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The Pianist (2002)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
3 January 2003 (USA)
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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. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won 3 Oscars.
Another 45 wins
&
42 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(169 articles)
Full of the strange
(From The Guardian - Film News. 5 December 2009, 4:09 PM, PST)
Roman Polanski begins house arrest in Swiss chalet
(From The Guardian - Film News. 4 December 2009, 5:28 AM, PST)
(From The Guardian - Film News. 5 December 2009, 4:09 PM, PST)
Roman Polanski begins house arrest in Swiss chalet
(From The Guardian - Film News. 4 December 2009, 5:28 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Stoic, haunting tale of survival
more (645 total)
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 | |
| Roddy Skeaping | ... | Street Musician | |
| Ben Harlan | ... | Street Musician |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
MPAA:
Rated R for violence and brief strong language.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
150 min | Spain:142 min (DVD edition)
Colour:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Production of the film was stopped and delayed for one day following the death of associate producer Rainer Schaper. The film was dedicated to him.
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Goofs:
Continuity: When Szpilman crawls past the woman who was shot in the back and died kneeling in front of the hospital (before she reached the staircase), she has moved forward visibly (and is now in front of the stairs).
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Quotes:
Wladyslaw Szpilman:
I'm not going anywhere.
Halina: Good. I'm not going anywhere either.
Mother: Don't be ridiculous, we've got to keep together.
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Look, look... If I'm going to die, I prefer to die in my own home. I'm staying put.
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Halina: Good. I'm not going anywhere either.
Mother: Don't be ridiculous, we've got to keep together.
Wladyslaw Szpilman: Look, look... If I'm going to die, I prefer to die in my own home. I'm staying put.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.28)" (2009)
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Soundtrack:
Umowilem sie z nia na dziewiata
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FAQ
Was Adrien Brody really playing the piano?How closely does the movie follow the book?
Which movie is better..."Schindler's List" or "The Pianist"?
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more (645 total)
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The Pianist tells the story of such a man in war time Poland, played by Adrien Brody, who from start to finish sees his life literally getting worse and worse and worse- starts off with new rules from the Nazis, then the stars on the arms, followed by the Warsaw ghetto, and while there he could play in the restaurant, that too soon ended, as the trains arrived and took his family and anyone else he knew away. During this he narrowly escapes, and from then on the film in a sense almost becomes not exactly a holocaust film, but more like a cross of that as the element and the basic structure of something a-la in Cast Away: this includes stretches of scenes showing Brody simply trying to keep out of view of the Germans, either in a small apartment provided by helpful Polish Christians/Jewish resistance, or as a scavenger in the abandoned sections of the ghetto, all while feeling the old rhythm of the piano in his head and fingertips.
This is the kind of magnificent filmmaking that shows a director not only being as true to the story given to him (that of Painist Szpilman, based on his autobiography) but to his past as well- Roman Polanksi faced similar conditions as a boy in the early 40's, and has found the best line to show, never crossed or mis-stepped, in representing the characters and the period. There aren't any hints of tightened suspense, no clues as to where the film could veer to, it just is. The big difference to be seen between a film like this and Schindler's List is not just in the people and situations (Schindler's List was a film about two people, Schindler and Goeth, in the foreground while the Pianist is a total first person tale), yet also in the filmmaking qualities being here surely European. And while the accents on the Polish-Jewish actors sounds a bit too British, that is quite forgivable considering the scope of the project (thank heavens he didn't put in English speaking Germans).
In conclusion, Brody turns in a superb performance, and this indeed is in with Polanski's best, a deserved of 2002's Palme D'Or. Great music too. A+