A2 Film - Nine questions regarding the Emotional Response to 'Schindler's List'

These nine questions are designed to get you thinking about how you may have responded during the recent screening of Schindler's List.

Not everyone will respond in exactly the same way, and perhaps your own response may contrast markedly with others in the audience. Equally, you might respond exactly the same as others, depending on your 'take' of the film.

The film can cause wildly differing opinions and this is to be acknowledged within the framework of this particular unit. Many have found the film to be harrowing, sad, tragic and giving way to feelings of anger and helplessness, even guilt; others have found the film to be over-emotional, sentimental, and historically inaccurate. Some see it as Steven Spileberg's masterpiece, others have seen it as a 'Hollywood-ised' version of events.

So, in short, there are no right or wrong answers to these nine questions, but be prepared to back up your points, ideas and thoughts, regardless of your views on the film.

1. Did you feel ‘manipulated’ by the film at any time - such as use of emotional music, acting or visuals? Was this a positive or negative manipulation?

Give examples…

2. How much were you aware of the Holocaust and Oskar Schindler before watching the film? How might this have enhanced or changed your opinion?

3. Were there any particular sequences or moments in the film to which you had an emotional reaction?

Give examples…

4. Did you find anything negative about the presentation of the film? If so, what might this have been?

5. How might this film compare with any others you may have seen about the Holocaust?

6. How did you feel the German characters were represented in the narrative? Were there any specific examples of where this representation could be examined?

7. How far do you feel that Spielberg’s Jewish background helped or perhaps hindered the telling of Schindler’s story?

8. Consider the environment in which you saw the film – how might this have had an

impact on your response to the film?

9. How might the use of black and white film affect the way an audience may respond?

In the blog entry of 21st April there are a selection of sequences from the film…

Analyse at least five of them for cinematic technique – mise en scene,

cinematography, sound and editing – to see how they might impact emotionally

A2 Film - Schindler's List exam preparation - sequences

In conjunction with the questions you discussed in the lesson, here you will find fifteen sequences from Schindler's List.

Analyse at least five of them for cinematic technique – mise en scene, cinematography, sound

and editing – to see how they might impact emotionally…

"That's Oskar Schindler..."

"Today is history..."

The Girl in the Red Coat

Mozart or Bach?

The Balcony

"It will take more than this..."

A small pile of hinges...

"It's not that kind of a kiss..."

"Power is when every justification to kill - and we don't..."

"I pardon you..."

"The list is life..."

The shower

"He who saves one life..."

The execution of Amon Goeth

"Where should we go?" (final scene)

AS Film - Mise en Scene: Lecture 3 - 28/09/12

Third and final week of focusing mainly on mise en scene.

Firstly the opening three minutes of Steven Spielberg's war epic, Saving Private Ryan

Saving Private Ryan - Director: Steven Spielberg (1998)
In this opening sequence Spielberg establishes a clear setting and location of an elderly man searching in a war cemetery  The American and French flags clearly indicate that this is likely to be Normandy in the modern day. Attention should also be paid to the positioning of the various characters in relation to the older man and within the frame itself. The final shot of his bloodshot eyes brings together two other aspects of 'film form' - the extreme close up introduces cinematography, while the sound bridge of crashing waves alerts us that the action might be heading in a very different direction.

In the second sequence Spielberg places the audience directly on the beach and often, it seems, in the line of fire. Given the 'documentary' nature of the sequence, the desired 'realism' is maintained throughout with the mise en scene of quite literally 'hell on earth'. This is a sequence perfect for film studies with its combination of graphic imagery, hand-held camera work for verisimilitude (realism), montage editing (quick cuts from scene to scene) and surround sound - all combine to give the audience as close to the actual experience of what it was like on the morning of June 6th 1944. seen primarily through the eyes of Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) we see the death, destruction, bravery and barbarism of war in an all-too realistic representation.

Schindler's List - Director: Steven Spielberg (1993)
In telling the true story of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist who saved hundreds of Jewish concentration camp prisoners, Spielberg decided to shoot the majority of his film in black and white. He did this mainly to preserve the sense of time in which the film is set (1940 to 1945), but also to make this particular sequence stand out. Schindler (Liam Neeson) witnesses from a hill top, the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland. His shock and bewilderment is heightened with the vision of a young girl in a red coat. She seems to 'ghost' through the streets, seemingly un-noticed by those around her, particularly the German soldiers whi are executing Jews en masse. Her eventual escape to a hiding place is the one solitary moment of relief in the sequence, although Spielberg was criticised by some for his use of how the little girl looks - almost angelic with her blonde ringlets and pretty face. Others saw it as a symbolism of hope. For film studies, it is a brave splash of colour in a very grey, hostile environment.

The Godfather - Director: Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
Acclaimed by many to be 'The Greatest Film Ever Made' (the author of this blog being amongst them), the opening sequence sets the tone of dark menace, respect and the undercurrent of violence which can erupt at any given moment. On the day of his daughter's wedding Don Vito Corleone, the most powerful Mafia boss of 1940s New York, is approached by a local undertaker, Bonasera, to help in a family matter concerning his own daughter.

Coppola employs a very low level lighting set up to establish mood and tension as the undertaker grovels in front of Corleone (Marlon Brando). The location of a dimly-lit study is accentuated by the dark wood paneling and the formal dinner suits.The playfulness of a cat who is on Corelone's lap provides only temporary relief as the Don exerts his power - not through violence, but sheer presence of his personality. Coppola places Corleone at times on the more 'weaker' right side of the frame, but always above the subservient Bonasera. Brando's representation of a Mafia boss who can strike fear just in a simple shrug of the shoulders or a hand gesture became one of THE iconic acting performances in cinema history.

Next week we shall be focusing primarily on cinematography - the use of the camera.