First, the film deals with current events from the very beginning in its candlelight ceremony opener and doesn't fill in a backstory on any of the characters (except as they tell about their life prior to the war). The book, conversely, provides a fairly standard biography of Schindler's youth in its first few chapters. The book goes into some detail about his early life, growing up in Czechoslovakia, and his years before the war. The film mainly shows Oskar as he is and how he changes due to his internal conflicts over what he observes under Nazi control.

Second, certain scenes in the movie are altered to emphasize visual rather than narrative storytelling. For example, the famous scene of the "girl in the red coat" from the film connects with the same character from the book and expresses the same sentiment, yet her story is told differently in the film. In the novel, the little girl's murder is directly observed by Schindler, which creates a tension and conflict within him. In the film, the internal conflict arises when Schindler and his mistress are riding horses and look down into the town to see people being herded into the Jewish ghetto. One of the people he sees is this little girl, in a red jacket, who will almost certainly die as she wanders through the crowd, with no one to protect her. It is a piece of masterful visual narrative that suggests death rather than shows it, and symbolizes life with its isolated patch of color in a red coat.

Third, certain characters in the film take on greater importance. One example is Helen (a Polish woman, born in 1925) who served as a maid to Amon Goeth. She is a minor player in the book but in the film she becomes a central character and a symbol of Jewish goodness and beauty. When she is brutalized by the vicious Goeth, her fear and powerlessness starkly contrast with the Nazi's violence and absolute power.

Films and the books they’re based on are almost always significantly different. Sometimes we find this to be a cause of frustration, especially if we liked the book. Because of the difference in the artistic attributes of the two mediums, it’s not possible for a film to cover the same amount of ground that a book covers—it would just take too long. Also, we have to keep in mind that movies are a visual art—the picture is more important than anything else, so storylines are often subjugated to the need to create meaningful visuals.

In the case of Schindler’s List, there are actually so many differences between the movie and the book that I couldn’t come close to listing them all here. I’ll describe the most striking difference that I found.

In the movie, the character of Stern was a very reluctant partner to Schindler. He didn’t trust him and did not want to help him start up a business. A large part of the dramatic structure of the film revolves around the slowly developing friendship between the two. In the book, however, Stern actually approaches Schindler about buying a business. He realizes early that Schindler is the kind of Nazi who might actually be willing to help to Polish Jews.

Some similarities between the movie and book Schindler's List involve the introduction of Oskar Schindler, the brutality of Amon Goeth, and certain details about the Holocaust.

Both Steven Spielberg’s film and Thomas Keneally’s book introduce Schindler as a mysterious figure. The choice to not come right out and identify Schindler reflects his elusive personality. In the movie, Schindler is introduced in fragments. One sees him pouring a drink, putting on his clothes, securing his Nazi pin, and then entering the lavish space from behind. In the book, the first sentence focuses on a “tall young man.” As with the movie, the book initially highlights Schindler’s style, dandyish status, and his Nazi pin.

Also, in both the book and the movie, Amon Goeth is depicted as a particularly sadistic, capricious, and murderous member of the Nazi party. Whether reading the book or watching the movie, one will find scenes of Goeth shooting Jews from his balcony or assaulting forced laborers.

Finally, Spielberg’s movie and Keneally’s book each incorporate the insidious nuances of the Nazi’s genocidal campaign against the Jews. One corresponding detail centers on the showers. Usually, the showers were gas chambers. In one scene, the showers are really showers, so water comes out. As Keneally writes, the Jews “are delighted to find mere icy water.” Spielberg retains the suspense about the showers. His decision to do so has been criticized, with some scholars labeling the shower scene “perverse” and “pornographic.”