9th Grade English Critical Paper
Mr. ZervanosSchindler’s List
Schindler’s List is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and was made in 1993. It won seven Academy Awards, including best picture and best director, and it won every other major Best Picture award. The film presents the story of Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party and a shrewd businessman who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. The movie also won Academy Awards for Music, Cinematography (how it is “photographed” through the lens of the movie camera), Editing (how all the filmed parts are put together in the “editing room”), and Art Direction (how it is made beautiful with original “artistic touches”); these are all aspects of a movie that are easily overlooked but that can make a movie truly great, powerful and beautiful. It is not just the powerful story of Schindler’s List that makes the movie great but how the movie is made.
As you watch the movie, take notes; think about and observe interesting plot and character elements, paying particular attention to the paper elements that are explained below.
Then, write a critical paper on the film: in the first paragraph, summarize the plot thoroughly, focusing on who Oskar Schindler is and describing his struggles and ultimate accomplishments in detail; no doubt, you should mention Itzak Stern (played by Ben Kingsley), Schindler’s Jewish accountant and assistant, and Goethe (played by Ralph Fiennes), the Nazi commander who Schindler deals with. In this paragraph’s first sentence, mention the movie title and the director, Steven Spielberg. Then go on to describe Schindler’s story, making references to specific characters, events, and scenes. You might begin, “In Schindler’s List, directed by Steven Spielberg, Oskar Schindler is a businessman living in Germany during World War II.”
In the second paragraph (and however many more paragraphs you wish to write for more credit), write about your observations of the film-making (the interesting, often-overlooked artistic elements that make this movie much more than just a good story—the acting, the costumes, the effects, the settings, the “photography,” etc.). Your opening sentence here might begin, “I admired many of the artistic aspects of the movie, including the acting, the music, and the cinematography.” Then, you would go on to describe specific examples that you recall (of the acting, the music, and the cinematography—or whatever other topics you choose).
Finally, in the last paragraph, write your personal reaction to, and opinion of, the movie: anything goes here—write about the story, the characters, your feelings, the film-making, particularly powerful scenes, connections to Night, or whatever else you found interesting, etc.
100 points:
25 points for the content of each of the three paragraphs, which should begin with a topic sentence (5 points) and should follow up with excellent details (total of 75 points). For “Paragraph Two,” possible bonus points for excellent additional paragraphs that explore artistic aspects of the film.
15 points for the notes—there’s no right or wrong here: I just want to see a good solid page of handwritten notes that cover the whole movie, more or less. Handwrite these notes on notebook paper, line by line, in phrase or sentence form; then hand in the page(s) along with your typed, double-spaced paper. Possible bonus points for excellent and plentiful notes.
10 points for mechanics, grammar, punctuation, and spelling