As haunting now as it was on its original release, Schindler's List remains an ambitious, emotional and quite brilliant piece of filmmaking, whose impact and importance has not been diluted one jot. Director Steven Spielberg had certainly dabbled in his fair share of serious dramas before Schindler's List, but this always felt like it was something different. An adaptation of Thomas Keneally's book, Schindler's Ark, the narrative centres on Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, whose actions in World War II saved the lives of many Jewish people from the hands of the Nazis.

Spielberg's film never downplays the horror either, channelling much of it through the character of Ralph Fiennes' brutal, nasty Nazi commander. This was Fiennes' breakthrough performance and it still chills. Rightly so.

Filmed in black and white and on location in Poland, Schindler's List's three hour running time goes quickly, but the feelings it stirs up don't. This new Blu-ray, released to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the film, digs deeper into the story behind the movie too, with some thoughtful, heartbreaking extra material. The main feature itself is exquisitely presented on Blu-ray, and John Williams and Itzhak Perlman's music has never sounded better.

Schindler's List may not be the kind of film to put on every week, but it's an important, very watchable and extremely thought-provoking piece of cinema. 20 years on, its telling of history seems more important than ever. --Jon Foster