Schindler's List: Film Analysis of Spielberg's 1993 Masterpiece
This paper provides a close analysis of Steven Spielberg's 1993 Academy Award–winning film Schindler's List, based on Thomas Keneally's book Schindler's Ark. The analysis covers the film's central narrative — Oskar Schindler's transformation from a self-interested German businessman into a man who risked everything to save Polish Jewish workers from Nazi persecution. The paper also examines Spielberg's deliberate stylistic choices, including the use of handheld cameras and black-and-white cinematography to evoke a documentary realism, the production design challenges those choices created, and John Williams's celebrated musical score featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman and authentic Klezmer elements.
- Introduction and Background: Film overview, awards, and box-office context
- Plot Summary: Schindler's moral transformation and factory workers
- Direction and Cinematography: Handheld cameras and documentary-style black-and-white
- Production Design and Costume: Set and costume challenges in black-and-white filming
- Music and Score: Williams's score, Perlman solos, and Klezmer integration
- Conclusion: Film's emotional power and red coat symbolism
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper moves logically from plot summary to directorial style to music, mirroring the way a viewer experiences the film — content first, then craft.
- It supports claims about aesthetic choices with direct quotations, including Spielberg's own words about removing safety-net equipment to achieve spontaneity.
- The conclusion ties together the film's emotional power with a concrete symbol — the girl in the red coat — giving the analysis a resonant closing image rather than a generic summary.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates source integration across media types: it draws on a film director's biography, a music history text, production notes, and box-office data to build a multidimensional analysis. Rather than relying on a single source type, the writer synthesizes behind-the-scenes production information with aesthetic criticism, showing how practical constraints (budget, shooting schedule) directly shaped the film's artistic identity.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into five labeled sections — background, plot, direction, music, and conclusion — each roughly 100–150 words. This section-per-craft-element structure is well suited to film analysis and makes the argument easy to follow. Each section focuses on a single dimension of the film (narrative, visual style, sound design) before the conclusion draws them together through the symbolic red coat motif.
Introduction and Background
Schindler's List is a 1993 motion picture based on the life of Oskar Schindler, as chronicled in the book Schindler's Ark. Schindler, a German businessman, employed thousands of Polish Jews in his factories to hide them from Nazi persecution. The film received seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score, and was ranked by the American Film Institute as the 8th best film in its list of the top 100 American films of all time. With a production budget of approximately $22–25 million, the film surpassed all commercial expectations, earning $321 million as of 2009 (Schindler's List, 2010).
References
Overview for Schindler's List. (2010). Retrieved from Turner Classic Movies: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=89238
Schindler's List. (2010, January). Retrieved from Box Office Mojo: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=schindlerslist.htm
Schindler's List — Behind the Scenes Production Notes. (2010, January). Retrieved from Universal Studios Entertainment.com:
Corliss, R., and Harbinson, W. A. (1994, February 21). The man behind the monster. Retrieved from Time.com: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980191,00.html
McBride, J. (1997). Steven Spielberg. New York: Faber and Faber.
Rubin, S. (2001). Steven Spielberg. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Ligocka, R., and von Finckenstein, I. (2002). The Girl in the Red Coat. New York: St. Martin's Press.
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