The Pianist (2002)

Synopsis of The Pianist

Filmmaker Roman Polanski, who as a boy growing up in Poland watched while the Nazis devastated his country during World War II, directed this downbeat drama based on the true story of a privileged musician who spent five years struggling against the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) is a gifted classical pianist born to a wealthy Jewish family in Poland. The Szpilmans have a large and comfortable flat in Warsaw which Wladyslaw shares with his mother and father (Maureen Lipman and Frank Finlay), his sisters Halina and Regina (Jessica Kate Meyer and Julia Rayner), and his brother, Henryk (Ed Stoppard). While Wladyslaw and his family are aware of the looming presence of German forces and Hitler's designs on Poland, they're convinced that the Nazis are a menace which will pass, and that England and France will step forward to aid Poland in the event of a real crisis. Wladyslaw's naïveté is shattered when a German bomb rips through a radio studio while he performs a recital for broadcast. During the early stages of the Nazi occupation, as a respected artist, he still imagines himself above the danger, using his pull to obtain employment papers for his father and landing a supposedly safe job playing piano in a restaurant. But as the German grip tightens upon Poland, Wladyslaw and his family are selected for deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. Refusing to face a certain death, Wladyslaw goes into hiding in a comfortable apartment provided by a friend. However, when his benefactor goes missing, Wladyslaw is left to fend for himself and he spends the next several years dashing from one abandoned home to another, desperate to avoid capture by German occupation troops. The Pianist was based on the memoir of the same name by the real-life Wladyslaw Szpilman; the book was first published in 1946 as Death of a City, but was banned by Polish Communist officials and went out of print until 1998, when a new edition was issued as The Pianist. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Theatrical Feature Running Time:

150 mins

Director(s):

Roman Polanski

Writer(s):

Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw Szpilman

Producer(s):

Alain Sarde, Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

R(Watch With Your Teen, Adult Language, Adult Situations, Violence, Not For Children)

• 2002 - Cannes Film Festival - Palme d'Or
• 2002 - European Film Academy - Best European Cinematographer
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Cinematography
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Sound
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Sound
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Director
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Sound
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best French Film
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Actor
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Original Score
• 2002 - French Academy of Cinema - Best Production Design
• 2002 - National Society of Film Critics - Best Cinematography (Runner-up)
• 2002 - National Society of Film Critics - Best Director
• 2002 - National Society of Film Critics - Best Picture
• 2002 - National Society of Film Critics - Best Screenplay
• 2002 - National Society of Film Critics - Best Actor

Warning:  This product is intended for mature audiences only. It may contain violence, sexual content, drug abuse and/or strong language. You must be 17 or older to purchase it. By ordering this item you are certifying that you are at least 17 years of age.

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