According to a 6 Feb 1994 LAT item, in the early 1970s, writer Howard Koch wrote a screenplay for MGM based on the life of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi war profiteer who saved the lives of roughly 1,100 Jews. When Thomas Keneally’s novel, Schindler’s List, was published in 1982, MCA chairman Sidney Sheinberg sought film rights, with the hope that Steven Spielberg would direct a film adaptation for MCA’s Universal Pictures, as noted in a 24 Nov 1982 NYT item. However, according to the 17 Dec 1982 Publishers Weekly, MGM still owned film rights to Schindler’s basic story. The deal between Universal and Keneally was held up until Universal bought back MGM’s rights for an undisclosed amount, as noted in a Jan 1983 Publishers Weekly item. The studio then optioned Keneally’s novel for $500,000—two-thirds of which went to the Schindler Organization for surviving “Schindler Jews.”
       A rival $2-million Oskar Schindler project was rumored to be in development at Cannon Pictures sometime in the late 1980s, but never came to fruition.
       Steven Spielberg did not officially sign on to direct until 1992, according to a 24 Aug 1992 HR item. In the meantime, as noted in the 23 Dec 1989 Screen International, Spielberg considered producing with Martin Scorsese on board to direct. On 13 Aug 1990, a People magazine item reported that Spielberg had recently conducted a table reading of Steven Zaillian’s script, with Warren Beatty reading the part of “Oskar Schindler.” Beatty was considered for the role, as was Daniel Day-Lewis, according to a 9 Jun 1992 DV brief. Liam Neeson’s casting as Schindler was announced in the 13 Jan 1993 HR.
       A 4 Mar 1995 TV Guide item stated that actress Claire Danes was offered a role, but declined when she could not arrange for an on-set tutor in Poland.
       The 24 Aug 1992 HR announced that filming on the $22-$24 million picture would begin in Feb 1993, roughly one month after Spielberg wrapped principal photography on Jurassic Park (1993, see entry). Shooting was slightly delayed, with principal photography beginning on 1 Mar 1993 in Krakow, Poland, according to production notes in AMPAS library files. Krakow was one of the few Polish cities spared devastation in World War II; thus, many original locations were used, including Oskar Schindler’s enamelware factory and apartment building, the Church of St. Mary’s, Rynek Glowny market square, Krakow Glowny train station, streets and buildings in the Stare Miasto district, and Niepolomice, which doubled as Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia. A replica of the Plaszow labor camp was built according to original plans for the camp, within one mile of the original site. The set included thirty-four barracks, seven watchtowers, and a copy of Amon Goeth’s villa. Two days of filming took place outside Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland. Although Spielberg initially planned to shoot inside the camp, the World Jewish Congress protested, as noted in the 17 Jan 1993 NYT and 3 Feb 1993 HR, fearing that filming might “lead to a pattern of desecration.” Spielberg compromised by shooting just outside the camp, at a replica of the train tracks leading into Auschwitz.
       Principal photography was completed four days ahead of schedule, after seventy-two days of filming.
       According to an article in the 28 Dec 1993 LAT, Spielberg’s main requirement for the thousands of extras needed was that they look like Sephardic Jews of Eastern European descent; however, most of them turned out to be Polish Catholics, not Jews. Due to a poor economy, Poles were eager to work on the film at a rate of $22 U.S. dollars per day, with hot meals (soup, kielbasa, and bread) cooked by the Polish Army. Some received extra pay to appear naked, while others sold 1940s period clothing to the wardrobe department. On some particularly cold nights, when regular extras did not show up, producer and unit production manager Branko Lustig recruited others from homeless shelters. In addition to maintaining strict diets to keep their weight down, some extras struggled with the harrowing subject matter. During the filming of a shower scene set at Auschwitz, one Israeli woman who had been born in a concentration camp became so overwhelmed with grief that she had to leave the set.
       Color schemes used by production designer Allan Starski and costume designer Anna Biedrzycka-Sheppard were determined according to color values as they appeared in black-and-white. The color green was ruled out, for instance, because it did not look good on black-and-white film stock. Wall colors and clothing had to sufficiently contrast each other and the actors’ skin tones.
       A 20 Dec 1993 DV item noted that holocaust survivors presented Steven Spielberg with a ring like the one Schindler Jews made for Oskar Schindler, inscribed with a Hebrew saying that translates to, “He who saves one life saves the world entire.” In turn, Spielberg gave copies of the ring to several of his collaborators, including Sidney Sheinberg and Lew Wasserman.
       On 30 Nov 1993, Oskar Schindler’s widow, Emilie Schindler, was presented with a commemorative medal by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, in Washington, D.C. That night, the Washington, D.C. premiere was attended by Spielberg, and MCA-Universal executives Wasserman, Sheinberg, and Tom Pollock, among others. A Los Angeles, CA, benefit premiere followed on 9 Dec 1993 at the Cineplex Odeon in Century City, with proceeds going to the Oskar Schindler Humanities Foundation and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
       The film was slated to open in twelve-to-fifteen markets on 15 Dec 1993, as noted in the 4 Oct 1993 HR. The initial markets included New York City; Los Angeles; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C.; San Francisco and San Jose, CA; Chicago, IL; Miami and West Palm Beach, FL; Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; Seattle, WA; and Dallas, TX. By late Jan 1994, the release was set to widen to 200 theaters. Universal’s “low-key” promotional campaign and “slow roll-out distribution pattern,” determined by the film’s sensitive subject matter, targeted intelligent moviegoers aged twenty-five and up, as noted in the 22 Nov 1993 LAT.
       After it had been released on home video, the film was reissued in fifty-five theaters on 23 Sep 1994, as noted in a 22 Sep 1994 LAT item.
       By Sep 1994, an estimated one million students had viewed the film for free through various educational programs. A 24 Mar 1994 DV news item stated that Universal Pictures had partnered with theater owners and the California Department of Education to create the Schindler’s List Project, which offered free screenings to high school students. Similar screenings were arranged in Vienna, Austria, through a project announced by Mayor Helmut Zilk, as noted in a 21 Mar 1994 LAT brief. Castlemont High School in Oakland, CA, made headlines when sixty-nine of its students were thrown out of an educational screening for laughing at scenes depicting Nazi atrocities, as stated in a 27 Jan 1994 LAT brief. A spokesperson for Spielberg said the director did not blame the teenagers for their “desensitization to violence.” On 11 Apr 1994, Spielberg visited Castlemont High School and received a standing ovation after speaking to the student body about the Holocaust and intolerance, according to the 12 Apr 1994 LAT.
       On 6 Jan 1994, in a San Diego, CA, movie theater, moviegoer James Kirby shot a woman during a screening of Schindler’s List. Kirby reportedly told police investigators he was trying to “test God” and wanted to protect Jews from danger, as noted in an 8 Feb 1994 LAT item, before pleading guilty. The shooting victim suffered a partially collapsed lung.
       Steven Spielberg turned down an invitation to the Berlin Film Festival, which offered to showcase Schindler’s List on a “special platform,” according to a 7 Feb 1994 DV brief. The much-anticipated German release was preceded by a 1 Mar 1994 benefit premiere at the Frankfurt Opera House. German President Richard von Weizaecker attended the premiere, as did Spielberg, according to the 1 Mar 1994 LAT. Weizaecker’s aide stated the film was “another opportunity for Germans to be confronted with our own history and the history of Europe.” London, England-based United International Pictures (UIP) planned to expand the German release to 200 theaters in the first week.
       The film was a global commercial success, although, as noted in the 7 Apr 1994 NYT, R several Arab and Islamic countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, and Malaysia, banned it. Citing nudity, the Philippines and Thailand also initially banned the film, but reversed their decisions when Spielberg refused to make cuts, according to items in the 7 Mar 1994 and 14 May 1994 LAT. A 3 Jun 1994 DV brief listed the cumulative domestic box-office gross as $92,852,228, and overseas box-office gross as $200,774,374, to that time.
       Schindler’s List was deemed 1993’s “most critically acclaimed” picture in the 17 Feb 1994 LAT. Its numerous accolades included Academy Awards for the following: Directing; Film Editing; Cinematography; Art Direction; Music (Original Score); Writing (Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published); and Best Picture. It was also nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Sound; Makeup; Costume Design; Actor in a Supporting Role (Ralph Fiennes); and Actor in a Leading Role (Liam Neeson). In 2007, Schindler’s List was ranked #8 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition list of the 100 greatest American films of all time, up from the ninth position it originally held on AFI’s 1998 100 Years…100 Movies list. The film was also ranked #3 on AFI’s 2006 100 Years…100 Cheers list of the most inspiring American films; and Oskar Schindler was ranked #13 on AFI’s 2003 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains list. As noted in a 5 May 1994 LAT item, Spielberg received a commendation from the U.S. Department of Defense, for, as stated by Defense Secretary William Perry, “harnessing the power of motion pictures to focus on a time we must never, never forget.” The director also received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As noted in a 10 Jan 1994 LAT item, Steven Zaillian received his second University of Southern California (USC) Scripter Award, after winning for Awakenings (1990, see entry), and was honored along with Thomas Keneally on 29 Jan 1994.
       Spielberg used profits from the film to start the Righteous Persons Foundation. Among other things, the foundation donated $1.6 million to Brandeis University to “help Jewish teens connect with their heritage,” according to a 5 Jan 1996 HR brief.
       A 1 Feb 1994 HR “Rambling Reporter” column stated that problems arose with black-and-white film prints. Within the first few weeks of release, Universal received dozens of complaints from viewers across the U.S., who claimed the prints they viewed were out of focus, scratched, and appeared to contain holes. A 20 Dec 1993 LAT item also listed “jumping frames” and “shutter flutter” as problems that arose in early screenings. Universal sent a letter with specific handling instructions to the first twenty-five theaters showing the film, but suspected some projectionists ignored the instructions. Thinner than color stock with three layers of photographic emulsion, single-layer, black-and-white stock did not easily glide through modern projectors, geared specifically for color films. To avoid such problems, Technicolor reportedly ran tests to print the film on color stock instead of black-and-white, but Spielberg rejected the idea. According to an 11 Jan 1994 DV item, Deluxe Labs in New York City was the only laboratory in the U.S. capable of printing black-and-white film on black-and-white stock on a large scale, and because several colored sequences had to be manually inserted, the laboratory could only produce 100 prints of Schindler’s List per week.
       As noted in a 10 Feb 1994 DV item, Emilie Schindler received an undisclosed percentage of the proceeds. She initially responded positively to the film, in which she appears in the final scene, describing it as “pure truth.” However, an 8 Oct 2001 NYT obituary claimed Mrs. Schindler thought the filmmakers minimized her role in keeping the Schindler Jews alive.
       A 6 Dec 1994 LAT item stated that the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) paid $50-million for early broadcast rights to Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park. The deal included two airings of Schindler’s List.
       The following title cards are interspersed throughout the film: “September 1939, the German forces defeated the Polish army in two weeks. Jews were ordered to register all family members and relocate to major cities. More than 10,000 Jews from the countryside arrive in Krakow daily”; “The Judenrat: The Jewish council comprised of 24 elected Jews personally responsible for carrying out the orders of the regime in Krakow, such as drawing up lists for work details, food and housing. A place to lodge complaints”; “March 20, 1941: Deadline for entering the ghetto”; “Edit 44/91 establishes a closed Jewish district south of the Vistula River. Residency in the walled ghetto is compulsory. All Jews from Krakow and surrounding areas are forced from their homes and required to crowd into an area of only sixteen square blocks”; “‘Jewish Town’ Krakow ghetto winter ’42”; “Untersturmführer Amon Goeth”; “Plaszow forced labor camp under construction”; “Liquidation of the ghetto, March 13, 1943”; “Metalworks factory inside Plaszow forced labor camp”; “Department D orders Goeth to exhume and incinerate the bodies of more than 10,000 Jews killed at Plaszow and the Krakow Ghetto massacre”; “Zwittau-Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia, Oskar Schindler’s hometown”; “Auschwitz”; “For the seven months it was fully operational, Schindler’s Brinnlitz munitions factory was a model of non-production. During this same period, he spent millions of Reichmarks to sustain his workers and bribe Reich officials.” The film concludes with the following title cards: “Amon Goeth was arrested while a patient in a sanatorium at Bad Tolz. He was hanged in Krakow for crimes against humanity”; “Oskar Schindler failed at his marriage and several businesses after the war”; “In 1958, he was declared a righteous person by the council of the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, and invited to plant a tree in the Avenue of the Righteous. It grows there still.” The final scene shows surviving “Schindler Jews” visiting Schindler’s grave, and identifies them as: Janek Dresner, Danka Dresner, Mordeci Wulkan, Ryszard Horowitz, Niusia Horowitz (little girl kissed at Schindler’s birthday), Joseph and Rebeka Bau, Olek Rosner, Manci Rosner, Henry Rosner, Leopold Rosner and his wife Helen, Mila Pfefferberg, Leopold Pfefferberg, Mrs. Itzhak Stern, and Helen Hirsch. Mrs. Emilie Schindler is also shown, and the final title cards read: “There are fewer than four thousand Jews left alive in Poland today. There are more than six thousand descendants of the Schindler Jews. In memory of the more than six million Jews murdered.”
       Actor Georges Kern’s name is misspelled “Goerges Kern.” End credits include the acknowledgments: “Filmed in Krakow, Poland”; “The producers wish to thank the following: Waldemar Dombrowski, Włodzimierz Sztejn, Jewish Tradition; The mayor of Krakow and the people of Poland; The Simon Wiesenthal Center; Technical Museum, Republic of Slovenia; Alef-Judaica, Los Angeles; Maciej Skalski; Facilities provided by Kompas-Hertz Lubliana; Yves Albiez – Senator Travel; Andrzej Wajda”; and, “For Steve Ross.” Ross, as noted in the 13 Jun 1993 NYT, was the chairman of Time Warner and a good friend of Spielberg’s who died in 1992. Spielberg modeled some of Oskar Schindler’s mannerisms after Ross, and shared home videos of Ross with Liam Neeson, who incorporated his gestures into his performance.