How does the film Schindler's List portray the Holocaust in general? How, for example, is the suffering of the Jews presented? How is the cruelty...

The movie version of Schindler's List was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1993. If you have any doubts about how good this movie is, consider the Academy awards it won: best picture, best director, best writing, best editing, best set design, best music, and best makeup. It is also #9 on the American Film Institute's all time greatest American movies list.

Schindler's List takes a different look at the Holocaust. Based on the...

The movie version of Schindler's List was directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1993. If you have any doubts about how good this movie is, consider the Academy awards it won: best picture, best director, best writing, best editing, best set design, best music, and best makeup. It is also #9 on the American Film Institute's all time greatest American movies list.

Schindler's List takes a different look at the Holocaust. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, the movie depicts one man's attempt to save a group of imprisoned Jews during World War II. The viewer sees some of the horrors of life in a concentration camp, but the focus of the movie is on Schindler's transformation from an opportunistic businessman into a self-sacrificing humanitarian. Throughout the film, the viewers know that “Schindler's Jews” (as his manufacturing employees are called), are just a whim away from the crematorium. The suspense lies in wondering whether or not Schindler will be able to save them from the fate suffered by so many millions of other Jewish prisoners.

We see the Jews suffer when they are driven from their homes, separated from family members, and randomly murdered. Although Schindler's Jews manage to avoid the worst of this, the viewers know that it is only Schindler keeping them safe.

As for the cruelty of the Nazis, the viewer sees a fairly clichéd portrayal. None of the Nazi leaders seem to have any humanity regarding the Jews' fate. In reality, we know that some of these people did not approve of what was happening, but with the prevailing atmosphere in Nazi Germany, they could do nothing about it without risking themselves in some way. One of the most memorable images from the movie shows a man looking at piles of teeth extracted from prisoners, examining the gold fillings.