In 1990, Neeson made an abortive attempt to become a leading man and action hero with the title role in Darkman, Evil Dead director Sam Raimi’s superhero action misfire. “That was a challenge and I did embrace it,” he said when interviewed for the Darkman Blu-ray release last year. Forget it.”However, it was his success in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List that finally validated the then 41-year-old Neeson as A Serious Actor. Shot in black-and-white by director Steven Spielberg, the film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards: Neeson lost out on Best Actor to Tom Hanks, who won for Philadelphia. It’s powerful stuff, with the tense two-handed climax of this Oliver Hirschbiegel-directed film ranking among the best work by both men.