| Photos (See all 74 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 5) |
Directed by | |||
| Roman Polanski | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Ronald Harwood | (screenplay) | |
| Wladyslaw Szpilman | (based on the book by) | |
Original Music by | |||
| Wojciech Kilar | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Pawel Edelman | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Hervé de Luze | (as Herve De Luze) | ||
Casting by | |||
| Celestia Fox | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Allan Starski | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Nenad Pecur | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Wieslawa Chojkowska | |||
| Gabriele Wolff | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Anna B. Sheppard | (as Anna Sheppard) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Sonali Chatterjee | .... | hair assistant | |
| Sonali Chatterjee | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Jean-Max Guérin | .... | hairstylist (as Jean-Max Guerin) | |
| Alicja Kozlowska | .... | hair assistant | |
| Alicja Kozlowska | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Dariusz Krysiak | .... | hair assistant | |
| Dariusz Krysiak | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Didier Lavergne | .... | makeup artist | |
| Tomasz Matraszek | .... | hair assistant | |
| Tomasz Matraszek | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Beata Matuszczak | .... | hair assistant | |
| Beata Matuszczak | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Irmela Oswald | .... | hair assistant (as Irmela Osswald) | |
| Irmela Oswald | .... | makeup assistant (as Irmela Osswald) | |
| Waldemar Pokromski | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Sonja Döring | .... | assistant production manager | |
| Oliver Lüer | .... | production manager | |
| Françoise Piraud | .... | post-production manager (as Francoise Piraud) | |
| Michal Szczerbic | .... | production manager | |
| Henning Molfenter | .... | production supervisor: Germany (uncredited) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Ewa Brodzka | .... | second assistant director | |
| Zbigniew Gruz | .... | assistant director | |
| Weronika Migon | .... | second assistant director | |
| Ralph Remstedt | .... | first assistant director | |
| Oliver Schnug | .... | second assistant director | |
| Marcin Szczerbic | .... | second assistant director | |
| Caroline Veyssière | .... | assistant director | |
| Aleksandrs Petukhovs | .... | second second assistant director (uncredited) | |
| Marianna Rowinska | .... | second second assistant director (uncredited) | |
| Filip Jan Rymsza | .... | second second assistant director (uncredited) | |
| David Seffer | .... | set trainee assistant director (uncredited) | |
| Jordan Waugh | .... | assistant director: additional photography (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| Anna Adamaszek | .... | assistant art director | |
| Kerstin Braun | .... | prop assistant | |
| Jacek Czechowski | .... | assistant set decorator | |
| Bogdan Dulak | .... | set carpenter | |
| Krzysztof Dulak | .... | set carpenter | |
| Michael Düwel | .... | head of art department | |
| Michael Eigert | .... | carpenter | |
| Eckart Friz | .... | prop buyer | |
| Tadeusz Frymarski | .... | swing gang | |
| Manfred Grimm | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Martin Hartmann | .... | carpenter | |
| Matthias Hein | .... | construction dresser | |
| Adrian Hochstrasser | .... | assistant art director | |
| Peter Hoyer | .... | supervising painter | |
| Oliver Humke | .... | construction manager (as Oliver Loesch Humke) | |
| Gracia Janowicz | .... | property master | |
| Dirk Kaiser | .... | construction dresser | |
| Andreas Karbe | .... | carpenter | |
| Christoph Kettenring | .... | prop buyer | |
| Daniel Klappenbach | .... | supervising plasterer | |
| Daniela Klewitz | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Will Kley | .... | assistant art director | |
| Sven Klingsberg | .... | carpenter (as Sven Klingberg) | |
| Marian Kolodziejczyk | .... | swing gang | |
| Sebastian T. Krawinkel | .... | assistant production designer (as Sebastian Krawinkel) | |
| Christian Krebs | .... | construction dresser | |
| Ivo Krebs | .... | prop driver | |
| Marek Kukawski | .... | assistant art director | |
| Jan-Martin Köhler | .... | construction dresser | |
| Jens Leiche | .... | metalworker | |
| Alexander Liebenthron | .... | props driver (as Alex Liebenthron) | |
| Dariusz Lipinski | .... | stand-by props | |
| Cezary Matysiak | .... | assistant prop master | |
| Dave Meacom | .... | specialist painter | |
| David Meeking | .... | supervising painter | |
| Alexis Miszak | .... | construction dresser | |
| Thorsten Münch | .... | construction dresser | |
| Peter Naguib | .... | standby props | |
| Michael Nitsche | .... | painter | |
| Jochen Panten | .... | construction manager | |
| Olav Perleberger | .... | construction dresser | |
| Ewa Pfeifer | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Matthias Prange | .... | swing gang on set | |
| Maxime Rebière | .... | storyboard (as Maxime Rebiere) | |
| Thilo Reifert | .... | construction foreman | |
| John Roberts | .... | specialist painter | |
| Ingo Rohde | .... | carpenter | |
| Ewa Rojek | .... | assistant art director | |
| Mark Rosinski | .... | assistant set decorator | |
| Andrzej Rychtarczyk | .... | construction foreman | |
| Dariusz Rzepecki | .... | swing gang | |
| Grzegorz Rzepecki | .... | prop buyer | |
| Heike Sander | .... | construction dresser | |
| Uwe Schaer | .... | construction manager | |
| Udo Scharnowski | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Kay Schilling | .... | prop assistant | |
| Annerose Schlegel | .... | prop department | |
| Simone Schlehahn | .... | assistant set decorator | |
| Norbert Schröder | .... | swing gang on set | |
| Armin Schulz | .... | supervising carpenter | |
| Leon Schulz | .... | construction dresser | |
| Torsten Schwartz | .... | plasterer | |
| Oliver Spies | .... | construction dresser | |
| Pawel Stachowiak | .... | swing gang | |
| Ralf Stottrop | .... | set painter | |
| Ryszard Szymanski | .... | painter | |
| Wlodzimierz Szyrle | .... | assistant art director | |
| Anke Vetter | .... | construction dresser | |
| Caroline Von Voss | .... | construction dresser | |
| Joey Weber | .... | prop buyer | |
| Waldemar Weiss | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Jan Wewer | .... | construction dresser | |
| Pierre Brayard | .... | draughtsman (uncredited) | |
| Zuzana Cizmarova | .... | set designer (uncredited) | |
| Severino Gürtler | .... | carpenter (uncredited) | |
| Philipp Hübner | .... | carpenter (uncredited) | |
| Anja Müller | .... | assistant art director (uncredited) | |
| Matthias Prange | .... | construction supervisor (uncredited) | |
| Matthias Prange | .... | stand-by carpenter (uncredited) | |
| Hauke Richter | .... | set designer pre-production (uncredited) | |
| Cindy Schnitter | .... | plasterer (uncredited) | |
| Tobias Schroeter | .... | plasterer (uncredited) | |
| Joey Weber | .... | leadman (uncredited) | |
| Berndt Wenzel | .... | plasterer (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Adrian Lorbert | .... | special effects technician | |
| Alister Mazzotti | .... | special effects coordinator | |
| Hans Seck | .... | special effects coordinator | |
| Roland Tropp | .... | snow | |
| Zbigniew Urbaszek | .... | special effects technician | |
| Kazimierz Wróblewski | .... | special effects coordinator (as Kazimierz Wroblewski) | |
| Lightning Bear | .... | special effects advisor (uncredited) | |
| Jan Gwiasda | .... | special effects technician (uncredited) | |
| Maurice Koester | .... | special effects assistant (uncredited) | |
| Volker Lorig | .... | special effects technician (uncredited) | |
| Jason Oettle | .... | special effects technician: physical effects (uncredited) | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Nastuh Abootalebi | .... | digital effects compositor: das werk | |
| Thierry Barnay | .... | image transfer: Eclair Numerique | |
| Andreas Beck | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Roger Beck | .... | systems administrator: das werk | |
| Odile Beraud | .... | production assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Billy | .... | image transfer: Eclair Numerique | |
| Elena Blum | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Ronald Boullet | .... | digital restauration: Eclair Numerique | |
| Stephanie Boutinaud | .... | digital restauration: Eclair Numerique | |
| Michel Briegel | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Cania | .... | digital mattepaint artist: das werk | |
| Arnaud Chelet | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Alain Chene | .... | scanning assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Arno Clerc | .... | digital restauration: Eclair Numerique | |
| Peter Connelly | .... | digital effects compositor: das werk | |
| Rosana D'Andrea | .... | scanning assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Philipp Danner | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Olivier Debert | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Wolfgang Dell | .... | gaffer: Magicon (as Wolfi Dell) | |
| Mark Dollery | .... | scanning and recording: das werk | |
| Yann Doray | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Philipp Eckel | .... | image data wrangler: das werk | |
| Mitch Enzmann | .... | motion control operator: Magicon | |
| Roxane Fechner | .... | production assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Nico Feindt | .... | 3d animator: das werk | |
| Raphael Fink | .... | electrician: Magicon | |
| Thierry Flament | .... | image transfer: Eclair Numerique | |
| Derek Flood | .... | 3d animator: das werk | |
| Valérie Flouquet | .... | digital restauration: Eclair Numerique (as Valerie Flouquet) | |
| Jerome Fournier | .... | matte painting: Eclair Numerique | |
| Alexander Gabrysch | .... | digital effects compositor: das werk | |
| Stefan Galleithner | .... | video operator: Magicon | |
| Moritz Glaesle | .... | digital effects compositor: das werk (as Moritz Gläsle) | |
| Joachim Grüninger | .... | miniature supervisor: Magicon | |
| Joachim Grüninger | .... | motion-control supervisor: Magicon | |
| Melanie Göggelmann | .... | production coordinator: das werk | |
| Philip Hahn | .... | production accountant: das werk | |
| David Hofmann | .... | 3d technical director: das werk | |
| Walter Hörger | .... | scanning and recording: das werk | |
| Philippe Jarland | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Michel Jonas | .... | programming & software development: das werk | |
| Christophe Keichinger | .... | scanning assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Arassou Kichenassamy | .... | scanning assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Oliver Kirchhoff | .... | 3d animator: das werk | |
| Martin Kretschmer | .... | assistant modelmaker: Magicon | |
| Ines Krüger | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Christian Künstler | .... | visual effects supervisor | |
| Michel Lazarus | .... | modelmaker: Magicon (as Michel 'Lazy' Lazarus) | |
| Yvan Lucas | .... | grader: Eclair Numerique | |
| Britta Mangold | .... | director of photography: Magicon | |
| Joyce Menger | .... | production: Eclair Numerique | |
| David Montoya | .... | scanning assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Frederic Moreau | .... | production: Eclair Numerique | |
| Sarah Moreau | .... | production assistant: Eclair Numerique (as Sarah Flament) | |
| Nicolas Morlet | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Michael Multhoff | .... | image data wrangler: das werk | |
| Katharina Nobis | .... | camera assistant: Magicon | |
| Jan Oehlschläger | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Connie Oettl | .... | model painter: Magicon | |
| Fabien Pascal | .... | grader: Eclair Numerique | |
| Paul Poetsch | .... | lead shake compositor: das werk | |
| Tanja Rath | .... | graphics artist: das werk | |
| Philippe Reinaudo | .... | scanning and recording: Eclair Numerique | |
| Mourad Rennou | .... | scanning assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Michel Roca | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Helmut Rossma | .... | electrician: Magicon | |
| Matthias Scharfenberg | .... | digital film i/o supervisor: das werk | |
| Henrik Scheib | .... | workshop coordinator: Magicon | |
| Abraham Schneider | .... | digital effects compositor: das werk | |
| Bernd Schulze | .... | digital effects compositor: das werk | |
| Philippe Soeiro | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Philippe Soeiro | .... | digital compositing supervisor: Eclair Numerique | |
| Gérard Soirant | .... | scanning and recording: Eclair Numerique (as Gerard Soirant) | |
| Swen Spichtinger | .... | 3d animator: das werk | |
| Gerhard Spring | .... | scanning and recording: das werk | |
| Robinson Steinke | .... | 3d animator: das werk | |
| Saskia Stoever | .... | modelmaker: Magicon (as Saskia Stoewer) | |
| Oliver Stück | .... | assistant compositor: das werk | |
| Markus Thanner | .... | electrician: Magicon | |
| Sebastian Tuttas | .... | modelmaker: Magicon | |
| Christoph Unger | .... | digital mattepaint artist: Das Werk | |
| Morgan Varona | .... | digital artist: Eclair Numerique | |
| Carole Vasseur | .... | production assistant: Eclair Numerique | |
| Gunnar Wittig | .... | 3d technical director: das werk | |
| Steffen Zeugner | .... | video operator: Magicon | |
| Christian Künstler | .... | visual effects producer: das werk (uncredited) | |
| Jörg Lehnert | .... | motion control assistant (uncredited) | |
| Thomas Tannenberger | .... | visual effects producer (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| Zofia Bachleda-Zolnierczyk | .... | stunts | |
| Janusz Chlebowski | .... | stunts | |
| Piotr Cichon | .... | stunts | |
| Robert Cichon | .... | stunts | |
| Jacek Dlugosz | .... | stunts | |
| Jim Dowdall | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Ryszard Francman | .... | stunts | |
| Jacek Jelen | .... | stunts | |
| Jacek Kadlubowski | .... | stunts | |
| Stella Kuczynska | .... | stunts | |
| Zbigniew Modej | .... | stunt supervisor | |
| Pawel Pliszka | .... | stunts | |
| Tomasz Przybysz | .... | stunts | |
| Antje Rau | .... | stunt supervisor | |
| Jacek Ryniewicz | .... | stunts | |
| Armin Sauer | .... | stunt supervisor | |
| Rene Schobes | .... | stunts (as Rene Schobess) | |
| Lee Sheward | .... | assistant stunt coordinator | |
| Józef Stefanski | .... | stunts | |
| Sylwester Zawadzki | .... | stunts (as Sylwester Zawadski) | |
| Oliver Fritsche | .... | stunt rigger (uncredited) | |
| Christof Genesis | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
| Udo Harnach | .... | stunt performer (uncredited) | |
| Armin Sauer | .... | assistant stunt coordinator: Germany (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Vanessa Baker | .... | voice casting | |
| Brendan Donnison | .... | voice casting | |
| Martina Goldsmith | .... | assistant casting director | |
| Alex Johnson | .... | assistant casting director | |
| Heta Mantscheff | .... | casting: German | |
| Iris Müller | .... | assistant casting director | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Mélanie Braux | .... | assistant editor (as Melanie Braux) | |
| Lionel Cassan | .... | assistant editor | |
| Christian Dutac | .... | grader: L.T.C. | |
| Eric Martin | .... | digital technician: Scanlab | |
| Stephane Martini | .... | digital grader: Scanlab | |
| Marcel Mazoyer | .... | grader: L.T.C. | |
| Margot Meynier | .... | first assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| Nancy Allen | .... | assistant music editor | |
| Tadeusz Boniecki | .... | orchestra contractor | |
| Marcus Herzog | .... | music mixer: Chopin music | |
| Marcus Herzog | .... | music recordist: Chopin music | |
| Marcus Herzog | .... | music supervisor: Chopin music | |
| Grazyna Kozlowska | .... | music coordinator | |
| Dirk Lachmann | .... | music recording assistant | |
| Anne-Laure Lermyte | .... | music spotter | |
| Janusz Olejniczak | .... | musician: piano solos performed by | |
| Rafal Paczkowski | .... | music recording assistant | |
| Suzana Peric | .... | music editor | |
| Tadeusz Strugala | .... | orchestra conductor | |
| John Timperley | .... | music recordist and mixer | |
| Hanna Wolczedska | .... | musician: clarinet soloist | |
| Zbyszek Zbrowski | .... | music coordinator | |
| Robert Zychlinski | .... | music studio assistant | |
| Wladyslaw Szpilman | .... | musician: piano (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Maher Abu Mugheisib | .... | driver (as Maher Abu-Mugheisib) | |
| Piotr Bartoszkiewicz | .... | driver | |
| Tadeusz Belke | .... | driver | |
| Markus Bendler | .... | action vehicles | |
| Andrzej Bogdanski | .... | driver | |
| Jerzy Dzieciol | .... | driver | |
| Michael Fechner | .... | action vehicles | |
| Jens Forkel | .... | trailer captain | |
| Józef Frymarski | .... | driver (as Jozef Frymarski) | |
| Katja Heissig | .... | driver | |
| Axel Hübner | .... | driver | |
| Eugeniusz Jagiello | .... | driver | |
| Franciszek Jedlecki | .... | driver | |
| Stanislaw Karlikowski | .... | driver | |
| Holger Klinke | .... | driver | |
| Nils Konrad | .... | driver | |
| Tadeusz Kupiec | .... | driver | |
| Tobias Lauterberg | .... | driver | |
| Dariusz Lipka | .... | driver | |
| Inga Meissner | .... | transportation coordinator | |
| Grit Menzzer | .... | driver | |
| Konrad Orlowski | .... | action vehicles | |
| Roman Pawlik | .... | driver | |
| Jan Romanski | .... | driver | |
| Jacek Schwarz | .... | driver | |
| Ilias Uhlman | .... | driver | |
| Marcus Welsch | .... | driver | |
| Zdzislaw Wonatowski | .... | driver | |
| Józef Zapala | .... | driver (as Jozef Zapala) | |
| Enrico Taubert | .... | production driver (uncredited) | |
Thanks | |||
| Ian Burlingham | .... | special thanks | |
| Didier Duverger | .... | special thanks | |
| Jean-Patrick Flande | .... | special thanks | |
| John Hardy | .... | special thanks: Matrix Film Finance Limited | |
| Gilles Francois Renard | .... | special thanks | |
| Isabelle Terrel | .... | special thanks | |
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I can remember when this film came out I was adamantly against seeing it. I had my preconceived notions that it would be some other heroic Jewish Holocaust film where good triumphs over evil and in between we would see some brutal atrocities committed by the Germans to add some flavour.
How wrong I was.
This is one of the best films I have ever seen and what it did to me I cannot describe in words. But in a nutshell, it moved me, made me cry, made me feel like I was in the Polish ghetto in 1940, and ultimately made me kiss the sidewalks as I walked out of the theater and thanked God that I live in the free society that I do.
Roman Polanski has proved that he is a great director with films like Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby but this is his crowning achievement. I think the fact that this won the awards that it did at this years Oscars goes a long way to validate the brilliance of this film. I believe that the Oscar's are rigged for the most part and films and actresses and such win based more on their pedigree or business associations than anything else, so when it won best actor and director and adapted screenplay this year, it tells you that it should have won best picture but the Weinsteins seem to have a spell over everyone, hence a charlatan like Chicago takes top prize. Sorry for the digression here but when you compare a "film" like Chicago to a masterpiece like The Pianist, there really is one clear cut winner. They handed out the statue to the wrong movie.
The Pianist follows up and coming piano player Wlad Spielzman from his days as a local hero to a prisoner of war to his time in the ghettos, surviving only by the kindness of strangers. I think many people have touched on this before but what makes this film so amazing and well crafted is because Spielzman is a man that we can all relate to. He is not a hero, he is not a rebel and he is not a kamikaze type that wants and lusts after revenge. He is a simple man that is doing everything in his power to stay alive. He is a desperate man and fears for his life and wants to stay as low as he can. Only from the succor he receives from others does he manage to live and breathe and eat and hide. And this is how I related to him. If put in his position, how would I react? Exactly the way he did. This is a man that had everything taken from him. His livelihood, his family, his freedom and almost his life. There is no time for heroics here. Adrien Brody embodies the spirit of Spielzman and his win at this years Oscars was one of the happiest moments I have had watching the festivities. His speech was even better but that is a topic for another time.
Ultimately it is his gift of music that perhaps saves his life and the final scene that he has with the German soldier is one of the most emotionally galvanizing scenes I've witnessed. With very little dialogue, it is in the eyes, the face, the mouth and the sounds that chime throughout their tiny space that tell you all you need to know. I think it is this scene that won Brody his Oscar. This is one of the all time great performances.
I think Polanski spoke from the heart here. He has taken a palette of memories and amalgamated them with what he has read and given us one of the best films of our generation and any other. I think The Pianist will go down as one of the best films of this century and when all is said and done, Chicago will be forgotten the way Ordinary People was forgotten and when people talk about the film The Pianist, they will do so with reverence and respect. This is a cinematic masterpiece.
10 out of 10