Spectacular Movie! Really Sad though, I was almost in tears when they tore the kids away from their parents kicking and screaming, great movie though!
Schindler's List
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Accurate, heartbreaking masterpiece about the Holocaust.
Themes in this movie include: physical abuse
updated 10.09.09
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 15–16
The good stuff
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Role models:
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Schindler's List was written by Heather Boerner
Parents need to know that this brutal, emotionally devastating three-hour drama won several Oscars and has a powerful message about the human spirit -- but it pulls absolutely no punches when depicting the Holocaust. There are arbitrary murders and mass killings, Nazi commanders compare Jews to rats, children are killed, and there are scenes of shocking, grisly violence. There's also plenty of anti-Semitic language, smoking and drinking, and several scenes of nakedness. In two of them, a woman is naked from the waist up in bed and in sexual situations. But in the rest, nakedness is used to humiliate and harass Jewish residents of concentration camps.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about their reaction to the film's emotionally difficult material.
- Do you believe the atrocities depicted here can happen again? Why or why not?
- Discuss other ways in which individuals make a difference.
- Families may want to watch additional DVDs produced by the Survivors of the Shoah Foundation designed to help kids understand and confront bias.
Have you seen it? Review It!
More on Schindler's List
What’s the Story?
In Schindler's List, Spielberg displays the virtuosity of a great documentary film maker: The Holocaust, in which six million Jews, political prisoners, Jehovah's Witnesses, and gays were killed, is too vast and too atrocious to fathom. So Spielberg searches history for the one true story that will make it comprehensible. He gives us Czechoslovakian businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a grandiose, insinuating businessman bent on making a successful business on the backs of Jews who are robbed of their homes, jobs, property, and, many, their lives. The film follows Schindler's transformation from greedy war profiteer to humanitarian who eventually saves the lives of 1,100 people destined for death at Auschwitz. But there are two main characters in this film. If one is Schindler, the other, undoubtedly, is the Holocaust itself. Spielberg gives us the Holocaust in the names of the Schindler Jews, and uses real-life stories to make it real. We get Ihtzak Stern (played with quiet rage and dignity by Ben Kingsley), the Jewish accountant who runs Schindler's manufacturing plant. We get Helen Hirsch (Embeth Davidtz), the Jewish woman who serves as a Nazi commander's (played with icy sadism by Ralph Fiennes) maid and the object of his twisted adoration. We get, as the title implies, a list of people, of faces, of stories that make the atrocities of World War II real.
Is It Any Good?
There are few films more powerful and important than SCHINDLER'S LIST, the 1993 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture. But that's not why you should watch this film. Watch it for the brilliant storytelling, great acting, and its message that one person can make a difference in the face of evil.
While it's a brilliant film, its three-plus hour running time and true-to-life grisly violence make it mostly a film for adults. If you have a particularly mature teen, share this film with him and talk about it afterward. Families that watch the film may want to watch the bonus features on the real-life experiences of the Schindler Jews and on the Survivors of the Shoah Foundation. The film may prompt a discussion of genocide elsewhere in the world and what individuals can do to help put an end to it. It may also prompt a visit to a museum of tolerance or the Holocaust Museum.
Movie Details
Studio: Universal Studios, Director: Steven Spielberg
Run time: 196 minutes
Theatrical release: 1/1/1993, DVD release: 9/9/2004
MPAA Rating: R for language, violence, and some sexuality.
Run time: 196 minutes
Theatrical release: 1/1/1993, DVD release: 9/9/2004
MPAA Rating: R for language, violence, and some sexuality.
Our Members Say
See all 26 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
Great Movie on the Holocaust!
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I rate this title on for age 16 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
Although very violent and graphic, it is a favorite in our household. It is important to watch and learn from such movies lest horrors such as the Holocaust was may never repeat themselves.
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I rate this title off for age 16 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
A Postitive Message Shrouded in Brutality
This is another one of those films from Common Sense which they lower the age range simply because it has very positive messages about the goodness of the human heart. Don't be fooled. This is a terrific and realistic portrayal of what happened to a large group of Jews during Nazi Germany. On that note, the violence is stark and hits very hard. It is often brutal, and the only color in the whole film other than the very beginning and end is blood. In some of the scenes, women and men are naked, being publicly humiliated because of their creed. The drinking and smoking is at an okay range, which is fine for a rated R audience. The bad guys are obviously bad, and the good good, so no problems there. It is obvious who the bad role models are, therefore there arn't any problems in that area. I'd recommend this film to anyone interested in great cinema, but children should definitely not watch this movie, along with no one under age 17.
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I rate this title iffy for age 15 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Positive message excuses negative elements
This movie did have a bit of sexualized nudity..but the powerful messages the movie conveyed about what was right and true in the world outweigh the sexual moments. There is full frontal nudity of both males and females however it is not sexual in nature in anyway. This movie does have a great amount of violence, but it was the Holocaust. You can't sugarcoat that. The language was also very strong, but it was part of characterization, not just thrown in to make the movie funnier or more crude. Schindler's List is a movie where it really makes you think about what is right in the world and what lengths doing the right thing is worth going to. It's powerful message outweighs its negatives. In conclusion, you know your kid and what they can handle and what their maturity level is.
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I rate this title on for age 15 and give it
e.g. Perfect for older kids, but not for tweens
It's too morally simplistic and a little too mainstream to really be a masterpiece, but it is very, very good.
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
There is another film coming out that relates to WWII called Iron Cross. It is actually Roy Scheider's final film. His character runs into the Nazi that killed his entire family, and together with his son, they set out to exact justice. It's going to be so good!! I downloaded the trailer and I can't wait for it to come out!!
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- Drinking, smoking, or drug use
This would be good movie if it did not have all the sex scenes or naked females. If I wanted to look at a naked female I would like at myself. I do not need it on my TV screen and in front of my children. It could've been just as gripping and powerful without the sex scenes. It stops the scenes from continuing and follow properly of the storyline and the educational purposes. I would not now or ever let my child see this movie unless the sex scenes are omitted from it. Some people think it was "cool" to see the naked scenes but that is or shouldn't be what you remember about this kind of movie. Poor judgment on all involved in making this movie about what happened in history. Poor movie to teach kids upon! This not age appropriate 17 and under should be 18 and older to view.
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I rate this title off for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
dang
I only saw part of this movie in my german class and i already thought it was very sad and depressing. facing the horrible reality of what really went down during wwII is a hard thing to do. If your interested in wwII then i would suggest playing call of duty:world at war if you are 17 or older. it can also be very upsetting. However i didnt see enough of the movie to give it an accurate rating, ive heard from numerous people that its excellent.
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
Great movie... But also very depressing
i recently saw this movie and have to say it is an excellent movie but for anyone under the age of 14 it is not for them. there is constant incredibly realistic violence. children are slaughtered and there are many disturbing scenes. there is also 2 scenes with full frontal nudity of male and females with exposed genitals, there is about 6 or 7 f words and there are a few sex scenes all with bare breasts. even so pick up this great award winner
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I rate this title on for age 14 and give it
Great movie... But also very depressing
i recently saw this movie and have to say it is an excellent movie but for anyone under the age of 14 it is not for them. there is constant incredibly realistic violence. children are slaughtered and there are many disturbing scenes. there is also 2 scenes with full frontal nudity of male and females with exposed genitals, there is about 6 or 7 f words and there are a few sex scenes all with bare breasts. even so pick up this great award winner
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I rate this title pause for age 12 and give it
desterbing great gritty
this is a outstanding movie that everyone should see at some point, it will change you. We see jews being tortured shot at point blank range and it doesn't hold back it shows the harshest and worst of humans and you ask yourself how can anyone do such a thing. We see fantastic character development through Oskar Schindler and ull see also the kindness of humans. What age can handle it completely depends after i myself saw it doent want to have anything to do with WWII again in my life others might inspire them to learn more it just depends.
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I rate this title pause for age 8 and give it
It has a very good message
Schindler's List gives a lot of detail about the Holocaust and how much the Jews struggled. Although the language content is adult sometimes, it tells you alot of how cruely the Jews were treated. I thought it was a very great movie! Age to see it depends on how well you can handle it and it may be different for everybody.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
one of the best movies ever made
This movie was simply amazing. I think that everyone should watch it at some point in their life but people under 13 or who are easily depressed should be warned that it is a very depressing movie. There are some iffy scenes but I think that most people can deal with them.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
I guess something happened to my review below...
Probably because I complained that CSM just posted the review on this classic the day I reviewed it. But that doesn't matter. Basically what I had said was that "Schindler's List" is, in short, one of the greatest and saddest movies ever made. THIS is Spielburg's masterpiece, along with "Saving Private Ryan." That's all I can say about the movie without both giving more away and going on and on. I do have a warning for viewing this movie on DVD however. When I watched it, about the last third is on the opposite side of the disc, so having to stop the film and flip it over can break the spell that the movie casts over you. Content wise, this is definitely not one for the kids. I'm actually a little surprised CSM gave it a 15 rather than a 17. There is a fair amount of nudity throughout the movie, both sexual and non, and there is also a sex scene with almost full on nudity (but this is relevant to the character of Schindler, as he was quite the womanizer). Left out in the language description, is the fact that there are about nine or so f-bombs and some other cussing covering all of the bases. As for violence, that is what really gave this movie the "R" rating. If you look on the DVD (this is not on CSM, but is true nonetheless), "List" is rated for ACTUALITY violence. And that's about the closest you can get to describing the violence in the movie. It is even more realistic than SPR, but obviously not as intense since that is not the point, but rather Spielburg wants to portray the horror of the Holocaust as realistically as possible. So I would check twice before showing this movie to your teens, even though I did watch it when I was 14, but I DID have to look away during the sensualized parts.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
Such A Sad Movie
I watched Schindler's List in my senior high history class. It was a fair (and sad) portrail of the Haulocaust. I would reccomend this for older kids who realise the effect of this event on WW II.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
A Truly Great Movie
Schindler's List is a very very well made and powerful movie. It was extremely sad and intense, though, and definitely not for kids or young teens. I don't even think I should have seen it, I had to look away many times and it made me cry alot. If you are a sensitive teen or even a sensitive adult you may want to watch something else. It's a really great movie though.
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
WORST MOVIE EVER
Do not ever let anyone under the age of 17 see this movie. My parents made a HUGE mistake in making me see it - we stopped it half way through. It is highly disturbing. I wanted to walk away at times. Dont watch. Not recomended viewing at all.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Amazing!
A wonderful portrayal of the bravery of one man- and how he saved many Jews from certain death!!! A MUST SEE!!!!
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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Ratings at a Glance
| 75% | of parents say the sexual behavior isn't age appropriate |
| 50% | of parents say it gives kids positive messages |
| 50% | of parents say it's too violent |
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