The Pianist (2002)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Wladyslaw Szpilman (book)
Ronald Harwood (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 January 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | War

Tagline:

Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Warsaw | Jewish | Warsaw Ghetto | Piano | Nazi

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 44 wins & 42 nominations

Cast

Adrien Brody	...	Wladyslaw Szpilman
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
Frank Finlay	...	Father
Maureen Lipman	...	Mother
Emilia Fox	...	Dorota
Ed Stoppard	...	Henryk
Julia Rayner	...	Regina
Jessica Kate Meyer	...	Halina
Michal Zebrowski	...	Jurek
Wanja Mues	...	SS Slapping Father
Richard Ridings	...	Mr. Lipa
Nomi Sharron	...	Feather Woman
Anthony Milner	...	Man Waiting to Cross
Lucy Skeaping	...	Street Musician
Roddy Skeaping	...	Street Musician

Also Known As:

Der Pianist (Germany)
Le pianiste (France)
Pianista (Poland)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and brief strong language.

Runtime:

150 min | Spain:142 min (DVD edition)

Country:

France | Germany | UK | Poland

Language:

English | German | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:TE | Denmark:11 | Egypt:(Banned) | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R15 | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

R.P. Productions

Trivia:

Adrien Brody lost 14 kg (31 lb) for the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman by eating a daily diet of two boiled eggs and green tea for breakfast, a little chicken for lunch, and a small piece of fish or chicken with steamed vegetables for dinner over a six week period. Initially his weight was 73 kg (161 lb).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Szpilman is crossing the bridge, the same extra (wearing the glasses) passes him twice, in the space of two shots.

Quotes:

Regina: Quiet please. Quiet. Order, order! Please!
Halina: She's a lawyer, she likes order.
Regina: Listen, just listen. The watch we put under the flower pots and the money we stuff in the violin.
Father: Will I still be able to play?
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Well... you'll find out.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Extras: Kate Winslet (#1.3)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Tantz, Tantz Yidelekh

the best holocaust movie ever made

last weekend, I saw Roman Polanski's The Pianist and what a movie. The grizzly reality feeling of the movie shell-shocked me in the first place but later on I recognized the pure feeling of the film: The horror what war does with innocent people truly is. the main story isn't about a war hero, but about people who don't want to die in this madness. Every aspect of the film is really done for an reason and in his place and you don't feel this as entertainment.

the music is what hit me the most. the classical tunes had such an enormous impact on me and portrayed the feelings of the main role of the pianist. The fact that there are no hero's in a war movie is for me more than a welcome benefit. No war in the world should have hero's who can't die. Everybody in this movie can die, every second of it. The scary moments are real scary.

bottom line: ten times as realistic as the also brilliant Schindler's list. and twenty times better than Saving private Ryan for the lack of hero's and there is no patriotism at all.

ten out of ten, best movie of 2002