Schindler’s list 1993 – the opening scenes Essay Example

of tragedy and portrays perfectly the context of the film. Throughout the film Spielberg uses music to set the scene and to change the atmosphere by varying his use of tempo, pitch, volume and so on.

Films have two main groups of music - the theme music and incidental music. The theme music recurs (with variation) throughout the film and provides continuity as well as helping to set the scene. The pieces of incidental music occur in individual scenes. Spielberg uses incidental music to compliment the cameos he uses to portray his ideas. The first scene is one of the few colour scenes, it starts completely black until a match is struck and you see a hand lighting two votive candles. The lighting at this point is very dim as the only light is that of the match and the candles as they are lit.

After lighting the candles, the hand disappears from view and the camera stays focused on one of the candles, just lit, while a man sings a prayer in Hebrew. It then cuts to a pre-war Polish Jewish family standing round a table in their home on a Friday night Sabbath (the holiest time in the week for Jews). The first shot of the family is just big enough to fit them all in, showing the old man singing the Hebrew prayer; the man has a distinctive long grey beard in the style of a rabbi (a Jewish religious leader, literally meaning my leader). The only light present in the room is from the candles and also some coming through white curtains.

Even though it looks to be a sunny day outside, the curtains

don't let in enough light to make the room lit well so the room is shadowy and generally still quite dark. Presumably this is because during the Sabbath there is no work or travel and in strictly orthodox homes this includes not turning lights on or off. On the table there is a goblet of wine (from which everyone will take a sip when the prayer has ended) and special plaited loaves of bread, called Challa, with an embroidered cover over them, (this will be removed after the wine sipping and before eating it will be blessed).

The camera then focuses on the youngest of the family, a little boy, with one of the votive candles still present in the shot. It is very unusual that the theme music is not used while the title is on the screen, but comes later. Most films incorporate the theme music into the titles so that the viewer does not become bored while the titles are on the screen, it also sets the scene and makes the film recognisable. Spielberg starts this film instead with a Sabbath prayer in Hebrew because this, like the theme music, sets the scene for the entire film, showing that it will be about Jews.

While you can still hear the man praying, the camera cuts to the same room at a later time with the candles still burning, although no longer as tall. The family however are gone; this creates a feeling that something has happened to them to disturb their Sabbath. The screen reads, Universal Pictures Presents this lasts for a few seconds before there is a close-up of the candles; the screen

now reads, An Amblin Entertainment Production The writing is yellow like that of a script. This is done because it shows up well in the colour scenes at the beginning.

It then cuts and has a shot of the candles, even closer than before and much darker than the previous shots; in-between the two now very small candles reads the title, Schindler's List The camera then focuses on one of the candles; its reddish flame dies as the prayer stops, sending a line of wispy smoke from the candle. The camera then fades out from the smoke of the candle to the much thicker smoke of a big old-fashioned steam-train. As the train whistles, the camera pans to the left over the track and the screen reads, September 1939 The German forces defeated the Polish army in two weeks.

The writing is now in white as this is most effective and clear in a black and white film. Spielberg uses the technique of history notes on the screen to tell us the date and what important thing had happened. The camera then fixes on an old man setting up a table with a chair in the middle of the platform; the platform is nearly empty, there are only a few other men who are walking by. You can hear the engine of the train quite loudly over all that goes on. At this moment, whilst the camera is still focused on the man the screen reads again,

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. As the man gets out from his

bag a clipboard, an ink bottle, paper, lists/forms, an ink-pad, a stamp, a stapler and a blotter and assembles these on the table, you see a small rural Jewish family walking towards him. We know they are rural from their style of dress and belongings. This group of Jews carries with them suitcases and bags; one old woman has all her belongings tied up in a blanket/carpet.

They all wear black as if they were going to a funeral and the women are wearing headscarves. One old man has the distinctive long grey beard of a rabbi and is possibly the man from the early family shot. There is a close-up of the official dipping his quill into a bottle of ink and then of his face as he says, ''name? '' (the first spoken word in the film); as the camera cuts to the next scene the train whistles loudly again. The camera cuts to the same family on a much busier platform with many more tables, German officials and many more Jews registering at these tables.

Jews are calling out their names. The same family is portrayed to provide continuity. In the background you can hear a voice crying out; this is most dramatic as the voice sounds very young, like that of a small child; this cry is miserable and automatically makes the viewer feel sad for the Jews. The camera moves past the faces of very distressed, bewildered looking Jews, many of whom are obviously, from their dress and bearing, from a higher social class. This puts across the message that it is not only the poor being treated this way but also

wealthy, once highly respected German citizens.

The camera fixes on a woman desperately talking to a man who's wearing a big top hat, a German who holds in his a hand a wooden sign saying '2 Reihe'. The man points and says, ''over there''.The air is misty from the train which makes the platform seem even more crowded. The camera cuts again to Jews shouting out their names as you see names being typed on large, magnified typewriters.

The names read: Hudes Isak, Feber Bauman, Klein, Chaim, Neuman, Samuel, Solomen, Horn and Steiner. As these names are being typed the Schindler's List theme music begins, almost three minutes into the film. The music, despite the beauty of the violin playing, is laden down with tragedy. As the camera cuts you see that this beautiful classical music is playing on a radio in a hotel room. In the room there is a man. He pours out a drink, picks it up and swirls it around, making the viewer presume that this is an alcoholic drink.

He then walks over to a bed where he lays out ties on various silk suits. After this the viewer sees that on his hand he wears a signet ring. The signet ring is used in subsequent scenes to show us that we are seeing the same man. He then ties his tie and places a folded handkerchief in the pocket of his suit before counting out a lot of money from a wooden drawer on the hotel dresser. A lit cigarette is left to burn in an ash tray untouched. There is a close-up of him pinning onto his suit a Nazi swastika

badge. As he does so the theme music comes to an end.

The camera follows as this well dressed man enters a fashionable club in the city of Krakow. He remains a mystery figure as it isn't until later in the scene that he is identified as Oskar Schindler. The music is different to that of the last few scenes; however it is still a variation on the original theme music though slightly more upbeat and played with instruments of a band (not just piano and violin) which makes it sound less sad. While the camera continues to follow Schindler, the viewer can see him bribing an old man at the door to secure himself a good central table.

As he hands over the banknotes, the man, now looking quite pleased, smiles and nods before escorting Schindler into the main room. In the room there is a band and many well dressed couples dancing, the atmosphere overall seems very romantic, this emphasizes that most people seem totally unaffected by the plight of the Jews (because they saw segregation and removal of the Jews as desirable and the Jews themselves as people of no consequence). The camera follows the old man as he walks towards a table to show Schindler to his seat.

Schindler however doesn't follow him but instead walks round before settling at his table, this shows he feels important enough and secure enough to be inquisitive. Another sign that he feels quite important is that he does not thank the man for showing him to his seat. When he is sitting down he half smiles to himself, and looks contented. The old man then walks out

of the room to greet two other men. These men have been watching Schindler through a glass door; in this shot Schindler is now smoking and looks quite relaxed. When asked by the old man neither of the two know who Schindler could be.

This builds up a feeling of suspense which makes the viewer want to find out who Schindler is, having not yet been told. The camera then focuses on a young attractive woman sitting at another table looking quite bored, then again at Schindler sitting at his table; this is an effect used to show that Schindler is gazing intently at this woman; as he does so he smiles gently to himself. He then looks over at SS officers having their picture taken; he looks very closely at their uniform, we can tell this because the shot just focuses on a shirt being worn by an official and never actually shows his face.

Schindler looks over to the band and notices a ''reserved'' card on the table closest to the band. He pays special attention to this, we know this because when he looks over to the table there is a close-up of the card. The reason that Schindler pays so much attention to this table is that he realises that some important people will later occupy it and when this happens he wants to make good company with these people as he is on a mission to make himself known. He then holds up his hand. In his hand there is a wad of notes.

When the waiter comes over, Schindler does not look straight away at this man, instead he looks straight ahead

until the waiter speaks to him. This is yet another sign that he feels quite important. Schindler tells the waiter to take a round of drinks as a means of introduction to some top Nazi officials and their lady companion. As the waiter talks to Schindler he seems to hold this important stranger in reverence. As the drinks arrive at the table the officials seem very surprised at this gesture.

The waiter says 'from the gentleman' as he looks over to where Schindler is sitting. One of the two officials orders the other to go and find out who this man is. This makes the viewer realise that this man is the boss of the other man and the highest ranking of the two. As the man walks towards Schindler's table Schindler stands up, this shows confidence. They then proceed to have a conversation; before long both men are sitting at Schindler's table. The other official, noticing this, goes to see what's going on, leaving the woman alone at the table.

Schindler, seeing the man walking towards him, gets up and goes to talk to him. He then notices the woman sitting alone at the table and walks over to her, complimenting her beauty, leaving the Nazi official standing in the middle of the room. This demonstrates an important part of Schindler's character, his love of pretty women, his protective feelings towards them and his easy way of getting along with them. This woman is no exception; Schindler soon wins her round and takes her over to his table.

Before long he has persuaded all three to join him and orders vodkas all round. At this moment you

see and hear the flash and click of a camera, the camera shooting the scene pauses for a moment and the effect of a snapshot being taken of the scene is created. This sets that scene back in time a little and we move on immediately to a new scene on the same occasion but slightly later. The change is heralded by a complete change in the music which suddenly becomes more upbeat and with German lyrics. The camera focuses on three entertainers/dancers.

We are suddenly made aware of all the other men in the room who are gazing longingly at the women and shouting out comments like, "Under the tables girls, drink with us! " and raising their beer tankards in a Germanic manner. With this going on, Schindler gives the waiter another wad of notes. In the next scene we realise that this is for a big dinner of expensive food for all the people in the club, including the entertainers, who have now become part of Schindler's party with all the tables merged into one enormous one. The music changes again to a waltz. This fits in well with the dinner party.

Soon Schindler has become very successful with his self-promotion; he is the centre of attention and rubs shoulders with everyone so that he becomes well known among all the important people. In fact it is not until a top colonel is taken to the ''reserved'' table and asks the waiter who this man entertaining everybody is that we discover the identity of this man. The waiter exclaims, ''That's Oskar Schindler! '' Pictures are taken of Schindler with all the top brass, the

showgirls and other women; these pictures unlike the first one are quick with less light from the flash.

With this change of scene the waltz is no longer playing, instead you hear the voices of most of the people in the room singing. You can tell they have been drinking, the atmosphere is very comfortable and happy and large trays of drinks are constantly being taken over to these quests. At the end of the scene everybody raises their glasses, the new important colonel now standing with Schindler who has now successfully bought the friendship and respect of everybody in the club; it seems as if they have all been friends for years when in fact they have only just met.

With this there is a complete scene change. The German army march through the streets of Krakow. At the front there is a little boy which makes the viewer sad that even this little boy is involved in creating horror for the Jews. The army is singing a war song to entertain themselves. The camera then follows a small girl, walking beside the marching soldiers pushing a little cart; she smiles as she walks past, this again showing the involvement of the youth in this war. The camera cuts to a Jewish man, surrounded by soldiers.

They mock him while cutting off his payess, humiliating him in the middle of the street. This makes the viewers' sorrow for the Jews emphasized. The camera cuts again and we see Schindler walking past a big crowd of Jews, all confined to the pavement. A few officers walk by and a van passes which is painted black with white writing

in German. The Jews all stare at Schindler as he walks past. He goes into the crowded office of the Judenrat. The stairs are filled with desperate Jews, waiting to be seen.