The Pianist (2002)

A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ronald Harwood (screenplay), Wladyslaw Szpilman (based on the book by)

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Emilia Fox, Frank Finlay

Top 250 #48 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 48 wins & 47 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adrien Brody	...	Wladyslaw Szpilman
Emilia Fox	...	Dorota
Michal Zebrowski	...	Jurek
Ed Stoppard	...	Henryk
Maureen Lipman	...	Mother
Frank Finlay	...	Father
Jessica Kate Meyer	...	Halina
Julia Rayner	...	Regina
Wanja Mues	...	SS Slapping Father
Richard Ridings	...	Mr. Lipa
Nomi Sharron	...	Feather Woman
Anthony Milner	...	Man Waiting to Cross
Lucy Skeaping	...	Street Musician (as Lucie Skeaping)
Roddy Skeaping	...	Street Musician
Ben Harlan	...	Street Musician

Storyline

A brilliant pianist, a Polish Jew, witnesses the restrictions Nazis place on Jews in the Polish capital, from restricted access to the building of the Warsaw ghetto. As his family is rounded up to be shipped off to the Nazi labor camps, he escapes deportation and eludes capture by living in the ruins of Warsaw.

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Plot Keywords:

warsaw ghetto | jewish | piano | nazi | pianist | 

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Taglines:

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and brief strong language

Details

Country:

France Poland Germany UK

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

28 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

El pianista

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$115,690 (Hong Kong) (21 March 2003)

Gross:

$32,519,322 (USA) (30 May 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

R.P. Productions, Heritage Films, Studio Babelsberg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min 142 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jurek's voice is dubbed by Roman Polanski.

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Goofs

When Wladyslaw Szpilman goes to his friend of last resort for help it is deep winter in Poland with snow. On the table in his friends flat is a bunch of fresh yellow roses. How do you get roses in mid-winter wartime Poland? Also, the following morning the roses have mysteriously changed to apricot-colored roses.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dorota: [running from bombing] Mr. Szpilman?
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Hello.
Dorota: Oh, I came specially to meet you. I love your playing.
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Who are you?
Dorota: My name is Dorota. I, I'm Jurek's sister... You're bleeding.

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Crazy Credits

Aside from the Universal and Focus Features credits, there are no opening credits. All credits, including the title, appear at the end of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Sonata No. 14 in C# Minor, Op. 27/2: 'Mondscheinsonate'"
(1801)
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven (as Ludwig Van Beethoven)

User Reviews

Stoic, haunting tale of survival

The Pianist tells the story of such a man in war time Poland, played by Adrien Brody, who from start to finish sees his life literally getting worse and worse and worse- starts off with new rules from the Nazis, then the stars on the arms, followed by the Warsaw ghetto, and while there he could play in the restaurant, that too soon ended, as the trains arrived and took his family and anyone else he knew away. During this he narrowly escapes, and from then on the film in a sense almost becomes not exactly a holocaust film, but more like a cross of that as the element and the basic structure of something a-la in Cast Away: this includes stretches of scenes showing Brody simply trying to keep out of view of the Germans, either in a small apartment provided by helpful Polish Christians/Jewish resistance, or as a scavenger in the abandoned sections of the ghetto, all while feeling the old rhythm of the piano in his head and fingertips.

This is the kind of magnificent filmmaking that shows a director not only being as true to the story given to him (that of Painist Szpilman, based on his autobiography) but to his past as well- Roman Polanksi faced similar conditions as a boy in the early 40's, and has found the best line to show, never crossed or mis-stepped, in representing the characters and the period. There aren't any hints of tightened suspense, no clues as to where the film could veer to, it just is. The big difference to be seen between a film like this and Schindler's List is not just in the people and situations (Schindler's List was a film about two people, Schindler and Goeth, in the foreground while the Pianist is a total first person tale), yet also in the filmmaking qualities being here surely European. And while the accents on the Polish-Jewish actors sounds a bit too British, that is quite forgivable considering the scope of the project (thank heavens he didn't put in English speaking Germans).

In conclusion, Brody turns in a superb performance, and this indeed is in with Polanski's best, a deserved of 2002's Palme D'Or. Great music too. A+