The Piano (1993)

A mute woman along with her young daughter, and her prized piano, are sent to 1850s New Zealand for an arranged marriage to a wealthy landowner, and she's soon lusted after by a local worker on the plantation.

Director:

Jane Campion

Writer:

Jane Campion

Stars:

Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill

Won 3 Oscars. Another 64 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Holly Hunter	...	Ada McGrath
Harvey Keitel	...	George Baines
Sam Neill	...	Alisdair Stewart
Anna Paquin	...	Flora McGrath
Kerry Walker	...	Aunt Morag
Geneviève Lemon	...	Nessie (as Genevieve Lemon)
Tungia Baker	...	Hira
Ian Mune	...	Reverend
Peter Dennett	...	Head Seaman
Te Whatanui Skipwith	...	Chief Nihe
Pete Smith	...	Hone
Bruce Allpress	...	Blind Piano Tuner
Cliff Curtis	...	Mana
Carla Rupuha	...	Heni - Mission Girl
Mahina Tunui	...	Mere - Mission Girl

Storyline

It is the mid-nineteenth century. Ada is a mute who has a young daughter, Flora. In an arranged marriage she leaves her native Scotland accompanied by her daughter and her beloved piano. Life in the rugged forests of New Zealand's South Island is not all she may have imagined and nor is her relationship with her new husband Stewart. She suffers torment and loss when Stewart sells her piano to a neighbour, George. Ada learns from George that she may earn back her piano by giving him piano lessons, but only with certain other conditions attached. At first Ada despises George but slowly their relationship is transformed and this propels them into a dire situation.

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Plot Keywords:

Piano | New Zealand | Arranged Marriage | Mute | Piano Lesson | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for moments of extremely graphic sexuality

Details

Country:

Australia New Zealand France

Language:

English British Sign Language Maori

Release Date:

12 November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Piano

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,301,338 (UK) (10 December 1993)

Gross:

£3,512,343 (UK) (4 February 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Commission, The, CiBy 2000, Jan Chapman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last movie Nirvana Frontman Kurt Cobain watched before he died.

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Goofs

When Ada and George go to the beach to retrieve the piano, Flora creates a seahorse from sand and shells/stones. There are no footprints around the seahorse where she would have walked while creating it,

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ada: The voice you hear is not my speaking voice - -but my mind's voice. I have not spoken since I was six years old. No one knows why - -not even me. My father says it is a dark talent, and the day I take it into my head to stop breathing will be my last. Today he married me to a man I have not yet met. Soon my daughter and I shall join him in his own country. My husband writes that my muteness does not bother him - and hark this! He says, "God loves dumb creatures, so why not I?" '...

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Colossus and the Headhunters (1994)
Tom (during a scene set on a beach): "Wonder if they'll come across a piano."

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Soundtracks

"The Grand Old Duke of York"
Performed by Anna Paquin

User Reviews

Amazing Film Making

This is one of my all-time favorite films. It combines masterful scripting, cinematography, performances, and musical score into a disturbing, erotic, and ultimately uplifting piece. The movie's heroine, wonderfully portrayed by Holly Hunter, is mute (symbolic of the fact that she has no say in her own life), with her daughter (the astonishing Anna Paquin) and her piano as her personal obsessions. Her conscripted husband, coldly played by Sam Neill, is trying to win her heart and her desire in all the wrong ways, while his crude tribal neighbor, sensually played by Harvey Keitel, understands her needs and ultimately captures her ... physically, intellectually, and romantically. The film's message and its delivery are extraordinarily powerful, the cinematic technique is rich ... the sequence shot with Hunt, Pacquin, Keitel and the piano on the beach is one of the best pieces of work I've ever seen. Lasting impact.