For fighting Vain, Vain yacht cob Naka yes Nekag and the Wolf. How
many h six hundred you do the same thing I'm doing. I might even
make money at it. I don't know. Come on us, I know
about the extra food and clothes. You get them paid for out of your
own pocket. If we make a combined approach, we could get more than
four thousands of minor rrs. We could relocate them in something like safety a
Moravia. I don't know how many can you smoke? The night? Two
minutes? For everyone you smoke? I smoked half. I've done all mechanical
not except that. No, I was kinda can't do anymore. I'll accept
that. No many? How many? Eight one hundred and fifty? Give
a take pele? Take what stand? Give or take? What to count
them? How many? I didn't? You can finish that page? What
did Good say about this? You just told him how many people you needed
in me. You're not buying them, you're buying them. You're buying for
each of these. If you're still working for me, i'd expect you to
tell me out of it. It's costing beautiful. Finished the page in one
space of the body. Yeah, The list is an absolutely good The list
is life. Historical dramas have a mixed history in Hollywood. In some cases,
they have been criticized to the point where they have been ostracized from film
lore, or controversies have diminished their staying power. Then there are exceptions.
These films leave an undeniable impact that time cannot diminish the message in power they
carry. This week's film is one of those, and it is as important
now as it was the thirty plus years ago. It was released based off
the novel Schindler's Arc by Thomas Kaneely, released in nineteen ninety three and directed
by Steven Spielberg. Schindler's List tells the story of German Nazi industrialist Oscar Schindler,
who decides to use his wealth and power to save over one thousand Polish
Jews from concentration camps by bribing Nazi officers, in particular the cold and callous
Nazi General Aimon Death played by Ralph Fines. Rounding out the starring cast is
Sir Ben Kingsley and Mbeth Davitt's. Spielberg was initially reluctant to take on the
project. He passed it on to several other directors because he felt he was
not mature enough to do the film. This includes Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese,
Sidney Pollock, among others. Spielberg finally agreed to direct the film when
Holocaust Denial really began to gain traction in the world, especially here in the
United States. The next clip is from The Today Show in twenty eighteen,
celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of the release of the film. In this clip,
Spielberg talks about the difficulties of making the film and his decision to film
the movie in black and white in the fight that followed. I don't think
I'll ever do something anything, as you know, as important to my life
as the way this film affected personally affected me and my family. And so
this for me is, you know, something that I will always be proud
oft of. I look back at an interview you had done about the time
of the release of this film and you said somebody of the effect, you
didn't expect it to be a hit. Was that was that the case?
Yeah, that was very accurate. I didn't. I couldn't imagine based on
the story that we told that an audience would tolerate the just the amount of
violence, you know, human against human or inhuman against human. Schindler's List
was in fact a hit, the winner of seven Academy Awards, including Best
Picture and Best Director, but Spielberg says that now famous movie could have looked
very different if studio executives had their way. I was the only one that
wanted to shoot the picture in black and white, but the studio didn't.
They didn't think they could sell like a set if it was in black and
white. And at one point that they were negotiating with me, they said,
shoot it and we'll release the film of black and white, but then
we'll released the cassette in color. And I said, no, this is
I don't know the Holocaust in color. I wasn't around then, but I've
seen documentaries in the Holocaust, and anybody who's seen any documentaries, they're all
shot in black and white. I can't imagine what it was like to shoot
this film. You're in crack eye, you're in some of the places where
this actually happened. I know there's cameras around and all the trappings of movie,
but the scenes had to have taken a personal toll on you, your
crew, your cast. Yeah, well, I think everybody felt that we
were memorializing something, and it felt to all of us as if we were
shooting in a cemetery. So there was a kind of amazing a equanimity of
respect, and it was quiet on the set and everybody just did their work.
No one was laughing, no one was telling jokes. Now, twenty
five years later, the film is still teaching new lessons. Individual hate is
a terrible thing, but when collective hate organizes and gets industrialized, then genocide
follows and we have to take it more seriously today than I think we have
had to take it in a generation. And now we're in an era that
anti Semitism is on the rise, enophobia. We all know what racism happened
in Pittsburgh. Is this an important time to re release this film? I
think this is maybe the most important time to re release this form. Possibly
now is even a more important time to re release Schindler's List than nineteen ninety
three ninety four when it was initially released. This film is quite powerful in
its approach, both in filming and performances. This includes the game a mental
chess being played by Gath and Schindler. Both men are shrewd and keen touth
smarting people. However, Shindler is compassionate and wants to use his wealth and
intelligence to save the Jews from peril, whereas Death is a sociopathic, cold
blooded killer with no emotion or remorse. The next two clips show this.
First, while building a stockade at a concentration camp, a Jewish woman who
is a contractor tries to persuade Death to stop construction because the foundation is bad.
His ruthless means of dealing with her show the callous nature of the man.
Then, Schindler speaks with Helen Hirsch, a woman Death has selected from
a concentration camp to become his maid, whom he becomes smitten with and due
to this begins to abuse her both verbally and psychologically. Here Schindler explained with
great compassion why she is safe, while showing care for her plight. There
answer, one of you is a very lucky girl. There is an opening
a job away from all this backbreaking work at a new villa. Which of
you has a domestic experience? Yeah, On second thoughts, I don't really
want someone else's mate, although annoying habits have to undo I don't want to
give him my call. What's her name? What? I can't hear?
H yeah, she says, or just got to take it down. I
told her the entire foundation has to be torn down and report. If not,
there would be at least a subsidence at the southern end of the barracks
subsidence and then collapse. You are an engineer, yes, my name is
Deanna Haiker. I'm a graduate poxical engineering from the University of Milan. I'm
educated too, like Karl Marx himself. Shootah, come on, don't I'm
only trying to do my charge. I'm done, sir. She's fond of
construction. I'm not going to have arguments with these people. Shoot here.
It will take more than that. I'm sure you're right. And now,
Shindler in hrsh I said to him, I don't know how I say this.
I never could say it now. I said to him, why are
you beating me? He said, The reason I beat you now is because
you ask why I beat you. I know your sufferings. It doesn't matter.
I have accepted them, accepted them. One day he will shoot me.
He want to shoot you. I know, I see things. We
were on the roof on Monday, Young Glicia and I, and we saw
the Hair Commandant come out to the front door, and and down these steps
by the patio r right there below us. And and there on these steps
he drew his gun and he shot a woman who was passing by, the
woman carrying the bundle through the throat. Just just just a woman on her
way somewhere. You know. She She was no fatter or thinner, or
slower or faster than anyone else. And I couldn't guess what had she done.
The more you see of the Heart Commandant, the more you see there
is no set rules that you can live by. You can't say to yourself,
if I follow these rules, I will be safe. He won't to
shoot you because he enjoys you too much. He enjoys you so much.
He won't even let you wear the star. He doesn't want anyone else to
know it's a jew he's enjoying. He shot the woman from the steps because
she meant nothing to him. She was one of a series neither offending or
pleasing him. But you, Helen, it's all right. It's not that
kind of a case. M Yeah. Right as the war ends, Schindler
is bankrupt, due to massive bribes he had to do to keep his workers
and the Polish Jews safe from dire circumstances at concentration camps. In our final
clip, as Schindler plans to flee due to being wanted for war crimes as
a card carrying Nazi, the people he saved give him a ring. As
Schindler cries at those he couldn't save, he is reminded of those he did.
We've written a letter trying to explain things in case you were keptured.
Have your work has signed it? Thank you, Yes, Hebrew from the
town that it says forever saves a long life saves the world entire. I
could have gone, I could have got I could not ask her. There
are eleven hundred people of our life because of you. Look at them.
If I've made more money, I threw away. So please, funny if
you have no idea, if I just will be generations because of what you
did. I didn't do enough. Who did so much? This film is
well deserving of every great review, award and lasting impact it is received.
And then some and honestly that could not even do this film justice. There
could be multiple reviews on this program with powerful scenes, talking about the symbolism
in the film with candles and yes, the little girl in the red jacket,
and the effort all that were involved in had to put forth. It
is a film that everyone must see once in their lives to understand that to
do right, no matter how small you think the impact might be, can
have the greatest lasting ramifications. I hope you join me next week when we
begin our month long tribute to Orson Wells with a special look at the fight
he went through to make his seminal film and, in my opinion, the
greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane. And then in two weeks we will
actually review Citizen Kane, as it is my favorite film of all time.
For WM and H and Matt Connorton Unleashed, this has been a classic film
review with Eric Pilcher mea never s