Chapter 767

'Schindler's List' was finally officially released at the end of 1993. With a lot of publicity done and the attention of countless people, it immediately received countless good reviews.

"Spielberg once again showed his amazing talent. He used a black-and-white film to do what color films couldn't. He shut the mouths of those who doubted him." — Los Angeles Times

"Heavy, depressing, and hopeful. This is a masterpiece of humanitarianism. Spielberg is no longer full of childishness, but he has given the audience an unbearable work. "— Hollywood Reporter

"Saving one person is like saving the world. Adriaan, the producer of" Schindler's List, "is right. Although I still believe that Schindler's motives were not that pure, I agree that this is a masterpiece." — Chicago Tribune

Even the sharp-tongued film critic Roger Ebert, who liked to make fun of good movies, praised the film in his column and gave it a thumbs up.

"Since the 1960s, color has come into play in movies. Although black-and-white movies haven't completely disappeared from the silver screen, they have become a place for individual performances. Directors make black-and-white movies to show their unique tastes, because the more colors there are, the more things they can express.

But now, Spielberg has broken through this limitation. Although "Schindler's List" only has two colors, we can see more colors than black and white. When the one-armed old man was beaten to death in the snow, the flowing blood formed a strong contrast to the snow; when the women in the concentration camp had to prick their fingers and smear their blood on their faces in order to make their pale faces look rosier and avoid being singled out by the Nazis; when the children in the concentration camp had to hide in the cesspits under the toilets in order to avoid the Nazis' search; when the women were running around in circles in the concentration camp with their naked bodies. Although there were only two colors, the shock and impact it produced allowed us to see more of the heaviness that colors couldn't bring.

The whole movie was full of Spielberg's montage, full of obvious but meaningful metaphors. For example, when Armon pulled a Jewish worker out and shot him in the head several times, he didn't fire because of the problem with the gun. Even so, he didn't give up and continued to pull the trigger. His inhumanity could be seen here.

But the most admirable character was the little girl who walked through the massacre with color. She used such a bright red color to represent the symbolic meaning of the massacre, which made people want to stand up and applaud. But Spielberg admitted that this Spielberg idea didn't come from him, but from his friend Adrian Kewell. Not only did Kewell help him a lot with this movie, but he also provided the investment for the whole movie. I have to say, this young man deserves the title of 'Miracle Director.' "

Of course, there were articles criticizing the movie, but most of them were superficial. The more famous the media, the more critical they were. Most of them criticized the shooting methods and angles, and at the same time, they praised the movie as a great work full of humanitarianism. After all, anti-fascism was politically correct in any country. Plus, there were a lot of old guys behind it. Even the most extreme anti-Semites didn't dare to openly oppose it.

It was precisely because of this momentum that the movie had already obtained 300 cinemas before its release. After its release, it immediately expanded to 400 cinemas. But that was all. Although the old guys hoped that more people could enjoy the movie, they couldn't go against the market rules unless they completely monopolized the theaters.

But it didn't matter. This was a good start compared to other art movies. From the beginning, Adriaan had decided to release it in the long run. As long as the current momentum was maintained and gradually increased, the owners of the theaters had to abide by the market rules.

In short, from the end of 1993 to the beginning of 1994, the most discussed movie in the United States was "Schindler's List." All kinds of praises came out one after another. The Jewish communities in major cities across the United States held grand memorial events. Even Clinton shouted at a press conference, "I urge you to watch this movie."

As for whether he really thought so, or if he wanted to please the voters, or if he had made a deal with someone, no one knew. In any case, this added fuel to the fire for "Schindler's List," making it burn more and more vigorously in the United States. Three weeks later, not only did the number of theaters increase to 800, but the total box office earnings in North America also reached 20 million. This momentum didn't seem to be slowing down at all. Probably all the Jewish families in North America went to watch this movie.

The situation in Europe was even more heated. After all, that was the area where Jews were mainly affected. When the movie was released in European countries, many Jewish families took the initiative to promote it. Coupled with the unprecedented unity of the Jews who had been ravaged after World War II, the old guys in the United States only needed to contact German Chancellor Kohl and he appeared at the German premiere of "Schindler's List."

Of course, to be able to achieve such results and cause such a stir was not unrelated to the outstanding performance of the movie. Just as Adriaan had said a long time ago, the reason why "Schindler's List" was favored and sought after by those old guys was because of its entertainment value, or rather, because it was closer to the feelings of the ordinary people.

Whether it was "A Street in Warsaw," "Annie's Diary," or "Naked among Wolves," they were either too old, as "A Street in Warsaw" was a work from 1949, or too narrow in perspective, as "Annie's Diary" and "Naked among Wolves" were all from a single person's point of view, describing the affairs of one or several families.

"Schindler's List" had three perspectives, and it showed that period of history in all its aspects. More importantly, Spielberg knew what kind of plot and what kind of characters the audience preferred to watch. The reason why "Schindler's List" could achieve such a good box office in Germany was not only because the Germans reflected on themselves, but also because the main character was a German.

The audience would naturally be moved and shocked by this, and the Jews would naturally discover the effect of this movie in terms of publicity. Naturally, "Schindler's List" would become a hot topic of discussion.

Because of this movie, Spielberg's position in Hollywood became more and more stable. After all, at least half of the founders of the seven major film companies were Jews, and the other half were more or less related to Jews.

Similarly, Kingsley also received more praises, and Nissen and Fiennes's situation in Hollywood opened up because of this. Nissen, in particular, had to dress up every time he went out during the screening of the movie. Otherwise, he would be surrounded by countless people no matter where he went. Sometimes, he would even encounter people who treated the movie as reality and treated him as Schindler, thanking him over and over again.

Fiennes, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Who asked him to play the villain? However, there were still many film companies that approached him. Unfortunately, this British kid's ambition did not lie there. He seemed to prefer British films. Of course, Hollywood films with good scripts would also be accepted, but they had already been verbally booked with Adriaan.

However, they were not the ones who benefited the most from this movie.

"You are an amazing young man, Eide. You have both brains and foresight, and you are so talented." Among a circle of people in suits and leather shoes, a slightly plump old man in his early 70s said to Adriaan.

"That's right. Steven himself said that without you, this movie would have lost a lot of its luster," another short old man said. His words made everyone nod in agreement.

"You flatter me. This is the result of everyone's hard work." Adriaan said with a smile. Then, he straightened his face and raised the glass in his hand. "Although it's a little inappropriate on this occasion, I would still like to invite all of you to …"

"It's okay. This is what we should do." One of them also raised his glass and became serious.

"To those who lost their lives in suffering. May they rest in the arms of the Lord," Adriaan said.

After downing the glass and saying a few more words, Adriaan then left and went to the father and son who were talking.

"Are you done talking?" Benedict smiled and looked at his godson.

"Yes, Godfather." Adriaan nodded. "We had a good chat."

"You are very good, Eide." Benedict patted him on the shoulder. "You can actually think of such a method."

"It's just a coincidence. If I hadn't met Steven, this situation wouldn't have happened," Adriaan said modestly.

"No, no, no, Eide. There are not so many coincidences in this world. Everything happens for a reason. If you didn't pull yourself together, didn't make a movie, and didn't get so many honors, even if you met Steven, you wouldn't be where you are now." Benedict smiled gently. "So you are very good."

"Dad." Claude couldn't help but call out to him.

"Well, son, you are also very good." Benedict suddenly laughed. "Both of you are very good. I am proud of you, very proud."

He patted both of them hard and then said seriously, "But I want to remind you, Eide, that those are all old foxes. Friendship is friendship, and business is business."

"I know, Godfather. Don't worry. Although I'm not very good at it, a smart guy is helping me." Adriaan smiled and looked at Claude. The two then gave each other a fist bump.

"That's it. I won't disturb your conversation." Benedict smiled and left.

"I never thought that a movie would be so powerful," Claude said after his father left.

"They just happened to need such a movie, so they naturally spared no effort." Adriaan shrugged, then looked at him and asked, "Is it done?"

"It's done." Claude raised his chin to an old man who was still talking in the circle. "Mr. Bloom helped a little, and the other party readily sold his shares."

Saying that, he let out a long breath and showed a victorious smile. "Ted's chips are getting smaller and smaller."