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 (book)

Stars:

Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay

Top Rated Movies #37 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 54 wins & 73 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

In this adaptation of the autobiography "The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945," Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From this time until the concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilman hides in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw.

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Plot Keywords:

pianist | holocaust | jewish | survival | poland | 

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Taglines:

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site [United States]

Country:

UK France Poland Germany

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

28 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Pianist

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$111,261, 29 December 2002

Gross USA:

$32,572,577

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$120,072,577

Company Credits

Production Co:

R.P. Productions, Heritage Films, Studio Babelsberg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Roman Polanski could not attend the Academy Award ceremony in Los Angeles where he won the Oscar for Best Director, due to an outstanding arrest warrant for a sexual abuse case. The award was accepted on his behalf by Harrison Ford, who presented it to Polanski five months later at the Deauville Film Festival.

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Goofs

The German sergeant opens the sack of beans with a bayonet that is not German issue. It appears to be a Turkish Model 1890 bayonet. However, in war it's common for soldiers to use a weapon stolen or bought from another country if their own supplies are low.

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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 The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

Tantz, Tantz Yidelekh
Arranged by Roddy Skeaping
Performed by The Burning Bush

User Reviews

Adrien Brody's Minimalist Acting Packs Maximum Emotional Punch

This wrenching yet ultimately uplifting fact-based drama won Adrien Brody his Academy Award and finally made him a star (along with his gracious yet heartfelt Oscar speech and That Kiss :-) -- rightly so, since title character Wladyslaw Szpilman is a challenging role in so many ways! It's not easy to command the screen when your character often has to be passive, deliberately trying not to draw attention to himself to keep from falling into Nazi hands in war-torn Poland, but Brody pulls it off. It helps that Brody is absolutely stellar at acting with his eyes, plus his body language speaks volumes; these fill in the emotional cracks, especially in scenes where Szpilman, alone and in hiding, can't speak or even move around much for fear of giving himself away. (Brody is the youngest actor to date to win the Best Actor Oscar, BTW, having gotten his little gold man only a month before his 30th birthday.) While there's no lack of haunting scenes, thanks to the deservedly Oscar-winning work of director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Ronald Harwood, the one that always gets me is the one where Szpilman discovers the apartment serving as his latest `safe house' has a piano. We see Szpilman sit at the piano; we see him in a head-and-shoulders shot, shoulders moving; we hear piano music and gasp as we fear his love and longing for music is about to give him away -- and then we see his hands moving in the air just above the keyboard and realize, with both relief and a pang of regret, that the music is only in Szpilman's head. Terrific as the other 2002 Best Actor nominees were, now that I've seen THE PIANIST (as well as the fascinating making-of documentary on the DVD's flip side, showing what a physically and emotionally grueling experience Brody's job often was), I'd be really p***ed off if anybody but Adrien Brody had won! (Besides, the rest of the 2002 Best Actor nominees already won Oscars -- this time it was dark horse Brody's turn! :-)