Summary
- Steven Spielberg believes Schindler's List is his best movie so far.
- The 1993 film earned positive reviews for its depiction of the story of Oskar Schindler and his protection of his Jewish workforce during World War II.
- Schindler's List remains Spielberg's most harrowing film due to its haunting portrayal of the Holocaust.
Spielberg would go on to direct a number of true classics, including Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and Saving Private Ryan, among others. The filmmaker, who is now 77 years old, continues to make movies today, recently releasing The Fabelmans.
Not only have Spielberg's films been huge box office successes — three of his movies (Jaws, E.T. and Jurassic Park) were once the highest-grossing movie of all time — but the lauded director has been nominated for a whopping 22 Academy Awards and won three (Best Director for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and a Best Picture win for List). When it comes to his filmography, does Spielberg favor his heavier dramas or his popcorn mega-blockbusters? The filmmaker gives a definitive answer.
Steven Spielberg Says Schindler's List Is His Best Film
The Director Divulged A Future Movie Could De-Throne Schindler's List
In a recent interview with THR, Spielberg reveals that he thinks 1993's Schindler's List is the best movie he's ever made. The filmmaker still leaves the door open, however, and suggests that there's still time for his acclaimed drama to be unseated by a future project. Check out his full comment about Schindler's List below:
"It’s the best movie I’ve ever made. I am not going to say it’s the best movie I ever will make. But currently, it’s the work I’m proudest of."
Schindler's List: Cast Of Characters Compared To The Real-Life People
Steven Spielberg's wartime masterpiece didn't have time to get into the full stories behind some of the real historical figures it represents.
Schindler's List is currently available to stream on Showtime.
How Schindler's List Was Received
Why Steven Spielberg's Holocaust Drama Holds Up
Schindler's List remains the most serious and solemn movie in Spielberg's impressive filmography. He had tackled heavier and grounded dramas before 1993, of course, with the likes of The Color Purple in 1985 and Empire of the Sun in 1987, but Schindler's List marked a change in what audiences had come to expect from the director. Jaws, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park had established Spielberg as a master of the summer blockbuster – movies that were fun and crowd-pleasing. Schindler's List was very much not that.
Despite not being typical Spielberg fare, Schindler's List made $322.2 million at the worldwide box office on a budget of $22 million.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Schindler's List earned glowing reviews from critics. The film stars Liam Neeson as the real-life figure Oskar Schindler, an industrialist who goes to great lengths to protect his Jewish workforce during World War II. Neeson's performance was widely praised, as were the performances from Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley. Critic Roger Ebert says of the film, to which he awarded four stars, that it "is brilliantly acted, written, directed and seen. Individual scenes are masterpieces of art direction, cinematography, special effects, crowd control."
As in Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg, who is Jewish, tackles the brutality of World War II and the Holocaust with unflinching honesty in Schindler's List. The film's depiction of the Holocaust is haunting and horrifying, and the story of Schindler's actions during a period of such pain is just as powerful today as it was in the early '90s. While Spielberg has now made so many iconic films, Schindler's List certainly remains one of his most powerful.
Source: THR
