Schinler's List is a 1993 biographical film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian, telling the story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than one thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust. It was based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally, and starred Liam Neeson as Schindler, Ralph Fiennes as Schutzstaffel officer Amon Göth, and Ben Kingsley as Schindler's accountant Itzhak Stern. The film was both a box office success and recipient of seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Score.