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Stars: Liam
Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall, Jonathan Sagalle, and
Embeth Davidtz
Writer: Steven
Zallian
Based On The
Novel By: Thomas Keneally
Director:
Steven Spielberg
Feature length:
3 hours and 16 minutes
Extras: Voices
From The List Documentary, The Shoah Foundation Story With Steven Spielberg,
Cast And Filmmaker Bios, Onscreen Notes On Oskar Schindler
Languages:
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and English, French, and
Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Slim
Case
Chapter Stops:
40
Sound: DTS
Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year of
Theatrical Release: 1993/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home Video
Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA Rating: R
Reviewer: Mark
A. Rivera
I think there
are certain works that should be required viewing or reading by all humanity.
For example, everyone should read as well as see a few works of Shakespeare
performed and fortunately pretty much everyone has by the time they get through
college. The same holds true for “Schindler’s List” because it depicts the
atrocities of the Holocaust as the backdrop to the amazing true story of how
Oskar Schindler, played in the film by Liam Neeson, a member of the Nazi party,
wartime profiteer, and womanizer saved the lives of one thousand and one hundred
Jews. Schindler does not start off at all as the humanitarian type. Over the
course of the film the horror going on around him combined with compassion
gradually turns him into a humanitarian. There has been some controversy over
the years from both Jews and non-Jews alike about the character of Oskar
Schindler as he was portrayed in the film and I don’t know what to state about
that because I was not there. The facts are that there are survivors who
collectively have testified regarding the actions this story and excerpts from
these interviews and recollections are collected on this DVD. They were there so
regardless if the film took a little dramatic license, the fact is at the core
of the story, the truth remains intact and “Schindler’s List” continues to
be just as powerful today as it was in 1993 when the film was released
theatrically. To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the film garnering the
Oscar® for Best Picture of 1993, Universal Studios Home Video has released
“Schindler’s List” onto DVD.
The film is
presented in a striking anamorphic (1.85:1) aspect ratio that preserves the
manner in which the film was exhibited theatrically as close as possible for
home video users. Aspects of Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski’s photography are
beautifully presented here so we can see the subtle details and shifts in tone
as the film progresses. At times early in the movie, it looks like a picture
made in the era in which the story takes place and then later the film has a
gritty look to it that brings a documentary like quality to the film. Both the
English DTS Digital 5.1 Theatrical Surround Soundtrack and Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Soundtrack are also nothing short of terrific. At times the combination
of sound and image is truly jarring and it should be to bring this story to
life. French and Spanish Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtracks are
encoded onto the DVD-18 as options along with English Captions for the hearing
impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles too. Language soundtrack
choices can only be altered by using the interactive menus and not while the
movie is in progress. The first 133 minutes and 38 seconds of the film are on
side one while the remaining 61 minutes and 26 seconds of “Schindler’s
List” are on side two.
Steven
Spielberg provides an introduction for the collection of video testimonies from
Holocaust survivors entitled “Voices From The List” (77:25) and he also
provides some video comments for “The Shoah Foundation Story” (11:27), which
is narrated by Morgan Freeman. Cast and filmmaker bios and credits as well as
onscreen notes on Oskar Schindler conclude the materials encoded onto the second
side of the DVD. Within the gatefold like slim packaging is an insert with liner
notes about the film as well as information of the Survivors Of The Shoah Visual
History Foundation as well information on a documentary produced by seven young
people given mini-DV cameras about their own emotional response to the film as
well as those around them entitled “Giving Voice,” which is also available
on DVD and VHS now.
The interactive
menus are well rendered and easy to navigate. “Schindler’s List” is
available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline from Universal Studios
Home Video.
© Copyright
2004 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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