Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Pianist

  • 20022002
  • RR
  • 2h 30m
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
838K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
432
158
The Pianist (2002)
Theatrical Trailer from Focus Features
Play trailer1:21
1 Video
99+ Photos
BiographyDramaMusic
A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.
IMDb RATING
8.5/10
838K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
432
158
    • Roman Polanski
    • Ronald Harwood(screenplay by)
    • Wladyslaw Szpilman(based on the book by)
  • Stars
    • Adrien Brody
    • Thomas Kretschmann
    • Frank Finlay
    • Roman Polanski
    • Ronald Harwood(screenplay by)
    • Wladyslaw Szpilman(based on the book by)
  • Stars
    • Adrien Brody
    • Thomas Kretschmann
    • Frank Finlay
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1KUser reviews
    • 144Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #32
    • Won 3 Oscars

    Videos1

    The Pianist
    Trailer 1:21
    Watch The Pianist

    Photos202

    Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist (2002)
    Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist (2002)
    Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)
    Adrien Brody, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Julia Rayner, Ed Stoppard, and Jessica Kate Meyer in The Pianist (2002)
    Roman Polanski and Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)
    Roman Polanski in The Pianist (2002)
    Roman Polanski in The Pianist (2002)
    Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)
    Roman Polanski in The Pianist (2002)
    Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)
    Roman Polanski and Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)
    Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann in The Pianist (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Adrien Brody
    Adrien Brody
    • Wladyslaw Szpilman
    Thomas Kretschmann
    Thomas Kretschmann
    • Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
    Frank Finlay
    Frank Finlay
    • Father
    Emilia Fox
    Emilia Fox
    • Dorota
    Michal Zebrowski
    Michal Zebrowski
    • Jurek
    Ed Stoppard
    Ed Stoppard
    • Henryk
    Maureen Lipman
    Maureen Lipman
    • Mother
    Jessica Kate Meyer
    Jessica Kate Meyer
    • Halina
    Julia Rayner
    Julia Rayner
    • Regina
    Wanja Mues
    Wanja Mues
    • SS Slapping Father
    Richard Ridings
    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
    Thomas Lawinky
    • Schutzpolizei
    Joachim Paul Assböck
    Joachim Paul Assböck
    • Schutzpolizei
      • Roman Polanski
      • Ronald Harwood(screenplay by)
      • Wladyslaw Szpilman(based on the book by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Schindler's List
    9.0
    Schindler's List
    The Green Mile
    8.6
    The Green Mile
    Saving Private Ryan
    8.6
    Saving Private Ryan
    Life Is Beautiful
    8.6
    Life Is Beautiful
    Léon: The Professional
    8.5
    Léon: The Professional
    Se7en
    8.6
    Se7en
    American History X
    8.5
    American History X
    The Intouchables
    8.5
    The Intouchables
    Forrest Gump
    8.8
    Forrest Gump
    Gladiator
    8.5
    Gladiator
    The Silence of the Lambs
    8.6
    The Silence of the Lambs
    The Prestige
    8.5
    The Prestige

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      During the shooting of the movie, while scouting locations in Krakow, Roman Polanski met a man who had helped Polanski's family survive the war.
    • Goofs
      When Szpilman is playing in the closing scenes, the piano's "Steinway & Sons" logo is the style first used in the 1990s.
    • Quotes

      Wladyslaw Szpilman: What are you reading?

      Henryk Szpilman: "If you prick us, do we not bleed? It you tickle us, we we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"

      Wladyslaw Szpilman: [seeing that it is Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice] Very appropriate.

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Making of 'The Pianist' (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Nocturne in C# Minor, Posthumous
      (1830)

      Written by Frédéric Chopin (as Fryderyk Chopin)

    User reviews1K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    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! :-)
    helpful•157
    37
    • dtb
    • Jan 9, 2004

    FAQ16

    • What happened to the person who stole all the donations and let speilman starve?
    • Is 'The Pianist' based on a book?
    • What song was Szpilman playing when...

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 28, 2003 (United States)
      • France
      • Poland
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
    • Official sites
      • Focus Features (United States)
      • Official Facebook
      • English
      • German
      • Russian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Instalatorów, Ochota, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
    • Production companies
      • R.P. Productions
      • Heritage Films
      • Studio Babelsberg
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 30 minutes
      • Color
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.