Summary

  • Spielberg's decision to shoot Schindler's List in black-and-white adds a sense of realism and avoids beautifying the Holocaust.
  • The use of color in the final scene symbolizes hope, humanity, and the transformation of Oskar Schindler.
  • Through its visual choices, Schindler's List conveys a nuanced and sensitive gaze on the Holocaust, making it a cinematic masterpiece.

Schindler's List follows Oskar Schindler, a business owner who s the Nazi party, but ends up having a change of heart and saving 1,200 Jews from Nazi death camps by hiring them as Jewish labor for his business. Starring Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley, this highly acclaimed World War II movie is regarded as one of the greatest cinematic portrayals of the Holocaust of all time.

movie switches between color and black-and-white not merely as a gimmick, but to visually portray its complex themes and nuanced, sensitive gaze on the Holocaust. Spielberg's visual choice was deeply thoughtful and crucial to the larger meaning he hoped to convey through the film.

Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) and Amon Goth (Ralph Fiennes) sitting in a car in Schindler's List
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Spielberg Shot Schindler's List In Black & White To Avoid "Beautifying" The Holocaust

He Did Not Want To Repeat The MIstake He Made In The Color Purple

Spielberg insisted on shooting Schindler's List in monochrome as he did not want to beautify the Holocaust in any way. In a 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he recalled the backlash he received from Universal Pictures, who were already concerned about the film's box office prospects due to its grim subject. However, Spielberg was adamant not to repeat the mistake he made in his 1986 drama, The Color Purple, which he felt should have been in black-and-white. "I was accused of beautifying Color Purple because it had such a bright palette for such a dark subject," he ed.

For Spielberg, the decision was simple. Other than George Stevens’ footage of the liberation of Dachau, he reasoned, "everything that anyone’s ever been exposed to about the Shoah has been in black-and-white." Thus, he remained unequivocal about not just releasing the film in black-and-white, but shooting it that way. "I will not colorize the Holocaust,” Spielberg said to The Hollywood Reporter. His conviction in his artistic vision is what makes Schindler's List such a cinematic masterpiece and one of the best biopics of all time.

Spielburg explained that shooting in black-and-white represents the lifelessness of the Holocaust itself.

Additionally, in an interview quoted in the book The Making of Schindler's List: Behind the Scenes of an Epic Film, Spielberg explained that shooting in black-and-white represents the lifelessness of the Holocaust itself. "The Holocaust was life without light," he shared. "For me the symbol of life is color. That's why a film about the Holocaust has to be in black-and-white." This monochromatic visual also gave the film a profound sense of realism and a documentary feel to evoke the horrors of the Nazi genocide.

Why Schindler's List Switches To Color In The Final Scene

It Is A Symbol Of Hope And Humanity

The opening shot of Schindler's List

If the monochromatic color throughout Schindler's List represents the darkness of the Holocaust, the color at the end signifies a sense of optimism, represented through the transformation of Oskar Schindler.

Until the final scene, Schindler's List remains monochromatic throughout its runtime. The only exception is the now iconic Schindler's List scene of the girl in the red coat, a symbol of individuality and innocence that serves as a catalyst for Oskar Schindler's transformation. In the last scene, Spielberg switches to color for a circular ending, depicting the warm light of candle fire. If the monochromatic color throughout Schindler's List represents the darkness of the Holocaust, the color at the end signifies a sense of optimism, represented through the transformation of Oskar Schindler.

This is the subtle feeling and idea that Spielberg wanted to leave the viewer with through the use of color in the final scene. If a member of the Nazi party and a beneficiary of Nazism like Oskar Schindler can see the light, then humanity can survive and goodness can win over evil. In Schindler's List, the final images of candlefire regaining their warm color symbolize “just a glint of color,” Spielberg said to Entertainment Weekly back in 1994, “and a glimmer of hope.”

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Schindler's List is available to stream on Paramount+.

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Schindler’s List
R
Biography
Drama
History
10/10
9.3/10
Release Date
December 15, 1993
Runtime
195 minutes
Director
Steven Spielberg

Cast

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WHERE TO WATCH

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Writers
Steven Zaillian
Studio(s)
Universal Pictures
Distributor(s)
Universal Pictures
Budget
$22 million

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, The Making of Schindler's List: Behind the Scenes of an Epic Film, Entertainment Weekly