Schindler’s List was the 1993 epic Holocaust film directed by Steven Spielberg starring Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler.
The film is based on Thomas Keneally’s 1982 novel Schindler’s Ark and portrays the German industrialist who employed and protected more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish people during World War II. Neeson plays Schindler, while Ben Kingsley portrays his Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern and Ralph Fiennes plays the Nazi officer Amon Göth.
Spielberg filmed much of the movie in black and white, giving it a documentary-like visual style. Principal photography took place in Kraków, Poland, over 72 days in 1993. The production’s stark approach, together with John Williams’s score and Janusz Kamiński’s cinematography, helped make the historical drama especially influential.
Schindler’s List premiered in Washington, D.C., on November 30, 1993, and won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It is sometimes mixed up with other Holocaust films such as Life Is Beautiful or The Pianist, but only this film centers on Schindler’s rescue effort.