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The Pianist (2002)

8.5
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Ratings: 8.5/10 from 265,705 users   Metascore: 85/100
Reviews: 701 user | 186 critic | 40 from Metacritic.com

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

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Writers:

(screenplay), (based on the book by)
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Title: The Pianist (2002)

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Top 250 #49 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 48 wins & 47 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Michal Zebrowski ...
...
...
...
...
...
...
SS Slapping Father
Richard Ridings ...
Nomi Sharron ...
Anthony Milner ...
Man Waiting to Cross
Lucy Skeaping ...
Street Musician (as Lucie Skeaping)
Roddy Skeaping ...
Street Musician
Ben Harlan ...
Street Musician
Edit

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. Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

warsaw ghetto | jewish | piano | nazi | pianist | See more »

Taglines:

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.


Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and brief strong language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

| | |

Language:

| |

Release Date:

28 March 2003 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

El pianista  »

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

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

|

Color:

(archive footage)|

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Last feature film of Cyril Shaps. See more »

Goofs

The infamous Sports Palace speech by Josef Goebbels (18th February 1943) is heard on the radio in 1939. See more »

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.
See more »

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. See more »

Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)
Clips are shown See more »

Soundtracks

"Umowilem sie z nia na dziewiata"
(1937)
Music by Henry Vars (as Henryk Wars)
Lyrics by Emanuel Schlechter (as Emanuel Szlechter)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Excellent, depressing, but excellent
1 November 2004 | by (Chicago, Illinois) – See all my reviews

Man, I can not get this film out of my head. It is so rare that a movie can affect me the way "The Pianst" did. The last movie that did that was "Casino". I was really tired when I was watching the movie. It was almost midnight, so I was thinking that I'll start watching and I'll finish it in the morning. Did I? No, indeed I did not stop watching. I couldn't stop it. I just wanted to see what would happen next. I cried during "Schindler's List", I sobbed in this film. Everything that happens in this film is so sad. Adrien Brody does a remarkable job of acting in this film. I would very highly recommend this film. Especially if you are a history buff. Please, I think this film should be in the top 10 best films of all time.

I looked on the message boards you know and some other user comments that didn't enjoy this film much, they criticized Adrien Brody's performance and say that he was boring and only showed emotions that are easy to act. Please, you have got to be kidding me. This man portrayed the total feeling of hopelessness, being alone, being hated. I one time had an audition in high school like this to see if I could improvise, and the way I imagined this feeling is like in dodgeball where you have no one else on your team and you're the only one left standing, yet on the other team there is 20 big men that are just waiting to wack that ball at you. Adrien couldn't have done a better job, I was so frightened for him and cried for him during the whole film while he was one the run.

Roman Polanski as the director, he himself escaped the terrors of being a prisoner in The Holocaust, yet he lost his mother and other family members. Yes, I'm sure this film must have been hard to re create for him, but he was probably the only director that could have done this movie as brilliantly as he did. He created this story and made it so effective, I called up my mom and told her that I loved her so much because we take so many things for granted. True, this isn't the 1930's or 40's, and we are in America. But it's still frightening to think that human beings are capable of that much hate and being so brutal to another human.

World War II is one of the most frightening wars in history, if you read more about The Holocaust, you get more into it and you should. If you are not interested, then watch this film. It's a must see, otherwise how else will we learn from our mistakes? The Pianist is a beautiful and extremely dark tale about a man and the struggle to survive. The ending is so powerful and moving to know that sometimes one man can make a difference in a crowd of so many and I'm not talking about Adrien Brody's character. You'll see what I mean.

10/10


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