The Pianist (2002)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ronald Harwood (screenplay)
Wladyslaw Szpilman (based on the book by)

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 | Warsaw Ghetto | Jewish | Nazi | Piano

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 45 wins & 42 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Der Pianist (Germany)
Le pianiste (France)
Pianista (Poland)
El pianista (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
O Pianista (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Pianisten (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Пианист (Russia) [ru]
A zongorista (Hungary) [hu]
Der Pianist (Austria) [de]
El pianista (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Il pianista (Italy) [it]
Le pianiste (Canada: French title) [fr]
O pianistas (Greece) [el]
Pianista (Czech Republic) [cs]
Pianista (Slovakia) [sk]
Pianisten (Norway) [no]
Pianisten (Denmark) [da]
Pianisti (Finland) [fi]
Pijanista (Serbia) [sr]
Piyanist (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

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:

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.

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).

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.28)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Umowilem sie z nia na dziewiata

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