After the Germans occupy Poland, the Nazi Party begins to classify and place Polish Jews into ghettos and sending millions to concentration camps with uncertainness of their fate. But amidst the chaos and distress comes a man by the name of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a business man and a member of the Nazi party, who sees an opportunity to open a manufacturing warehouse on cheap labor. Schindler recruits a Jewish man by the name of Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), a brilliant accountant who helps Schindler secure workers. The two begin to create a list of workers, but Itzhak is secretly taking them off a worst fate. As time goes by, Schindler realizes what Itzhak has been doing, however, a more compassionate side of him begins to show and what used to be a money making scheme had now turned into a safe haven for Jewish prisoners. Inadvertently, Schindler had begun giving a ray of hope through very dark times.

What else can I say about Schindler’s List that hasn’t been said already? The film is magnificent from start to finish. Steven Spielberg directed what I consider one of his best films, if not the best. He took something he is so passionate about and told a very gripping and gut wrenching story that has a very long lasting effect and impact on the viewers. Part of his genius on Schindler’s List lies on the way he decided to shoot the film, but I must split this credit to the cinematographer Janusz Kaminski who was also involved in this process.

Spielberg and Kaminski decided to shoot most of the film in black and white, which in itself it is a very great idea, this technique gave the film a much more grittiness and the overall impact is greater. The film begins in a dining room with a scene of a Jewish family, with a very colorful picture and as the scene moves on we see the change to black and white, the transition is sudden bringing a greater impact and effectiveness for the rest of the film.

Filming in black and white was without a doubt the best choice for Steven Spielberg. He managed to tell a story about human suffering in a way that was most shocking and the black and white technique really helped him convey that message. Spielberg did not shy away from the shocking images of violence, he fully delivers the grittiness and suffering in a way that was least expected.

The film’s look and overall feel really helps shape each and every one of its characters. Oskar Schindler’s personality changes over the course of the film, but the style in which is shown to the audience allows the filmmakers to really see his inner conflict. The scene of the little girl in red is the key moment where we see a real conflict within Schindler. The delivery is emotionally powerful and the image spoke louder than words.

The film is an emotional journey filled with shocking events of violence and the constant battle for survival. Steven Spielberg created a magnificent motion picture and he gave us a terrifying reminder of how dark humans can be. Schindler’s List stands the test of time and still remains one of the best pictures ever made.

Schindler’s List arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080 PEG4-AVC encode framed at 1.85:1. The image is simply gorgeous from the initial scene with color to the black and white picture. Whites are well defined and the black colors are deep and inky. The image is rich in details; the suits, the uniforms, the streets, the brick walls, and even the close up shots are full of exposing details. The image doesn’t suffer from darker colors overwhelming the picture, if anything some scenes are intended to have some deep shadows, but it is all well done that the results are incredible. Even though the image is in black and white it still manages to feature good depth between objects. I didn’t detect any visible video anomalies. Universal has done a fabulous job with the restoration of this film.

Schindler’s List arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. The audio here in this release is also quite fantastic. A good part of the film contains quite a bit of dialogue, but that dialogue is so clean and clear throughout. There is a good directionality throughout. The rears do come alive with some atmospheric and ambient effects. The music score does make a good usage of the space in the track. Even the bass was balanced, providing some good support when needed. Overall, Schindler’s List sounds fantastic.

Voices From The List – This documentary is over an hour long and it features Steven Spielberg as the host as he interviews with survivors of the Holocaust. This is an excellent piece that you should not miss.

USC Shoah Foundation Story With Steven Spielberg – Steven Spielberg talks about the foundation and its goals.

About IWitness – This piece will probably not interest many, but it’s a promotional commercial for IWitness program.

Schindler’s List was a very personal piece of work for Steven Spielberg and his emotional investment in the subject lead him to create a film that allows us to see just how dark and sinister humanity can be at its lowest point. Spielberg really went beyond his capabilities and delivered something so gut wrenching and yet so perfect that it is hard to ignore. The performances by Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Finnies were fantastic. The Blu-ray features excellent an excellent video transfer and great audio track. I was somewhat disappointed with the supplements, but the documentary alone makes up for it. This is a piece of film history that should make its way onto your Blu-ray collection; it was definitely worth the wait!