If you’ve been scrolling through Netflix wondering what to watch, here’s a suggestion: turn off the true crime docuseries and settle in for a cinematic masterpiece. Steven Spielberg’s iconic 1993 film “Schindler’s List” is now streaming on Netflix. And if you think your reaction to the film may have aged as well, think again. I found it as profound, harrowing and hard to watch as the day I saw it in Knoxville, Tenn.
Schindler’s List
The film tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved more than 1,100 Jews from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II. Liam Neeson stars in the titular role supported by a powerful cast that includes Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes. Shot in stark black and white, the movie feels as hauntingly real as a documentary.
“Schindler’s List” earned seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director and is widely regarded as Spielberg’s most significant work. The director himself has said it’s the film he is most proud of, and the emotionally grueling production left a lasting impact on him and his cast. Spielberg even refused his paycheck calling it “blood money” and used the film’s profits to establish the USC Shoah Foundation to preserve Holocaust survivor testimonies.
With a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a spot in IMDb’s top 10 films of all time, “Schindler’s List” remains essential viewing.
