The Pianist [2002] [DVD]

I wish there were half stars, because there are some issues getting the disc to start properly. It seems like a handoff/menu bug — for me, selecting English initially caused the opening menu to loop. The workaround is simple: start it in German, let the movie begin, then use the pop-up menu to switch to English. After that, everything works fine. It’s a bit hard to explain, but if you run into it, just follow that process and you’ll be good. From what I found, this isn’t uncommon with some StudioCanal region/free Blu-rays, so it’s worth keeping in mind. Aside from that, the restoration is incredible. Honestly, it’s the biggest quality jump I’ve ever seen. Compared to how this film has looked for decades, it now feels like something shot in the last year — almost a modern streaming-level presentation. Some people may miss the original grainier look, but I think this version is far more detailed and visually striking. It’s genuinely shocking how good it looks — easily one of the best restorations I’ve seen if not the absolute best.

THE PIANIST is the movie that made Adrien Brody the youngest-ever Best Actor Oscar winner, but it was hardly the first movie about the Holocaust. Where it differs from movies like SCHINDLER'S LIST is in its particular focus: not so much "the Holocaust" as the Warsaw ghetto and one man, young Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (Brody), successfully eluding the Nazis thanks to the kindness of an unwilling Nazi, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretschmann), and then establishing himself as a successful concert artist. THE PIANIST is based upon Szpilman's memoirs of the same name. As Szpilman's family is sent off to a death camp a third of the way through THE PIANIST and never appears again, it would be tempting to call the film "Adrien Brody's show all the way." But in fact the film's first distinction lies in its painstaking period detail: everything looks right out of 1940's Continental Europe, from the costumes, to the narrow side-streets, to the house interiors -- to the truly spectacular set depicting a bombed-out Warsaw just before its liberation by the Russians. Yet nothing is romanticized: the filth of the ghetto is just as credible as is the exterior of a genteel cafe that excludes Jews. The actors playing the Szpilmans were all cleverly chosen to form a believable-looking family, with Brody and Jessica Kate Meyer as his sister Halina resembling their mother (Maureen Lipman) and the other siblings, Regina and Henryk (Julia Rayner and Ed Stoppard), resembling their father (Frank Finlay). A last, gratifying detail is the fact that Brody plays most of his piano solos (the majority of them by the great Polish composer Chopin) himself. In a film about a pianist, it would have lessened the impact had the solos been entrusted to a double. (I believe the only time a double -- Polish pianist Janusz Olejinezak -- is used is for an intricate passage during the film's closing credits. All you see, however, are his hands.) Against this superb backdrop it is, in fact, Brody's performance that carries the film. Director Roman Polanski could hardly have found an actor with more strikingly dark looks, or one who wore the period costumes better -- or one who could be so riveting while actually saying very little. As a character who spends so much of his time quiet and alone, Brody's expressive face, with its famously prominent nose and big, sad green eyes, is exactly what was needed. Take, for instance, the moment in the film when Szpilman noisily drops some crockery in an apartment where he is hiding. In the seconds following the accident, a range of emotions -- from shock and dismay to acceptance and even mild amusement -- flit subtly across Brody's features. Watch the way he struggles to dissemble as the deportation train leaves the ghetto with his family aboard, or the way he looks both exhausted and cold to the point of numbness as he sinks into a waiting chair in a safe house. Whatever the emotion or mood, Brody finds the proper expression, vocal or (most often) physical, for it. Several touching moments (most of them from Brody) aside, THE PIANIST lacks the sentiment (not to be confused with sentimentality) of some other Holocaust dramatizations. In place of warmth, it generally offers a terse look at events of the period, emphasizing the randomness and senselessness of them. This probably should not be called a drawback; but two drawbacks I believe the movie does have are that a few of its "bit" actors are hammy and that its final "running from the Nazis" sequence (which ends with Szpilman meeting Hosenfeld) goes on a bit too long, exciting as it is (I invariably jump at several moments). These drawbacks are not serious, of course, and should not deter you from checking out this great movie. You will be on the edge of your seat as I was, I promise you that!

I have watched this movie many times. Each time it is as good as the last. Adrien Brody Is a wonderful actor and this was his best yet! The story itself is sad and I do not wish to get into politics or anything. I am a simple person who loves a good movie. Again I can't express enough, just how well this movie is made and how sorrowful it made me feel.

This gripping Holocaust saga is outstanding from start to finish with great writing, smart directorial choices, and an Oscar-winning turn by Adrien Brody as pianist Wladislaw Szpilman. It is based on Szpilman's memoir of survival in the midst of the Nazi extermination of Poland's Jews. It is both a tear-inducing tale of horror and death and a hair-raising adventure story about clinging to life. I like most of all that this is a Holocaust movie that actually focuses on Jews (are you listening Steven Spielberg?). In one of the extras on this DVD, director Roman Polanski talks about his own lucky escape from the Nazis while the rest of his family perished. It's clear that his own memories enhance many of the details of the film. The writing is efficient and powerful. The very first scene shows Szpilman playing piano in a radio studio as German bombs fall in September 1939. The next 10 minutes take us through the next two years and the increasing restrictions imposed on the Jews, ultimately leading to their slave labor and transportation to death camps. It propels you into the heart of the story. The pace is riveting, and I found myself rooting for Szpilman all the way. As played by Brody, Szpilman is a charming, lovable guy whose brilliance as a pianist inspires others to help him escape death. The horrors he witnesses as his family and community are destroyed are vividly portrayed in scenes where people are forced to bargain for life and face casual cruelties. As Szpilman avoids "deportation" and hides out in Warsaw, he witnesses the Warsaw ghetto uprising by Jews (1943) and the general Polish uprising (1944). I really appreciated how these stories of resistance were included. Szpilman is also aided along the way by Christian Poles and a German captain with a love of music. His encounter with the "good" German offers a little uplift at the end of this very dark story. The musical score, including several gorgeous Chopin pieces, complements and enhances the story. Highly recommended.

Is there such thing as an uplifting tragedy? How contradictory would that be? Well to me Roman Polanski managed to do just that with his unparalleled account of the Poland occupation by the Nazis in this magnificent movie, "The Pianist". No wonder it has gotten all the attention and awards it has. After watching this incredibly moving and shocking and sad and at the same time uplifting story onscreen, you would say that the most appealing part of it is that it is based in actual real events, endured by a polish musician (the real Wladislaw Spilzman) during the occupation of Poland, and written down in a book by himself after the end of the war. But then you find out that the director (Roman Polanski himself) also survived the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Poland. Being just a kid, Polanski lived in the Warsaw ghetto and lost all of his family, killed by the Nazis. He was actually separated from his mother and father, and her was eventually sent to Auschwitz to finally die in the concentration camp. To this day he admits that from all the horrors he had to endure, to long for his parents and eventually finding out that they were dead, was the most painful one. ..And just then the real message of this movie reaches you, loud and clear. The capacity of the human being of surviving the most horrific and painful situations, hanging out firmly to willpower, inner strength and love. In the case of Wladislaw Spilzman, the love for music. A love that was also a way to redemption for the German officer Wilm Hosenfeld. Right there below the most sordid and dark depths of all horrors, lies a light of hope and faith. Adrien Brody's performance was one of the most powerful and genuine renditions I have ever seen onscreen. And Thomas Kretschmann in his role of the German officer Wilm Hosenfeld left me just speechless. This is simply put one of the greatest account of the events surrounding the occupation of Poland, ever.

Excellent picture quality but Im doubtful about the 5.1 DTS audio quality (since this is an Import Region B Blu-ray, I play it on my region free Blu-ray player which has only one HDMI output which connects to TV so the audio to receiver comes through TV and not directly from the player which might be the reason why). One flaw of this Blu-ray edition is that there are no subtitles. No subtitles or closed caption. If you are hard of hearing, you may want to skip this one and maybe wait for a US edition which might have subtitles. I am surprised that after all these years, there is still no US release Blu-ray edition of this movie. I am not going to review the movie but will say that it is Romanski's masterpiece. It is a very moving film, a survival story about an artist who finds himself in a world that is literally falling apart. War atrocities are heartbreaking to watch. I think this film is far superior to Schindler's List which is probably more famous and commercially was more successful due to Spielberg's signature. I found the characters in Schindler's List too generic almost like caricature. This movie, on the other hand, made me feel like I was there seeing through the eyes of the Pianist. I am also impressed by Adrienne Brody's performance. When he won the best actor Oscar, I thought there were better performances and I wasn't particularly impressed by his acting. But now years later, my feeling have changed and I think he is amazing in this movie. If you love war dramas, survival stories, you should definitely check this out (and make sure you have a region free Blu-ray player).

How much shame? No more than we deserve, all of us. How much guilt? Not yet quite enough, I fear. Obviously we crave more grief in atonement for the atrocities of the foulest century of our history, since we eat up films and novels that depict it. Do you, esteemed reader, feel guilt and shame at the genocides perpetrated by your species against each other? If not, you're unworthy of something we call humanity. W'adys'aw Szpilman, the "pianist" of the film, was not a hero. He was a survivor. Perhaps that's the best any of us can claim, to be survivors. But then, there's the phenomenon known as "survivor's guilt." I've known several Holocaust survivors; in fact, I'm related to some by marriage. Some express guilt, some express gratitude, but I've never heard one boast of survival. In any case, Szpilman was a real person, whose post-war memoir attracted little notice until decades after the events it described. The first film based on it, made in Poland in 1949, was suppressed by the Communists. Szpilman's son republished the memoir in 1998, first in German and then in English. Szpilman died in Warsaw in July, 2000 at the age of 88, two years before the release of this film directed by Roman Polanski. The first three-quarters of this film are agonizing. Horrible. Plausible. My wife couldn't handle it. She went off to bed to read a new "Parker" novel for relief. The acting, to be honest, isn't brilliant, but the cinematic portrayal of the brutality of the Nazis in Warsaw obviated any need for character development. Then came the escape. The survival despite all odds. Battle scenes, flight across roofs, the wry humor of near starvation assuaged by a can of pickles. And at last, One Just Man, one German capable of pity. That German officer, Wilm Hosenfeld, really did appear in the memoir; his identity was later confirmed, and it's known that he died in a Soviet gulag. I suppose the end of the film is intended as a statement of comfort and optimism, possibly as a signal of reconciliation. From the moment Szpilman is discovered in hiding by Hosenfeld, music swells in the film. Hosenfeld orders Szpilman to play the piano, and director Polanski gives us quite a long concert view of the Pianist's hands on the keyboard. The Russians arrive, the war is over in a few quick edits, and Szpilman is at the keyboard again in a rebuilt radio studio. The end of the film shows Szpilman performing a concerto with a full orchestra. He survives. Music survives. Human decency survives. That's the message I think the film delivers, but I'm not persuaded. Not even music can redeem us. That's a powerful statement of grief and guilt, coming from me, a person who lives for music.

"The Pianist" is a War/Drama rated R with a budget of $35 million it made $120 million. It's an excellent movie. It received 7 Academy Award Nominations and won 3 awards Best Director (Roman Polanski), Best Actor (Adrien Brody), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood). At the time, Adrien Brody was the youngest person to receive the Academy Award For Best Actor. The movie was also nominated for Best Picture and was beat out by "Chicago". This is Roman Polanski's best film who is a holocaust survivor himself.

Super film qu’ont ne trouvent nulle part aux magasins, bien reçu dans les temps! Merci Amazon!!!!

A very good movie about a talented man who played the piano during the Hollocaust.

Ein guter Film

Very fine transfer to bluray of one of the most poignant stories to emerge from the dark days of WW2. Too shattering to be enjoyed, but a rewarding and moving experience. A testament to the enduring spirit of art and humanity in the face of horror and mindless brutality Purchasers should be aware that this is a German transfer. The English soundtrack does not have subtitles. As there is some German dialogue the viewer needs some rudimentary knowledge of the language, although the context gives ample clues & it does not detract from a masterpiece.

The talented Jewish pianist, Wladislaw Szpilman (1911-2000), is the central character in this absorbing film by Roman Polanski who had plenty of personal and family experience on which to draw for this war film, set in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. Szpilman was a well-known pianist of exceptional talent who found himself in the ghetto with all its dehumanised deprivation. Adrien Brody's performance is engrossing and his features seem to become more gaunt and drawn with every sequence and his eyes simply emit a raw fear which draws viewers into his soul. Throughout the film, he captures what must have been a harrowing, inhuman and terrifying experience. His musical spirituality draws others in and the power of his music overwhelms even the toughest Nazi who sees Szpilman, not as a Jew but another human being, one with a stunning talent which seems to diminish the war and all its inhumanity, reminding him of what he once was. It is an exceptionally powerful film which asks deep questions of its audience but, ultimately, it leaves them with a deeper awareness of their own humanity. BACKGROUND "As set out in his memoir, Szpilman found places to hide in Warsaw and survived with the help of his friends from Polish Radio and fellow musicians. In November 1944, Szpilman was hiding out in an abandoned building when he was found by a German officer. Surprisingly, the officer did not kill Szpilman, but instead after finding out that he was a pianist, asked Szpilman to play for him on a piano they had found. After that, the officer showed Szpilman a better place to hide and brought him bread and jam on numerous occasions. He also offered Szpilman one of his coats to keep warm in the freezing temperatures. Szpilman did not identify the German officer until 1950. His name was Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. Despite the efforts of Szpilman and the Poles to rescue Hosenfeld, he died in a Soviet Prisoner of War camp in 1952." Highly recommended - one of Polanski's best.