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Horror and compassion exist at the extreme spectrum of our emotional experience. The irony is that we can feel both at the same time. Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" vividly captures the horror of the solution to the "Jewish Problem" of Hitler's Germany. How can you critically assess a film of this stature? One that chronicles the near genocide of the Jewish people and the savior that stepped in rescuing who he could? I suppose I'll start at the beginning. Oskar Schindler turned from a womanizing member of the Nazi party into a hero by rescuing more than a thousand Jews headed for concentration camps and certain death. Schindler's noble deed and rediscovery of his inner sense ethics and morality out weighted the business instinct that made him so successful in Nazi Germany. ***

"Schindler's List" isn't Spielberg's greatest film but it ranks with some of his best. Unlike a lot of Spielberg's films, "Schindler's List" features characters without conscience and morally bankrupt individuals lording their power over others. It marks Spielberg's arrival as a mature film director in the same league as Hitchcock, Truffaut, Renoir and Welles. Usually Spielberg's films use children as their moral compass. Here he isn't allowed that luxury. The sense of desperation that beats at the heart of every Spielberg film stands naked in "Schindler's List". These people had to succeed because if they didn't, they died.

You need to overlook the slim extras included on this set. I suspect that Spielberg felt that all the bells and whistles would distract and detract from the important message at the core of the film. Still, we do get a couple of featurettes worth noting. "The Shoah Foundation Story with Steven Spielberg" focuses on the group established to overcome racial prejudice and bigotry in our world. "Voices from the List" also provides an insight from those that actually were on the real list. Both featurettes ground the film in reality and make it every so much more real. Additional extras include biographies in text format of the actors and key production personnel as well as one for Oskar Schindler himself. ***

Although it isn't an extra per se, the wonderful packaging of the film will ensure it will handle wear and tear. The design reminds me of a trade paperback book but has a reinforced hardcover. Inside you'll find an elegant booklet discussing the making of the film. Universal demonstrates a sense of class in the simple but unique packaging for the DVD. ---