knight” in 2008. Filming for the final installment began in May and finished in November.

In the trailer, Selina Kyle takes center stage in the trailer as she dances with Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale. She warns, “There’s a storm coming,” and that “You and your friends better batten down the hatches.”

“When it hits you’re all going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us,” she whispers in Wayne’s ear.

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