Another Spielberg film, Schindler's List is a harrowing tale of a man on the Nazi side attempting to spare as many innocents as possible. The tale is based on the acts of Oskar Schindler, who turned his factory into a haven for Jews, in all saving approximately 1100 from the concentration camps. The starkness of the situation comes across well in Spielberg's black and white film. Schindler, unbelievably brought to life by Liam Neeson, transforms from greed to compassion in the face of terrible personal peril. The usage of symbolism in the film - visually through the spare usage of color and intangibly - rouses deep human emotion. Although the film eschews the battlefield, it is perhaps more about "war" than any other period piece that avoids action, for it illustrates that wars can happen in any locale, with bullets or without.
Stalag 17 (1953)
This film takes place in a German Prisoner of War camp and focuses on a group of American soldiers attempting to survive to the end of the war. The group attempts various escapes, but each one is somehow snuffed out. They begin to suspect a spy within their own ranks. The action is intensified from this point onward, as men who battled one enemy start to turn upon themselves in the confines of a prison camp. Billy Wilder directs Stalag 17 as much as a mystery as a war movie, but never lets one or the other take over. The situation of war is always present, but the larger human situation of survival twists the reality into mystery. The film is full of wonderful film-personalities that smack you in the face with their bravado, a trait much lacking in contemporary cinema. William Holden plays Sefton, the stoic patsy, as hard as sandpaper. An often overlooked gem, Stalag 17 offers something for fans of all sorts of films.