The first time I went to see Schindler's List was several weeks after it opened. It was late one evening and my family and I decided to see it. Besides us there were only four other people in the theater. I knew what the film was about and I had read all the reviews, but nothing could have prepared me for the experience that was the movie. By nature I am not an emotional person, I don't cry at movies. But by the end of Schindler's List I was finding it hard to keep a single tear from rolling down my cheek. The whole experience, the movie, the actors, the dialogue and the music was overwhelming. I knew that once I left the theatre I had seen something truly rare in movies today and I bought the music a day later.
I thought that I would be able to listen to the music composed by John Williams with no problem, but the haunting melodies and themes that he created and that were performed by the master Itzhak Perlman was just too much. It was like living the movie again. Williams has truly outdone himself with this soundtrack and it shows. The music is so soulful and thought-provoking that it instantly brings back memories of one of the most horrific times in our world's history. I have called the violin a scary instrument but it can also be one of the most soulful instruments as well. The opening theme itself is so moving and haunting that it often brings out an emotional reaction from me that few other soundtracks can do.
Most of the soundtrack is meant to serve as background for the incidents going on on film. Thus they are not overly intrusive or bombastic. Williams is quite capable of creating the proper mood to suit whatever the situation and in this case, less is more as was the case in Saving Private Ryan. That's not to say that there is no music in the film, but that it doesn't distract the viewer from the main point of the scene. If you haven't yet seen Schindler's List, by all means see it now. And if you haven't heard the music, get this soundtrack because you've never heard anything like it.
Total time: 64:36
1: Theme from Schindler's List (4:15)
2: Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter '41) (4:40)
3: Immolation (With our Lives, We Give Life) (4:43)
4: Remembrances (4:20)
5: Schindler's Workforce (9:08)
6: OYF'N Pripetshok* / Nacht Aktion (2:56)
7: I Could Have Done More (5:52)
8: Auschwitz-Birkenau (3:40)
9: Stolen Memories (4:20)
10: Making the List (5:10)
11: Give Me Your Names (4:54)
12: Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav** (2:17)
13: Remembrances (5:16)
14: Theme from Schindler's List (reprise) (2:59)