The Pianist (2002 film)

"Le Pianiste" redirects here. For the 2001 French film originally titled La Pianiste, see The Piano Teacher.

The Pianist
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Roman Polanski
Produced by	Roman Polanski Robert Benmussa Alain Sarde Gene Gutowski
Screenplay by	Ronald Harwood
Based on	The Pianist by Władysław Szpilman
Starring	Adrien Brody Thomas Kretschmann Frank Finlay Maureen Lipman Emilia Fox Michał Żebrowski
Music by	Wojciech Kilar Frederic Chopin
Cinematography	Paweł Edelman
Editing by	Hervé de Luze
Studio	Studio Canal+ Canal+ Studio Babelsberg
Distributed by	Focus Features Universal Studios
Release date(s)	24 May 2002 (2002-05-24) (Cannes) 6 September 2002 (2002-09-06) (Poland) 27 December 2002 (2002-12-27) (US) 6 March 2003 (2003-03-06) (UK)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	France Poland Germany United Kingdom
Language	English Polish German Russian
Budget	$35 million
Box office	$120,072,577

The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman. The film is a co-production between Poland, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

The film met with significant critical praise and received multiple awards and nominations. At the 75th Academy Awards, The Pianist won Oscars for Best Director (Roman Polanski), Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood) and Best Actor (Adrien Brody). The film was also nominated for four other awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The film was awarded the Palme d'Or at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Direction in 2003 and seven French Césars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Brody.

Plot

Władysław Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a famous Polish Jewish pianist working for Warsaw Radio, sees his whole world collapse with the Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and the subsequent outbreak of World War II. After the radio station is rocked by explosions from German bombing, Szpilman goes home and learns that Britain and France have declared war on Nazi Germany. He and his family rejoice, believing the war will end quickly.

When the German Army enters Warsaw, living conditions for the Jewish population gradually deteriorate as their rights are slowly eroded: first they are allowed only a limited amount of money per family, then they must wear armbands imprinted with the blue Star of David to identify themselves, and eventually, in November 1940, they are all forced into the squalid Warsaw Ghetto. There, they face hunger, persecution and humiliation from the SS and the ever-present fear of death, torture and starvation. The Nazis become increasingly sadistic and the family witnesses many horrors inflicted on other Jews. In one scene, a group of Einsatzgruppen, led by an NCO, go into the apartment across from the Szpilmans. They order the family on the top floor to stand, then when an elderly man in a wheelchair is unable to comply, the SS throw him off the balcony. The rest of the family are then taken out into the street and shot, and the SS drive off, running over the bodies along the way.

Before long, the family, along with thousands of others, are rounded up as part of Operation Reinhard for deportation to the extermination facility at Treblinka. As the Jews are being forced onto rail cars, Szpilman is saved at the last moment by one of the Jewish Ghetto Police, who happens to be a family friend. Separated from his family and loved ones, Szpilman manages to survive. At first he is pressed into a German reconstruction unit inside the ghetto as a slave labourer. During this period, another Jewish labourer confides to Szpilman two critical pieces of information: one, that many Jews who still survive know of the German plans to exterminate them, and two, that a Jewish uprising against the Germans is being actively prepared for. Szpilman volunteers his help for the plan. He is enlisted to help smuggle weapons into the ghetto, almost being caught at one point.

Later, before the uprising starts, Szpilman decides to go into hiding outside the ghetto, relying on the help of non-Jews who still remember him such as Andrzej Bogucki and his wife Janina Bogucki. While living in hiding, he witnesses many horrors committed by the SS, such as widespread killing, beating and burning of Jews and others (the burning is mostly shown during the two Warsaw uprisings). In 1943, Szpilman also finally witnesses the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising he helped to bring about, and its aftermath as the SS forcibly enters the ghetto and kills nearly all the remaining insurgents. A year goes by and life in Warsaw further deteriorates. Szpilman is forced to flee his first hiding place after a German neighbor discovers he is hiding there. In his second hiding place, near a German military hospital, he is shown into a room with a piano and then told to be as quiet as possible. Here, he nearly dies from jaundice and malnutrition.

In August 1944, the Polish resistance mounts the Warsaw Uprising against the German occupation. Szpilman witnesses the Polish insurgents fighting the Germans outside his window. Again, Szpilman narrowly escapes death when a German tank shells the apartment he is hiding in. Warsaw is virtually razed and depopulated as a result of the fighting (see Aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising). After the surviving Warsaw population is deported from the ruins and the German SS escape from the approaching Soviet Army, Szpilman is left entirely alone. In buildings still standing, he searches desperately for food. While trying to open a can of Polish pickles, Szpilman is discovered by a captain of the Wehrmacht, Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretschmann). Upon questioning Szpilman and discovering that he is a pianist, Hosenfeld asks Szpilman to play something for him on the grand piano that happens to be in the building. The decrepit Szpilman, still a musical genius, plays "Ballade in G-Minor, Op. 23" by Frederic Chopin, moving Hosenfeld to spare Szpilman.

Hosenfeld lets Szpilman continue hiding in the attic of the building and even brings him food regularly, thus saving his life. Another few weeks go by, and the German troops are forced to withdraw from Warsaw due to the advance of Red Army troops. Before leaving the area, Hosenfeld asks Szpilman what his name is, and, upon hearing it, remarks that it is apt for a pianist (Szpilman being the Polish rendering of the German Spielmann, meaning "man who plays"). Hosenfeld also promises to listen for Szpilman on Polish Radio. He gives Szpilman his Wehrmacht uniform greatcoat and leaves. Later, that coat is almost fatal for Szpilman when Polish troops, liberating the ruins of Warsaw, take him for a German officer and shoot at him. He is eventually able to convince them that he is Polish, and they stop shooting. One soldier asks him why he is wearing a Wehrmacht coat, to which Szpilman replies simply, "I'm cold."

As newly freed prisoners of a concentration camp pass a fenced-in enclosure of German prisoners of war sitting on the ground and guarded by Soviet soldiers, they start collectively verbally abusing the prisoners, with one angry pol that he used to be a violinist, now without his precious violin. A visibly beaten Hosenfeld, a shadow of his former once proud demeanor, comes up to the fence and asks the violinist if he is familiar with Szpilman, a Polish radio pianist, which the violinist confirms. Hosenfeld states that he helped him in hiding and asks if Szpilmann can return the favor. Szpilman, now playing live on Warsaw Radio, is visited by the violinist in the studio, who takes him to the site with all the prisoners having been removed along with any trace of the stockade. In the film's final scene, Szpilman triumphantly performs Chopin's Grand Polonaise brillante in E flat major to a large audience. Notes at the end of the film indicate that Hosenfeld died in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp in 1952 and Chopin's music plays on through the credits.

Cast

• Adrien Brody as Władysław Szpilman
• Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
• Frank Finlay as Father Szpilman
• Maureen Lipman as Mother Szpilman
• Ronan Vibert as Andrzej Bogucki
• Ruth Platt as Janina Bogucki
• Emilia Fox as Dorota
• Michał Żebrowski as Jurek
• Ed Stoppard as Henryk
• Jessica Kate Meyer as Halina
• Julia Rayner as Regina
• Richard Ridings as Mr. Lipa
• Daniel Caltagirone as Majorek
• Valentine Pelka as Dorota's husband

Production

The story had deep connections with director Roman Polanski because he escaped from the Krakow Ghetto as a child after the death of his mother. He ended up living in a Polish farmer's barn until the war's end. His father almost died in the camps, but they reunited after the end of World War II.

Joseph Fiennes was Polanski's first choice for the lead role, but he turned it down due to a previous commitment to the theatre. Over 1,400 actors auditioned for the role of Wladyslaw Szpilman at a casting call in London. Unsatisfied with all who tried, director Roman Polanski sought to cast Adrien Brody, whom he saw as ideal for the role during their first meeting in Paris.

Filming

Principal photography on The Pianist began on 9 February 2001 in Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany. The Warsaw Ghetto and the surrounding city were recreated on the backlot of Babelsberg Studios as they would have looked during the war. Old Soviet army barracks were used to create the ruined city, as they were going to be destroyed anyway.

The first scenes of the film were shot at the old army barracks. Soon after, the filmmakers moved to a villa in Potsdam, which served as the house where Szpilman meets Hosenfeld. On 2 March 2001, filming then moved to an abandoned Soviet army hospital in Beelitz, Germany. The scenes that featured the Germans destroying the hospital with flame throwers were filmed here. On 15 March, filming finally moved to Babelsberg Studios. The first scene shot at the studio was the scene in which Szpilman witnesses a resistance mounted by the Jews from the Ghetto, which is eventually ended by the Nazis. The scene was complex and technically demanding as it involved various stunts and explosives. Filming at the studios ended on 26 March and moved to Warsaw on 29 March. The rundown district of Praga was chosen for filming because of its abundance of original buildings. The art department built onto these original buildings, re-creating World War II–era Poland with signs and posters from the period. Additional filming also took place around Warsaw. The Umschlagplatz scene where Szpilman, his family and hundreds of other Jews wait to be taken to the extermination camps was filmed at the National Defence University in Warsaw.

Principal photography ended in July 2001, and was followed by months of post-production, which took place in Paris, France.

Critical reception

The film received extremely positive reviews from critics and Brody's performance was met with near universal acclaim. As of 14 January 2011, The Pianist holds a score of 96% on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. With over 171,000 votes and an average of 8.5, it currently holds the 51st place in the IMDB top 250. Metacritic rates the movie as 85% based on 40 reviews.

Roger Ebert noted that "perhaps that impassive quality reflects what Polanski wants to say... By showing Szpilman as a survivor but not a fighter or a hero—as a man who does all he can to save himself, but would have died without enormous good luck and the kindness of a few non-Jews—Polanski is reflecting... his own deepest feelings: that he survived, but need not have, and that his mother died and left a wound that had never healed."

Home release

The film was released on DVD on 26 May 2003 in a double-sided disc Special Edition DVD, with the movie on one side and special features on the other.. Some Bonus Material included a making-of, interviews with Brody, Polanski, and Harwood, and clips of Szpilman playing the piano. Polish DVD edition included audio commentary track (in Polish) by production designer Starski and director of photography Edelman.

Optimum Home Entertainment released The Pianist to the European market on Blu-ray as part of their StudioCanal Collection on 13 September 2010 and this is the film's second release on Blu-ray. The first was troublesome due to issues with subtitles: the initial BD lacked subtitles for spoken German dialogue. Optimum later rectified this but the initial release also lacked notable special features. The StudioCanal Collection version includes an extensive Behind the Scenes look as well as several interviews with the makers of the film and Szpilman's relatives.

Music

Further information: The Pianist (soundtrack)

• The piano piece heard at the beginning of the film is Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp minor Lento con gran espressione, Op. posth.
• The piano piece that is heard being played by a next door neighbour while Szpilman was in hiding at an apartment was Chopin's Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17, No. 4.
• The piano music heard in the abandoned house when Szpilman had just discovered a hiding place in the attic was the Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. It would later be revealed that German officer Hosenfeld was the pianist. The German composition juxtaposed with the mainly Polish/Chopin selection of Szpilman.
• The piano piece played when Szpilman is confronted by Hosenfeld is Chopin's Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23. Also, the version played in the movie was shortened. The entire piece lasts 9–10 minutes.
• The cello piece heard at the middle of the film, played by Dorota, is the Prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1.
• The piano piece heard at the end of the film, played with an orchestra, is Chopin's Grande Polonaise brillante, Op. 22.
• Shots of Szpilman's hands playing the piano in close-up were provided by Polish classical pianist Janusz Olejniczak (b. 1952), who also performed on the soundtrack.
• Since Polanski wanted the film to be as realistic as possible, any scene showing Brody playing was actually his playing voiced over by recordings provided by Janusz Olejniczak. In order for Brody's playing to look like it was at the level of Władysław Szpilman's, he spent many months prior to and during the filming practicing so that his keystrokes on the piano would convince viewers that Brody himself was playing. It was never specified whether or not it was actually Adrien Brody playing at certain points in the film, such as the beginning where Władysław Szpilman's playing is interrupted by German bombing.

Awards and nominations

Wins

• Academy Award for Best Actor – Adrien Brody
• Academy Award for Best Director – Roman Polanski
• Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay – Ronald Harwood
• Palme d'Or, 2002 Cannes Film Festival
• BAFTA Award for Best Film
• BAFTA Award for Best Direction – Roman Polanski
• César Award for Best Actor
• César Award for Best Director
• César Award for Best Film
• César Award for Best Music Written for a Film
• César Award for Best Cinematography
• César Award for Best Production Design
• César Award for Best Sound
• Goya Award for Best European Film

Nominations

• Academy Award for Best Cinematography – Paweł Edelman
• Academy Award for Best Costume Design – Anna B. Sheppard
• Academy Award for Film Editing – Hervé de Luze
• Academy Award for Best Picture
• BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography – Paweł Edelman
• BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role – Adrien Brody
• BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay – Ronald Harwood
• BAFTA Award for Best Sound – Jean-Marie Blondel, Dean Humphreys, Gérard Hardy

See also

• Władysław Szpilman, pianist, composer, and author of The Pianist (memoir).
• World War II – German invasion of Poland and Warsaw (1939); Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto (1943); and the later, larger Warsaw Uprising (1944).
• Wilm Hosenfeld, German officer and pianist.
• List of Holocaust films
• History of the Jews in Poland
• Defiance (2008 film)
• Uprising (film)

External links

• Official website
• The Pianist at the Internet Movie Database
• The Pianist at Box Office Mojo
• The Pianist at Rotten Tomatoes
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum – Szpilman's Warsaw: The History behind The Pianist

Awards
Preceded by Amélie	Goya Award for Best European Film 2002	Succeeded by Good Bye Lenin!