Schindler's List

Schindler's List is a 1993 movie based on the book Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally (the book was later renamed Schindler's List as well). The movie, adapted by Steven Zaillian and directed by Steven Spielberg, relates the tale of Oskar Schindler, a German entrepreneur who was instrumental in saving the lives of over one thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. The title refers to a list of the names of 1,200 Jews whom Schindler hired to work in his factory and kept from being sent to the concentration camps.

Trivia

• Stellan Skarsgard was considered to play Oskar Schindler. Ironically, Skarsgard claims he is often mistaken for Liam Neeson.
• Ralph Fiennes' performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. While he didn't win the Oscar, he did win the Best Supporting Actor BAFTA Award, which is the English equivalent to the Oscar.
• According to a book review in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung of 2005-09-25, the movie character of Izak Stern is partly modeled after Mietek Pemper, an inmate who served as secretary to Amon Göth. Historically, unlike the movie, "Schindler's list" was really Pemper's list. Pemper's first hand version of the events are recorded in the book Der rettende Weg (ISBN 3455094937).