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| runtime = 117 minutes <!--117:37-->
| runtime = 117 minutes <!--117:37-->
| country = New Zealand<br />Australia<br />France
| country = New Zealand<br />Australia<br />France
| language = English<br />[[Māori language|Māori]]<br />[[British Sign Language]]
| language = English<br />[[Maori language|Maori]]<br />[[British Sign Language]]
| budget = $7 million<ref>[http://powergrid.thewrap.com/project/piano Box Office Information for ''The Piano''.] ''[[The Wrap]]''. Retrieved 4 April 2013</ref>
| budget = $7 million<ref>[http://powergrid.thewrap.com/project/piano Box Office Information for ''The Piano''.] ''[[The Wrap]]''. Retrieved 4 April 2013</ref>
| gross = $140 million<ref name="books.google.com">http://books.google.com/books?id=CIyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR8&dq=the+piano+oscars&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RsxnU6aaE9ewsASPyIGYBQ&ved=0CDoQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20piano%20oscars&f=false</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">http://books.google.com/books?id=mFZ6gBsl2ZgC&pg=PA135&dq=the+piano+box+office+$140+million+worldwide&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ss5nU6H7KcLgsAS1zIDQDg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=the%20piano%20box%20office%20%24140%20million%20worldwide&f=false</ref>
| gross = $140 million<ref name="books.google.com">http://books.google.com/books?id=CIyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR8&dq=the+piano+oscars&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RsxnU6aaE9ewsASPyIGYBQ&ved=0CDoQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20piano%20oscars&f=false</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">http://books.google.com/books?id=mFZ6gBsl2ZgC&pg=PA135&dq=the+piano+box+office+$140+million+worldwide&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ss5nU6H7KcLgsAS1zIDQDg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=the%20piano%20box%20office%20%24140%20million%20worldwide&f=false</ref>
}}
}}
'''''The Piano''''' is a 1993 New Zealand [[romantic drama film]] about a [[Muteness|mute]] pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the [[West Coast Region|west coast of New Zealand]]. The film was written and directed by [[Jane Campion]], and stars [[Holly Hunter]], [[Harvey Keitel]], [[Sam Neill]], and [[Anna Paquin]], in her first acting role. It features a score for the piano by [[Michael Nyman]] which became a best-selling soundtrack album. Hunter played her own piano pieces for the film, and also served as [[sign language]] teacher for Paquin, earning three screen credits. The film is an [[international co-production]] by Australian producer [[Jan Chapman]] with the French company [[Ciby 2000]].
'''''The Piano''''' is a 1993 New Zealand [[romantic drama film]] about a [[Muteness|mute]] female piano player and her daughter. The film revolves around the piano player's passion for playing the piano and her efforts to save enough money to buy her very own piano and teach her daughter how to play. The movie is set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the [[West Coast Region|west coast of New Zealand]]. The film was written and directed by [[Jane Campion]], and stars [[Holly Hunter]], [[Harvey Keitel]], [[Sam Neill]], and [[Anna Paquin]], in her first acting role. It features a score for the piano by [[Michael Nyman]] which became a best-selling soundtrack album. Hunter played her own piano pieces for the film, and also served as [[sign language]] teacher for Paquin, earning three screen credits. The film is an [[international co-production]] by Australian producer [[Jan Chapman]] with the French company [[Ciby 2000]].


''The Piano'' was a success both critically and commercially, grossing $140 million worldwide,<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> against its $7 million budget. Hunter and Paquin both received high praise for their respective roles as Ada McGrath and Flora McGrath. In March 1994, ''The Piano'' won 3 Academy Awards out of 8 total nominations: [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for Hunter, [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for Paquin, and [[Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)|Best Original Screenplay]] for Campion. Paquin, who at the time was 11 years old, is the second youngest Oscar winner ever in a competitive category, after [[Tatum O'Neal]], who also won Supporting Actress in 1974 for ''[[Paper Moon (film)|Paper Moon]]'', at 10.
''The Piano'' was a success both critically and commercially, grossing $140 million worldwide,<ref name="books.google.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> against its $7 million budget. Hunter and Paquin both received high praise for their respective roles as Ada McGrath and Flora McGrath. In March 1994, ''The Piano'' won 3 Academy Awards out of 8 total nominations: [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] for Hunter, [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] for Paquin, and [[Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)|Best Original Screenplay]] for Campion. Paquin, who at the time was 11 years old, is the second youngest Oscar winner ever in a competitive category, after [[Tatum O'Neal]], who also won Supporting Actress in 1974 for ''[[Paper Moon (film)|Paper Moon]]'', at 10.


==Plot==
==Plot==
''The Piano'' tells the story of a mute [[Scots people|Scotswoman]], Ada McGrath, whose father sells her into marriage to a New Zealand frontiersman, Alisdair Stewart. She is shipped off along with her young daughter Flora. The voice that the audience hears in the opening narration is "not her speaking voice, but her mind's voice". Ada has not spoken a word since she was six years old and no one, including herself, knows why. She expresses herself through her piano playing and through sign language for which her daughter has served as the interpreter. Flora later dramatically tells two women in New Zealand that her mother has not spoken since the death of her husband who died as a result of being struck by lightning. Ada cares little for the mundane world, occupying herself for hours every day with the piano. It is never made explicitly clear why she ceased to speak. Flora, it is later learned, is the product of a relationship with a teacher with whom Ada believed she could communicate through her mind, but who "became frightened and stopped listening," and thus left her.
''The Piano'' tells the story of what else? A [[piano]] (the music is produces and the ability to play the piano.) The piano is owned by a mute [[Scots people|Scotswoman]]. Her name is Ada McGrath and her father sells her into marriage to a New Zealand frontiersman, Alisdair Stewart. She is shipped off along with her young daughter Flora. The voice that the audience hears in the opening narration is "not her speaking voice, but her mind's voice". Ada has not spoken a word since she was six years old and no one, including herself, knows why. She expresses herself through her piano playing and through sign language for which her daughter has served as the interpreter. Flora later dramatically tells two women in New Zealand that her mother has not spoken since the death of her husband who died as a result of being struck by lightning. Ada cares little for the mundane world, occupying herself for hours every day with the piano. It is never made explicitly clear why she ceased to speak. Flora, it is later learned, is the product of a relationship with a teacher with whom Ada believed she could communicate through her mind, but who "became frightened and stopped listening," and thus left her.


Ada, her daughter Flora, and their belongings, including a piano, are deposited on a New Zealand beach by a ship's crew. As there is no one there to meet them, they spend the night alone on the beach amongst their crated belongings. The following day, the husband who has bought her, Alisdair, arrives with a [[Māori people|Māori]] crew and his white friend Baines. Baines is a fellow forester and retired sailor, who has adopted many of the Māori customs, including [[Tā moko|tattooing his face]] and socializing with the Māori. There are insufficient men to carry everything and Alisdair abandons the piano on the beach, eliciting strong objections from Ada.
Ada, her daughter Flora, and their belongings, including a hand crafted piano (hence the title of this movie), are deposited on a New Zealand beach by a ship's crew. As there is no one there to meet them, they spend the night alone on the beach amongst their crated belongings. The following day, the husband who has bought her, Alisdair, arrives with a [[Maori people|Maori]] crew and his white friend Baines. Baines is a fellow forester and retired sailor, who has adopted many of the Maori customs, including [[Ta moko|tattooing his face]] and socializing with the Maori. There are insufficient men to carry everything and Alisdair abandons the piano on the beach, eliciting strong objections from Ada.


Alisdair proves to be a shy and diffident man, who is jokingly called "old dry balls" by his Māori neighbors. He tells Ada that there is no room in his small house for the piano. Ada, in turn, remains cold to him and continues to try to be reunited with her piano. Unable to communicate with Alisdair, she goes with Flora, to Baines with a note asking to be taken to the piano. He explains he cannot read. When Flora translates her mothers wishes, he initially refuses, but the three ultimately spend the day on the beach with Ada playing music.
Alisdair proves to be a shy and diffident man, who is jokingly called "old dry balls" by his Maori neighbors. He tells Ada that there is no room in his small house for the piano. Ada, in turn, remains cold to him and continues to try to be reunited with her piano. Unable to communicate with Alisdair, she goes with Flora, to Baines with a note asking to be taken to the piano. He explains he cannot read. When Flora translates her mothers wishes, he initially refuses, but the three ultimately spend the day on the beach with Ada playing music.
While he socially aligns himself with the Māori, Baines has not taken a woman for himself. He is taken by the transformation in Ada when she plays her piano. Baines soon suggests that Alisdair trade the instrument to him for some land. Alisdair consents, and agrees to his further request {{mdash}}lessons from Ada{{mdash}} oblivious to his attraction to her.
While he socially aligns himself with the Maori, Baines has not taken a woman for himself. He is taken by the transformation in Ada when she plays her piano. Baines soon suggests that Alisdair trade the instrument to him for some land. Alisdair consents, and agrees to his further request {{mdash}}lessons from Ada{{mdash}} oblivious to his attraction to her.
When Ada hears that her prized possession has been traded away without so much as a word about it, she is enraged. She explains that she does not want a man with filthy hands and no ability to read touching her piano. Alisdair shouts the finality of his decision and demands that she fulfill the contract of providing lessons.
When Ada hears that her precious piano has been traded away without so much as a word about it, she is enraged. She explains that she does not want a man with filthy hands and no ability to read touching her piano. Alisdair shouts the finality of his decision and demands that she fulfill the contract of providing lessons.
On the day she arrives at his hut, she attempts to make an excuse that she can't play on the piano because it is out of tune. She is stunned to find that Baines has had the piano put into perfect tune. She begins by asking him to play anything he knows, he asks to simply listen rather than learn to play himself. It becomes clear that he procured the piano not for his own interest in music, but because he enjoys what it does for her when she plays. He proposes, at one lesson that they make a bargain so that she can earn her piano back. He suggests that in exchange for one piano key per "lesson", he might observe her and do "things he likes" while she plays.
On the day she arrives at his hut, she attempts to make an excuse that she can't play on the piano because it is out of tune. She is stunned to find that Baines has had the piano put into perfect tune. She begins by asking him to play anything he knows, he asks to simply listen rather than learn to play himself. It becomes clear that he procured the piano not for his own interest in music, but because he enjoys what it does for her when she plays. He proposes, at one lesson that they make a bargain so that she can earn her piano back. He suggests that in exchange for one piano key per "lesson", he might observe her and do "things he likes" while she plays.
She is not anxious to accept the deal, but cannot refuse the notion of getting her piano back. She agrees, but negotiates for a number of "lessons" equal to the number of black keys only.
She is not anxious to accept the deal, but cannot refuse the notion of getting her piano back. She agrees, but negotiates for a number of "lessons" equal to the number of black keys only.
While Ada and her husband Alisdair have had no sexual, nor even mildly affectionate, interaction, the lessons with Baines become a slow seduction for her affection. Baines requests gradually increased intimacy in exchange for greater numbers of keys. But she does so grudgingly and does not give herself to him the way he desires. Realizing that she only does what she has to in order to regain the piano, and that she has no romantic attachment to him for himself, Baines in despair simply returns the piano to Ada. He feels that their arrangement "is making you a whore, and me a lecher", and that what he really wants is for her to actually care for him, which he doesn't believe she can do.
While Ada and her husband Alisdair have had no sexual, nor even mildly affectionate, interaction, the lessons with Baines become a slow seduction for her affection. Baines requests gradually increased intimacy in exchange for greater numbers of keys. But she does so grudgingly and does not give herself to him the way he desires. Realizing that she only does what she has to in order to regain the piano, and that she has no romantic attachment to him for himself, Baines in despair simply returns the piano to Ada. He feels that their arrangement "is making you a whore, and me a lecher", and that what he really wants is for her to actually care for him, which he doesn't believe she can do.


Despite Ada having the piano back, she ultimately finds herself missing Baines watching her as she plays. She returns to him one afternoon, where they submit to their desire for one another. Alisdair, having begun to suspect something going on between them, hears them making love as he walks by Baines' house, and then watches them through a crack in the wall. Outraged, he follows her the next day and confronts her in the forest, where he attempts to force himself on her, despite her intense resistance. He then boards up his home with Ada inside so she won't be able to visit Baines while Alisdair is working on his timberland.
Despite Ada having her piano back, she ultimately finds herself missing Baines watching her as she plays. She returns to him one afternoon, where they submit to their desire for one another. Alisdair, having begun to suspect something going on between them, hears them making love as he walks by Baines' house, and then watches them through a crack in the wall. Outraged, he follows her the next day and confronts her in the forest, where he attempts to force himself on her, despite her intense resistance. He then boards up his home with Ada inside so she won't be able to visit Baines while Alisdair is working on his timberland.
After this, Ada realizes she must show affection with Alisdair if she is ever to be released from her home prison, though her caresses only serve to frustrate him more because when he tries to touch her, she pulls away. Eventually resolving to trust her, he removes the barriers from the house, and exacts a promise from Ada that she won't see Baines.
After this, Ada realizes she must show affection with Alisdair if she is ever to be released from her home prison, though her caresses only serve to frustrate him more because when he tries to touch her, she pulls away. Eventually resolving to trust her, he removes the barriers from the house, and exacts a promise from Ada that she won't see Baines.


Soon after, Ada sends her daughter with a package for Baines, containing a single piano key with an inscribed love declaration and the side reading "Dear George you have my heart Ada McGrath". Flora does not want to deliver the package and brings the piano key instead to Alisdair. After reading the love note burnt onto the piano key, Alisdair furiously returns home with an axe and cuts off Ada's index finger, while Flora watches on in horror. He then sends Flora to Baines with the severed finger wrapped in cloth, with the message that if Baines ever attempts to see Ada again, he will chop off more fingers.
Soon after, Ada sends her daughter with a package for Baines, containing a single piano key with an inscribed love declaration and the side reading "Dear George you have my heart Ada McGrath". Flora does not want to deliver the package and brings the piano key instead to Alisdair. After reading the love note burnt onto the piano key, Alisdair furiously returns home with an axe and cuts off Ada's index finger, while Flora watches on in horror. He then sends Flora to Baines with the severed finger wrapped in cloth, with the message that if Baines ever attempts to see Ada again, he will chop off more fingers.


Later that night, while touching Ada in her sleep, Alisdair hears what he believes to be Ada's voice inside of his head, asking him to let Baines take her away. Deeply shaken, he goes to Baines' house and asks if she has ever spoken words to him. Baines assures him she has not.
Later that night, while touching Ada in her sleep, Alisdair hears what he believes to be Ada's voice inside of his head, asking him to let Baines take her away. Deeply shaken, he goes to Baines' house and asks if she has ever spoken words to him. Baines assures him she has not. Ultimately, he decides to send Ada and Flora away with Baines and dissolve their marriage once Ada has recovered from her injuries. They depart from the same beach on which she first landed in New Zealand. While being rowed to the ship with her baggage and the Ada's piano tied onto a Maori longboat, Ada decides to dispose of the piano. She asks Baines throw the piano overboard. As it sinks, she deliberately tangles her foot in the rope trailing after it. She is pulled overboard but, deep underwater, changes her mind and kicks free and is pulled to safety. Her decision to get rid of the piano is unknown. If it was too heavy for the boat, then it would have been better to have it shipped to their new location.
Ultimately, he decides to send Ada and Flora away with Baines and dissolve their marriage once Ada has recovered from her injuries. They depart from the same beach on which she first landed in New Zealand. While being rowed to the ship with her baggage and the piano tied onto a Maori longboat, Ada insists that Baines throw the piano overboard. As it sinks, she deliberately tangles her foot in the rope trailing after it. She is pulled overboard but, deep underwater, changes her mind and kicks free and is pulled to safety.


In an [[epilogue]], Ada describes her new life with Baines and Flora in [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]], where she has started to give piano lessons in their new home, and her severed finger has been replaced with a silver finger made by Baines. Ada says that she imagines her piano in its grave in the sea, and herself suspended above it, which "lulls me to sleep." Ada has also started to take speech lessons in order to learn how to speak again. The film closes with the [[Thomas Hood]] quotation, from his poem "Silence," which also opened the film: "There is a silence where hath been no sound. There is a silence where no sound may be in the cold grave under the deep deep sea."
In an [[epilogue]], Ada describes her new life with Baines and Flora in [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]] where she has started to give piano lessons in their new home, and her severed finger has been replaced with a silver finger made by Baines. Ada says that she imagines her piano in its grave in the sea, and herself suspended above it, which "lulls me to sleep." Ada has also started to take speech lessons in order to learn how to speak again. Many years later Ada's children make it their personal mission to retrieve the piano. They hire a team of professional divers to locate and recover it. The story closes with the [[Thomas Hood]] quotation, from his poem "Silence," which also opened the film: "There is a silence where hath been no sound. There is a silence where no sound may be in the cold grave under the deep deep sea."


==Cast==
==Cast==
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Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly positive. [[Roger Ebert]] wrote: "''The Piano'' is as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen" and "It is one of those rare movies that is not just about a story, or some characters, but about a whole universe of feeling." Hal Hinson of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "[An] evocative, powerful, extraordinarily beautiful film." On the film site [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''The Piano'' earned a 90% "Certified Fresh" rating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/piano/|title= The Piano|accessdate=31 July 2008}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it holds a score of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-piano The Piano Reviews – Metacritic<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly positive. [[Roger Ebert]] wrote: "''The Piano'' is as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen" and "It is one of those rare movies that is not just about a story, or some characters, but about a whole universe of feeling." Hal Hinson of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' called it "[An] evocative, powerful, extraordinarily beautiful film." On the film site [[Rotten Tomatoes]], ''The Piano'' earned a 90% "Certified Fresh" rating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/piano/|title= The Piano|accessdate=31 July 2008}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it holds a score of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-piano The Piano Reviews – Metacritic<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


At the [[1993 Cannes Film Festival]], the film shared the [[Palme d'Or]] Best Film Award with [[Chen Kaige]]'s ''[[Farewell My Concubine (film)|Farewell My Concubine]]'', and [[Holly Hunter]] was awarded the [[Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actress Award]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2567/year/1993.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Piano |accessdate=22 August 2009|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> In 1994, the film won 3 [[Academy Awards]]; [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (Holly Hunter), [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] (Anna Paquin) and [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] (Jane Campion). Anna Paquin was the second youngest person after [[Tatum O'Neal]] to win an Academy Award. [[Holly Hunter]] is notable for being one of three actresses – along with [[Marlee Matlin]] (for her [[American sign language]] performance in ''[[Children of a Lesser God]]'') and [[Jane Wyman]] (for her deaf-mute role in ''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]'') − to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress in the post-[[silent era]] for a non-speaking role (her voice is only heard off-screen in a few scenes). The film made its US premiere at the [[Hawaii International Film Festival]].
At the [[1993 Cannes Film Festival]], the film shared the [[Palme d'Or]] Best Film Award with [[Chen Kaige]]'s ''[[Farewell My Concubine (film)|Farewell My Concubine]]'', and [[Holly Hunter]] was awarded the [[Best Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Actress Award]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2567/year/1993.html |title=Festival de Cannes: The Piano |accessdate=22 August 2009|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> In 1994, the film won 3 [[Academy Awards]]; [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (Holly Hunter), [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] (Anna Paquin) and [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] (Jane Campion). Anna Paquin was the second youngest person after [[Tatum O'Neal]] to win an Academy Award. [[Holly Hunter]] is notable for being one of three actresses – along with [[Marlee Matlin]] (for her [[American sign language]] performance in ''[[Children of a Lesser God]]'') and [[Jane Wyman]] (for her deaf-mute role in ''[[Johnny Belinda (1948 film)|Johnny Belinda]]'') - to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress in the post-[[silent era]] for a non-speaking role (her voice is only heard off-screen in a few scenes). The film made its US premiere at the [[Hawaii International Film Festival]].


==Accolades==
==Accolades==
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[[Category:French drama films]]
[[Category:French drama films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:Māori-language films]]
[[Category:Maori-language films]]
[[Category:British Sign Language films]]
[[Category:British Sign Language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jane Campion]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jane Campion]]

Revision as of 23:12, 13 May 2014

This article is about the film. For the instrument, see Piano. For other uses, see Piano (disambiguation).

The Piano
US theatrical release poster
Directed byJane Campion
Written byJane Campion
Produced byJan Chapman
StarringHolly Hunter
Harvey Keitel
Sam Neill
Anna Paquin
Narrated byHolly Hunter
CinematographyStuart Dryburgh
Edited byVeronika Jenet
Music byMichael Nyman
Production
companies
Distributed byBac Films (France)
Miramax Films (US)
Entertainment Film Distributors (UK)
Release dates
  • 15 May 1993 (1993-05-15) (Cannes)
  • 19 May 1993 (1993-05-19) (France)
  • 5 August 1993 (1993-08-05) (Australia)
Running time
117 minutes
CountriesNew Zealand
Australia
France
LanguagesEnglish
Maori
British Sign Language
Budget$7 million[1]
Box office$140 million[2][3]

The Piano is a 1993 New Zealand romantic drama film about a mute female piano player and her daughter. The film revolves around the piano player's passion for playing the piano and her efforts to save enough money to buy her very own piano and teach her daughter how to play. The movie is set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the west coast of New Zealand. The film was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin, in her first acting role. It features a score for the piano by Michael Nyman which became a best-selling soundtrack album. Hunter played her own piano pieces for the film, and also served as sign language teacher for Paquin, earning three screen credits. The film is an international co-production by Australian producer Jan Chapman with the French company Ciby 2000.

The Piano was a success both critically and commercially, grossing $140 million worldwide,[2][3] against its $7 million budget. Hunter and Paquin both received high praise for their respective roles as Ada McGrath and Flora McGrath. In March 1994, The Piano won 3 Academy Awards out of 8 total nominations: Best Actress for Hunter, Best Supporting Actress for Paquin, and Best Original Screenplay for Campion. Paquin, who at the time was 11 years old, is the second youngest Oscar winner ever in a competitive category, after Tatum O'Neal, who also won Supporting Actress in 1974 for Paper Moon, at 10.

Plot

The Piano tells the story of what else? A piano (the music is produces and the ability to play the piano.) The piano is owned by a mute Scotswoman. Her name is Ada McGrath and her father sells her into marriage to a New Zealand frontiersman, Alisdair Stewart. She is shipped off along with her young daughter Flora. The voice that the audience hears in the opening narration is "not her speaking voice, but her mind's voice". Ada has not spoken a word since she was six years old and no one, including herself, knows why. She expresses herself through her piano playing and through sign language for which her daughter has served as the interpreter. Flora later dramatically tells two women in New Zealand that her mother has not spoken since the death of her husband who died as a result of being struck by lightning. Ada cares little for the mundane world, occupying herself for hours every day with the piano. It is never made explicitly clear why she ceased to speak. Flora, it is later learned, is the product of a relationship with a teacher with whom Ada believed she could communicate through her mind, but who "became frightened and stopped listening," and thus left her.

Ada, her daughter Flora, and their belongings, including a hand crafted piano (hence the title of this movie), are deposited on a New Zealand beach by a ship's crew. As there is no one there to meet them, they spend the night alone on the beach amongst their crated belongings. The following day, the husband who has bought her, Alisdair, arrives with a Maori crew and his white friend Baines. Baines is a fellow forester and retired sailor, who has adopted many of the Maori customs, including tattooing his face and socializing with the Maori. There are insufficient men to carry everything and Alisdair abandons the piano on the beach, eliciting strong objections from Ada.

Alisdair proves to be a shy and diffident man, who is jokingly called "old dry balls" by his Maori neighbors. He tells Ada that there is no room in his small house for the piano. Ada, in turn, remains cold to him and continues to try to be reunited with her piano. Unable to communicate with Alisdair, she goes with Flora, to Baines with a note asking to be taken to the piano. He explains he cannot read. When Flora translates her mothers wishes, he initially refuses, but the three ultimately spend the day on the beach with Ada playing music. While he socially aligns himself with the Maori, Baines has not taken a woman for himself. He is taken by the transformation in Ada when she plays her piano. Baines soon suggests that Alisdair trade the instrument to him for some land. Alisdair consents, and agrees to his further request —lessons from Ada— oblivious to his attraction to her. When Ada hears that her precious piano has been traded away without so much as a word about it, she is enraged. She explains that she does not want a man with filthy hands and no ability to read touching her piano. Alisdair shouts the finality of his decision and demands that she fulfill the contract of providing lessons. On the day she arrives at his hut, she attempts to make an excuse that she can't play on the piano because it is out of tune. She is stunned to find that Baines has had the piano put into perfect tune. She begins by asking him to play anything he knows, he asks to simply listen rather than learn to play himself. It becomes clear that he procured the piano not for his own interest in music, but because he enjoys what it does for her when she plays. He proposes, at one lesson that they make a bargain so that she can earn her piano back. He suggests that in exchange for one piano key per "lesson", he might observe her and do "things he likes" while she plays. She is not anxious to accept the deal, but cannot refuse the notion of getting her piano back. She agrees, but negotiates for a number of "lessons" equal to the number of black keys only. While Ada and her husband Alisdair have had no sexual, nor even mildly affectionate, interaction, the lessons with Baines become a slow seduction for her affection. Baines requests gradually increased intimacy in exchange for greater numbers of keys. But she does so grudgingly and does not give herself to him the way he desires. Realizing that she only does what she has to in order to regain the piano, and that she has no romantic attachment to him for himself, Baines in despair simply returns the piano to Ada. He feels that their arrangement "is making you a whore, and me a lecher", and that what he really wants is for her to actually care for him, which he doesn't believe she can do.

Despite Ada having her piano back, she ultimately finds herself missing Baines watching her as she plays. She returns to him one afternoon, where they submit to their desire for one another. Alisdair, having begun to suspect something going on between them, hears them making love as he walks by Baines' house, and then watches them through a crack in the wall. Outraged, he follows her the next day and confronts her in the forest, where he attempts to force himself on her, despite her intense resistance. He then boards up his home with Ada inside so she won't be able to visit Baines while Alisdair is working on his timberland. After this, Ada realizes she must show affection with Alisdair if she is ever to be released from her home prison, though her caresses only serve to frustrate him more because when he tries to touch her, she pulls away. Eventually resolving to trust her, he removes the barriers from the house, and exacts a promise from Ada that she won't see Baines.

Soon after, Ada sends her daughter with a package for Baines, containing a single piano key with an inscribed love declaration and the side reading "Dear George you have my heart Ada McGrath". Flora does not want to deliver the package and brings the piano key instead to Alisdair. After reading the love note burnt onto the piano key, Alisdair furiously returns home with an axe and cuts off Ada's index finger, while Flora watches on in horror. He then sends Flora to Baines with the severed finger wrapped in cloth, with the message that if Baines ever attempts to see Ada again, he will chop off more fingers.

Later that night, while touching Ada in her sleep, Alisdair hears what he believes to be Ada's voice inside of his head, asking him to let Baines take her away. Deeply shaken, he goes to Baines' house and asks if she has ever spoken words to him. Baines assures him she has not. Ultimately, he decides to send Ada and Flora away with Baines and dissolve their marriage once Ada has recovered from her injuries. They depart from the same beach on which she first landed in New Zealand. While being rowed to the ship with her baggage and the Ada's piano tied onto a Maori longboat, Ada decides to dispose of the piano. She asks Baines throw the piano overboard. As it sinks, she deliberately tangles her foot in the rope trailing after it. She is pulled overboard but, deep underwater, changes her mind and kicks free and is pulled to safety. Her decision to get rid of the piano is unknown. If it was too heavy for the boat, then it would have been better to have it shipped to their new location.

In an epilogue, Ada describes her new life with Baines and Flora in Nelson where she has started to give piano lessons in their new home, and her severed finger has been replaced with a silver finger made by Baines. Ada says that she imagines her piano in its grave in the sea, and herself suspended above it, which "lulls me to sleep." Ada has also started to take speech lessons in order to learn how to speak again. Many years later Ada's children make it their personal mission to retrieve the piano. They hire a team of professional divers to locate and recover it. The story closes with the Thomas Hood quotation, from his poem "Silence," which also opened the film: "There is a silence where hath been no sound. There is a silence where no sound may be in the cold grave under the deep deep sea."

Cast

Production

Casting the role of Ada was a difficult process. Sigourney Weaver was Campion's first choice, but she turned down the role because she was taking a break from film at the time. Jennifer Jason Leigh was also considered but she couldn't meet with Campion to read the script because she was committed to shooting the film Rush.[4] Isabelle Huppert met with Jane Campion and had vintage period-style photographs taken of her as Ada, and later said she regretted not fighting for the role as Hunter did.[5]

The casting for Flora occurred after Hunter had been selected for the part. They did a series of open auditions for girls age 9 to 13, focusing on girls who were small enough to be believable as Ada's daughter (as Holly Hunter is a rather short actress at 5' 2"[6]). Anna Paquin ended up winning the role of Flora over 5,000 other girls.[7]

Alidtair Fox has argued that The Piano was significantly influenced by Jane Mander's The Story of a New Zealand River.[8] Robert Macklin, an associate editor with The Canberra Times newspaper, has also written about the similarities.[9]

The film also serves as a retelling of the fairytale "Bluebeard",[10][11] which is hinted at further in the inclusion of "Bluebeard" as a piece of the Christmas pageant.

In July 2013, Campion revealed that she originally intended for the main character to drown in the sea after going overboard after her piano.[12]

Production on the film started in April 1992, filming began on 11 May 1992 and lasted until July of 1992, and production officially ended on 22 December 1992.[13]

Reception

Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly positive. Roger Ebert wrote: "The Piano is as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen" and "It is one of those rare movies that is not just about a story, or some characters, but about a whole universe of feeling." Hal Hinson of The Washington Post called it "[An] evocative, powerful, extraordinarily beautiful film." On the film site Rotten Tomatoes, The Piano earned a 90% "Certified Fresh" rating.[14] On Metacritic, it holds a score of 89 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

At the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, the film shared the Palme d'Or Best Film Award with Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine, and Holly Hunter was awarded the Best Actress Award.[16] In 1994, the film won 3 Academy Awards; Best Actress (Holly Hunter), Best Supporting Actress (Anna Paquin) and Best Original Screenplay (Jane Campion). Anna Paquin was the second youngest person after Tatum O'Neal to win an Academy Award. Holly Hunter is notable for being one of three actresses – along with Marlee Matlin (for her American sign language performance in Children of a Lesser God) and Jane Wyman (for her deaf-mute role in Johnny Belinda) - to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress in the post-silent era for a non-speaking role (her voice is only heard off-screen in a few scenes). The film made its US premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Accolades

Won
Nominations
  • Academy Awards:
    • Best Cinematography (Stuart Dryburgh)
    • Best Costume Design (Janet Patterson)
    • Best Director (Jane Campion)
    • Best Editing (Veronika Jenet)
    • Best Picture (Jan Chapman)
  • American Cinema Editors:
    • Best Edited Feature Film (Veronika Jenet)
  • American Society of Cinematographers:
    • Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (Stuart Dryburgh)
  • Australian Film Institute:
    • Best Supporting Actor (Sam Neill)
    • Best Supporting Actress (Kerry Walker)
  • BAFTA Awards:
    • Best Cinematography
    • Best Director (Jane Campion)
    • Best Editing
    • Best Film
    • Best Score (Michael Nyman)
    • Best Screenplay – Original (Jane Campion)
    • Best Sound
  • Directors Guild of America (DGA):
    • Best Director (Jane Campion)
  • Golden Globe Awards:
    • Best Director (Jane Campion)
    • Best Original Score (Michael Nyman)
    • Best Picture – Drama
    • Best Screenplay (Jane Campion)
    • Best Supporting Actress (Anna Paquin)

Soundtrack

For more details, see The Piano (soundtrack).
"The Piano"
Extract from the score of the 1993 film "The Piano"
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The score for the film was written by Michael Nyman, and included the acclaimed piece "The Heart Asks Pleasure First"; additional pieces were "Big My Secret", "The Mood That Passes Through You", "Silver Fingered Fling", "Deep Sleep Playing" and "The Attraction of the Peddling Ankle". This album is rated in the top 100 soundtrack albums of all time and Nyman's work is regarded as a key voice in the film, which has a mute lead character (Entertainment Weekly, 12 October 2001, p. 44).

Home media

The film was released on DVD in 1997 by LIVE Entertainment and on Blu-ray on 31 January 2012 by Lionsgate, but already released in 2010 in Australia.[18]

References

  1. ^ Box Office Information for The Piano. The Wrap. Retrieved 4 April 2013
  2. ^ a b http://books.google.com/books?id=CIyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR8&dq=the+piano+oscars&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RsxnU6aaE9ewsASPyIGYBQ&ved=0CDoQuwUwAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20piano%20oscars&f=false
  3. ^ a b http://books.google.com/books?id=mFZ6gBsl2ZgC&pg=PA135&dq=the+piano+box+office+$140+million+worldwide&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ss5nU6H7KcLgsAS1zIDQDg&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=the%20piano%20box%20office%20%24140%20million%20worldwide&f=false
  4. ^ "A Pinewood Dialogue With Jennifer Jason Leigh" (PDF). Museum of the Moving Image. 23 November 1994.
  5. ^ "Isabelle Huppert: La Vie Pour Jouer – Career/Trivia".[dead link]
  6. ^ Denise Worrell (21 December 1987). "Show Business: Holly Hunter Takes Hollywood". time.com. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  7. ^ Andrew Fish (Summer 2010). "It's in Her Blood: From Child Prodigy to Supernatural Heroine, Anna Paquin Has Us Under Her Spell". Venice Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2010.[dead link]
  8. ^ Alidtair Fox. "Puritanism and the Erotics of Transgression: the New Zealand Influence on Jane Campion's Thematic Imaginary". Retrieved 7 October 2007.
  9. ^ lingua franca, Vol. 10, No. 6, September 2000
  10. ^ Heidi Ann Heiner. "Modern Interpretations of Bluebeard". Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  11. ^ Scott C. Smith. "Look at The Piano". Retrieved 12 April 2010.[dead link]
  12. ^ Child, Ben. "Jane Campion wanted a bleaker ending for The Piano." The Guardian. 8 July 2013. Retrieved on 9 July 2013.
  13. ^ The Piano (1993) – Box office / business
  14. ^ "The Piano". Retrieved 31 July 2008.
  15. ^ The Piano Reviews – Metacritic
  16. ^ a b c "Festival de Cannes: The Piano". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  17. ^ "The Piano (1993)". Swedish Film Institute. 23 March 2014.
  18. ^ Piano [Blu-ray] (1993)
  • Ellen Cheshire Jane Campion, Great Britain: Pocket Essentials, 2000.
  • Cynthia Kaufman "Colonialism, Purity, and Resistance in The Piano", Socialist Review 24 (1995): 251–55.
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Awards
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Best Actress and

Best Supporting Actress

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