An Art Direction Analyses

The Jewish State has gone through periods of attack and rebuilding from the time of the earliest recognized biblical documentation. The Jews endured Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, The Pope and in recent times, Hitler. From as early as prior to the birth of Christ, Jews have either been loathed or admired. They have been systematically hated and finally brutally exterminated, the latter which we peek in Schindler's List. The troubles of Jewish existence haven't been juxtaposed more movingly or meticulously than in Schindler's List. Based on Thomas Keneally's book, Schindler's Ark (based on a true story), Schindler's List is a 1993 movie that was directed by Steven Spielberg.  Schindler's List is based on a story about Oscar Schindler, a German business man, who through employing them in his factory saved about 1,100 Jews from holocaust during the Second World War The film was awarded seven academy awards in the categories of Best director, Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing and Best Art Direction.

Setting is the facet of narrative that viewers take for granted often.  Schindler's List, however, demonstrates that thorough work goes into the creation of historically precise and dramatic sets, costumes, makeup and props. The setting in this film is as central as the characters. Its main events occur in the antique city of Krakow in Poland. Schindler's List depicts a period in the early stages of World War II, after the Germans seize Poland; they compel Jews in the countryside to move to the cities, and many head into Krakow.  With such a cheap source of labor, the Germans rapidly set up factories inside and outside the ghetto hiring the Jews. Rich German businessman and a Nazi Party member Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrive in Krakow to establish a manufacturing plant and utilize the Jews as inexpensive labor. Through Jewish accountant Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), he meets local investors. After using his charm to trap their money, Stern helps round up the essential employees, and he uses the factory's position to assist some Jews stay out of the Nazis' grasp. Schindler develops as a person, and finally creates his "list". Schindler plans to buy Jews from the Nazis to work at a new factory back in his Czechoslovakian home. He and Stern form a list with as many Jews as they could save. We see the outcome of the Nazi occupation and how brutal they treat the Jews. The movie centers on some Jewish characters to a small degree, and we follow a minority in a loosely.

In the creation of an historical film, a filmmaker typically emphasizes on the films look accuracy. Images taken during the Second World War were in black and white. The historical backdrop to Schindler's List proofs that real historical facts were used by the filmmaker. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski pictured the entire film, save for the opening scene and a few other scenes, in black and white. This made the film a realistic representation of events which happened in Krakow. Schindler's List re-invented black and white film and gave thematic lighting a platform. Art director must prove to viewers that the world of the film is indisputably real (Horton, 9) So as to give the film a docudrama feel, hand held cameras were used instead of technically advanced ones to shoot majority of the movie parts. Schindler's List effectively achieves a graphical and accurate depiction of one of humanity's most shocking moment. It captures an order that defined Europe during the holocaust.

This films photography at times exceeds the hypnotic, as motion repeatedly layers three concepts all at once. A spellbinding instance arises when Goethe releases a Jewish boy on a 'forgiveness experiment' that Schindler had persuaded Amon to try. Stern (playing Schindler's plant manager) is shown going back to the camps. The scene transforms to the 'forgiven' boy. The boy is comes before Stern along the same path. Goethe reflects and rejects the 'experiment.' The camera trails Stern's as he paces. A succession of gunshots is heard. The camera continues to follow Stern's as he walks by and past the slain boy. It does not pause on the boy's body. Many powerful disclosures in the film were tackled by addressing something different. While a more true horror was progressing, Spielberg engaged a subliminal Hitchcock mechanism of allowing the real horror to unfold.

Ralph Fiennes portrayed Amon Goethe with no less amazement; the Kamp Kommandant with unrestrained power and a blind loyalty. Schindler is depicted as a youthful opportunist and a tragic hero. He exhausted his resources to save the Jews. Stern's financial prowess maximized Schindler's resources prior to insolvency. A letter, signed by the Jews was given to Schindler to absolve him of war crimes in the event of his arrest. The film employs and develops every known theatrical tool to express an emotion. Films are all about feelings. And feelings are all about art. In this film, we are all in a gas chamber: steal from the sufferer and bury the remains. The film illustrates life and death through splendor and savagery. Black and white constitutes the canvas and the whole experience is the painting.

Schindler's List inspired a stunning acting; an amazing cinematography and an ineffaceable statement about Mankind. Perlman's master acting bestows on the John Williams' compositions a genuineness and foundation that offsets the composer's penchant for over-romanticizing and pretentiousness. The film score is excellent at its simplest, gaining its emotional power from the experiences it portrays.