Have you ever wondered what it really means to put your heart and soul into a film? Steven Spielberg’s profound connection to Schindler’s List is compelling evidence of this very question, marking it as his most personal creation. The film, whose challenging production gradually turned into a passion project for the director, has since emerged as one of the most defining works that best explained the evil of the Holocaust.
Nonetheless, the journey to bring this heart-rending masterpiece to life was fraught with solemn notes of heartbreak, particularly for another acclaimed director. That being said, Billy Wilder, recipient of seven Academy Awards, envisioned Schindler’s List as a final ode to the loss of his own family during the Holocaust.
Spielberg once shared the tender yet devastating interaction between him and Wilder.
Exploring the What-Ifs: Billy Wilder & the Almost-Directed Schindler’s List
The epic tale of Steven Spielberg’s historical drama film, Schindler’s List, is not only a masterpiece of cinema but also a bittersweet story of a missed opportunity for another legendary director.
Billy Wilder, the celebrated filmmaker behind classics such as The Apartment and Sunset Boulevard, had his heart set on making the Liam Neeson-starrer movie his “last” work. It was a deeply personal tribute to the former’s own family members who perished in the Holocaust. In an interview with EW back in 2011, Spielberg, 77, recalled his heartbreaking chat with Wilder, who said:
I know you’ve had it since it came out in the early ’80s, and I would love Schindler’s List to be my last film, because I know how to tell that story, because I lost family in the Holocaust, and I feel that my existence is inexorably tied to that period. As a Jew and as [an Austrian] Jew, I need to make this picture.
Sadly, Wilder’s hopes were dashed when Spielberg revealed that he had already secured the rights to Thomas Keneally’s book, Schindler’s Ark, to bring the story of Oskar Schindler to the big screen:
When I told Billy that I was going off to Poland in four months to shoot the picture, he was devastated. I was devastated that he didn’t know that I had been publicly preparing the film for almost a year.
Despite the disappointment, the directors remained friends, with Wilder offering his support & admiration for Spielberg’s dedication to telling such an important story. The latter added:
But he [Wilder] understood, and one of the first phone calls that I got when Schindler’s List started to screen was from Billy Wilder. It was a great phone call.
Schindler’s List went on to become a landmark film in Hollywood history, earning critical acclaim and multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture. However, you would be mistaken if you believed that Billy Wilder was the only director vying for the director’s duties.
In the Director’s Chair: Schindler’s List Nearly Had Martin Scorsese’s Touch?
With Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s career underwent a dramatic sea change, of course, on a positive note. Bringing his Jewish upbringing & faith to the screen also allowed the director to experience something deeper and more personal than before.
Yet, this pivotal moment could have looked entirely different, as Martin Scorsese candidly reminisced on his once-potential adaptation of Schindler’s List. In an interview with Deadline, Scorsese revealed why he ultimately decided to pass on directing the 1993 flick:
I did [The Last Temptation of Christ] I did it a certain way, and ‘Schindler’s List’ was scuttled by its reception.
The Mean Streets director, 81, realized that the weight and importance of telling the story of the Holocaust required a specific perspective, one that he, as a non-Jewish filmmaker, may not be able to fully capture:
I used the phrase at the time, ‘I’m not Jewish.’ What I meant was, it’s the old story that the journey had to be taken by a Jewish person through that world, and I think Steven also learned that.
In a display of humility and respect, Scorsese recognized that Spielberg’s Jewish upbringing and heritage gave him a unique emotional connection to the material.
Scorsese’s decision to step aside and allow Spielberg to bring Schindler’s List to life ultimately resulted in a cinematic masterpiece that resonates deeply with audiences to this day. While it’s fascinating to imagine what a Martin Scorsese-helmed version may have looked like, it’s clear that the right filmmaker stepped forward to tackle the harrowing subject matter.
Schindler’s List is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
