La pianiste (2001)

Director:

Michael Haneke

Writers:

Michael Haneke (writer)
Elfriede Jelinek (novel)

Release Date:

31 August 2001 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Piano Teacher | Pianist | Sex Shop | Audition

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 12 wins & 15 nominations

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Erika Kohut
Annie Girardot	...	The Mother
Benoît Magimel	...	Walter Klemmer
Susanne Lothar	...	Mrs. Schober
Udo Samel	...	Dr. Blonskij
Anna Sigalevitch	...	Anna Schober
Cornelia Köndgen	...	Mme Blonskij
Thomas Weinhappel	...	Baritone
Georg Friedrich	...	Man in drive-in
Philipp Heiss	...	Naprawnik
William Mang	...	Teacher
Rudolf Melichar	...	Director
Michael Schottenberg	...	Teacher
Gabriele Schuchter	...	Margot
Dieter Berner	...	Singing teacher
Volker Waldegg	...	Teacher
Martina Resetarits	...	Teacher
Annemarie Schleinzer	...	Teacher
Karoline Zeisler	...	Teacher
Liliane Neiska	...	Secretary
Luz Leskowitz	...	Violinist
Viktor Teuflmayr	...	Pianist
Viviane Bartsch	...	Woman in drive-in (as Vivian Bartsch)
Florian Koban	...	Pupil
Thomas Auner	...	Haydn pianist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Noam Morgensztern	...	The first pupil (voice)
Lisa Olah	...	Sex shop girl (as Lisa Wölzl)
Vitus Wieser	...	Klemmer's Friend (uncredited)

Directed by
Michael Haneke

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Haneke		writer
Elfriede Jelinek		novel

Produced by
Yvon Crenn	....	executive producer
Christine Gozlan	....	executive producer
Veit Heiduschka	....	producer
Michael Katz	....	executive producer

Cinematography by
Christian Berger

Film Editing by
Nadine Muse
Monika Willi

Casting by
Kris Portier de Bellair
Markus Schleinzer

Production Design by
Christoph Kanter

Set Decoration by
Hans Wagner

Costume Design by
Annette Beaufays

Makeup Department
Françoise Andrejka	....	makeup artist
Fabienne Bressan	....	hair stylist
Ellen Just	....	makeup artist
Thi-Loan Nguyen	....	key makeup artist
Michaela Oppl	....	special makeup effects artist
Waldemar Pokromski	....	special makeup effects artist

Production Management
Roman Haschberger	....	unit production manager
Michael Katz	....	production manager
Gebhard Zupan	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Katharina Biró	....	assistant director
Fritz Noltmann	....	assistant director
Hanus Polak Jr.	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Gerhard Dhor	....	construction crew (as Gerhard Dohr)
Peter Dörflinger	....	construction crew
Peter Ecker	....	props
Katrin Huber	....	property master
Fritz Martan	....	construction coordinator
Hannes Salat	....	props
Peter Wenhardt	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Pascal Dedeye	....	assistant foley artist
Othmar Eichinger	....	sound playback operator
Dominique Eyraud	....	boom operator
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound mixer
Nadine Muse	....	sound editor
Guillaume Sciama	....	sound

Special Effects by
László Kovács	....	special effects coordinator
Hans Wagner	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Geoffrey Kleindorfer	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Rainer Barta	....	electrician
Stefan Biebl	....	Steadicam operator (as Stefan Bibl)
Petro Domenigg	....	still photographer
Peter Drittenpreis	....	assistant Steadicam operator
Katharina Frank	....	second assistant camera
Gerald Helf	....	first assistant camera
Regina Höllbacher	....	second assistant camera
Bernhard Pötscher	....	first assistant camera
Harald Staudach	....	assistant Steadicam operator
Reinhard Vince	....	electrician
Wolfgang Vince	....	gaffer
Jörg Widmer	....	Steadicam operator

Casting Department
Carmen Loley	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brigitte Fink	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Yannick Coutheron	....	assistant editor
Alarich Lenz	....	assistant editor
Monica Parisini	....	assistant editor
Franz Rabl	....	color timer
Gabriele Sikuta	....	negative cutter

Transportation Department
Thomas Messer	....	property driver

Other crew
Roman Haschberger	....	location manager
Eva Jürgens	....	production trainee
Andreas Kispert	....	set manager
Ulrike Lässer	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Arte
• Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)
• Canal+
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)
• Eurimages
• Les Films Alain Sarde
• MK2 Productions
• P.P. Film Polski
• Wega Film
• arte France Cinéma
• Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)

Distributors

• MK2 Diffusion (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• Kino International (2002) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Alta Classics S.L. Unipersonal (????) (Spain) (theatrical)
• ArtCam (2001) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Artificial Eye (????) (UK) (theatrical) (subtitles)
• CinemaFilm (????) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cinemien (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (????) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Europafilm AS (????) (Norway) (theatrical)
• New Star (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Rosebud (????) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Homescreen (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Kamras Film Group (2001) (Finland) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2002) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• Nelonen (2008) (Finland) (TV)
• Odeon (????) (Greece) (VHS)
• YLE Teema (2004) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2004) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• LISTO Videofilm (visual effects)

Other Companies

• LISTO Videofilm  post-production
• Les Audis de Boulogne  post-production
• Moviecam  camera equipment provided by

Also Known As:

Die Klavierspielerin (Austria)
Pianistka (Poland)
The Piano Player (International: English title)
The Piano Teacher (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for aberrant sexuality including violence, and for language.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

Germany | Poland | France | Austria

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/18 | Ireland:18 | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Italy:VM14 | Czech Republic:15 | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Brazil:18 | Canada:R | Finland:K-15 | France:-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R (cut) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria

Company:

Arte

Trivia:

The part of Erika's mother was originally offered to Jeanne Moreau

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Extremes (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Piano Sonata in A Major, D.959

A great film it may be, but mainstream viewing it is not.

In the first twenty minutes we are swept away by several powerfully portrayed emotions: a suffocating and overbearing mother has a violent argument with her live-in 40yr old daughter; a piano teacher (and professor of music)'s love for her pupils expressed in unswerving critical appraisal; the joy that music can inspire both in the listener and the performer. Within this short space of time our senses have been assaulted convincingly with very real characters. We are also swept away by powerfully performed music and shown the difference between great and mediocre performance with a lot of attention to nuance. Such material alone would have been the basis for an outstanding film of widespread appeal. But the trend in French cinema being what it is, it goes deeper, exploring the repressed sexuality of the teacher, the expression of sexual freedom and subsequent breakdown within a context of passionate attraction, and the inevitable cycle of real abuse. We are drawn to her suffering and, at least initially, wonder how much suffering may be related to the accomplishment of genius, particularly in the composers she admires. The Piano Teacher contains graphic dialogue and depictions of sex and brutality in scenes that some people might rather not watch. The scenes are essential to the dilemmas which the film seeks to raise and so can hardly be called gratuitous. A great film it may be, but mainstream viewing it is not.