Peacock Glitch Causes ‘Schindler’s List’ to Stream Without On-Screen Text in Film’s Finale
Peacock is having some technical difficulties. The service is the streaming home of “Schindler's List,” one of the most highly-regarded films in cinema history. But a technical glitch is currently wreaking some havoc with one of the movie’s most important scenes.
The issue involves the final scene of the film, in which on-screen text appears over the picture to explain what happened to Oskar Schindler in the years following World War II. The version of the film available on Peacock at publishing time omits this text and simply plays the pictures without the added context. Filmmaker and visual effects artist Todd Vaziri highlighted the issue and provided a side-by-side comparison of the versions on Twitter.
There’s a problem with “Schindler’s List” on Peacock in the U.S. As of 1/4/23, the end of the film is presented without the on-screen titles. Perhaps the textless version was submitted and localized on-the-fly graphics are broken. @peacock @PeacockTVCare https://t.co/qRNaog3rfz pic.twitter.com/BExXABwTyc
— Todd Vaziri (@tvaziri) January 4, 2023
It is unclear how long the glitch has been present, or how long it will remain. Vaziri speculated that the textless version was submitted to Peacock, and the on-screen graphics were added in later, but are now broken.
The movie follows the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist whose factories in occupied Poland employed Jewish slave labor under the Nazi regime. Becoming aware of the brutality toward the Jews, Schindler takes increasingly desperate measures to save the lives of as many Jewish workers as he can.
Technical glitches have plagued streaming services before, but perhaps never on a movie of this gravity. When Disney+ launched in 2019, it only offered episodes of “The Simpsons” in the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. However, the show was originally produced in the 4:3 aspect ratio, meaning many visual gags from the show’s first 19 seasons were cut off on the streaming service. The streamer restored the original ratio in 2020.
Audiences are hoping NBCUniversal takes similarly swift action to rectify the problem with “Schindler’s List,” because the text offers a much-needed coda to the film. “Schindler’s List” is one of the finest pieces of cinematic art ever made, and though the film is certainly still watchable on Peacock despite the omission, it is sadly incomplete without the on-screen text during the movie’s close.
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