he time the most successful film in the history of American cinema. When Jurassic Park was released, Steven made us believe that dinosaurs existed through the use of digital effects on computers. Astounding crowds with trademark Spielberg action, the films gross would not be toppled until the 1997 winter release of James Camerons historical epic Titanic. During the shoot of Jurassic Park, Steven began work on another project, Schindlers List, which would become his most critical success of his career. Schindlers List is the true story of Oskar Schindler who saved over one thousand Jews from certain death by employing them in his factory during World War II. One writer for Newsweek noted, this movie will shatter you, but it earns its tears honestly (Corliss 81). The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won seven including Best Picture and finally after all the rejections, Steven won his first Oscar for Best Director. In 1997 when the American Film Institute announced the 100 Greatest Films of All Time, five of Stevens films were among them including Schindlers List which ranked at number nine. Following the production of the film, in 1994 Steven founded the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which recorded oral histories of Holocaust survivors. He then followed that up with the Righteous Persons Foundation, which provided grants for Jewish groups and causes. After taking a three-year break from film making, Steven returned in 1997 with a not surprising follow-up to 1993s Jurassic Park entitled The Lost World. Despite the films commercial success, the film has been regarded as the worst work of Stevens career. Even Steven himself has noted that the film was made because he knew that it would be a huge blockbuster. Later that same year, he released the drama Amistad, the true story of African-American mens struggle for freedom aboard the slave ship La Amistad. Even though the film was named as one o...
