The Pianist (2002 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
"The Pianist (film)" redirects here. For other uses, see pianist (disambiguation).
The Pianist
Image:The Pianist movie.jpg
Directed by Roman Polanski
Produced by Roman Polanski
Robert Benmussa
Alain Sarde
Written by Ronald Harwood (Screenplay)
Władysław Szpilman (Book)
Starring Adrien Brody
Thomas Kretschmann
Music by Wojciech Kilar
Frederic Chopin
Cinematography Paweł Edelman
Editing by Hervé de Luze
Distributed by Focus Features
Release date(s) 24 May, 2002 (premiere at Cannes)
6 September, 2002 (Polish premiere)
December 27, 2002 (USA, limited)
3 January, 2003 (USA, wide)
24 January, 2003 (Canada)
24 January, 2003 (UK)
6 March, 2003 (Australia)
Running time 150 min.
Language English
Budget $35,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

The Pianist is a 2002 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.

In addition to the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Oscars for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also awarded by seven french Césars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Brody (who became at the opportunity the only American actor to win one).

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous Polish Jewish pianist working for Warsaw radio, sees his whole world collapse with the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of Poland in September 1939. After the radio station is rocked by explosions, Szpilman goes home and learns that Great Britain and France have declared war on Germany. He and his family rejoice, believing the war will end quickly.

When the Nazis' armed SS organisation occupies Warsaw after the regular army passes on, 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 Star of David to identify themselves, and eventually, late in 1940, they are all forced into the squalid Warsaw Ghetto. There, they face hunger, persecution and humiliation from the SS occupants and the ever present fear of death or torture. The Nazis became increasingly sadistic and the family experiences many horrors inflicted on their neighbours.

Before long, the family, along with thousands of others, is rounded up for deportation to the extermination facility at Treblinka. As the Jews are being forced onto cattle trucks, 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 survives, first in the Ghetto as a slave laborer for German reconstruction units and later in hiding outside, relying on the help of non-Jews who still remember him.

While living in hiding, he witnesses many horrors committed by the SS, such as widespread killing, beating, and burning. Szpilman also witnesses the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and its aftermath as the SS forcibly enters the ghetto and kills nearly all the remaining insurgents.

Among the staff of the SS ghetto outpost, a figure (who became revealed as Josef Blösche after the war) turned into their specialist for finding remaining, hidden Jews, and who executed about 2000 for no reason and with no mercy, including pregnant women and infants. Two scenes resemble Blösche's typical actions as been witnessed by victims or his former SS comrades[1]: In one scene, Blösche coldheartedly selects and then executes a number of captured Jews who he deems not young or fit enough for construction labour. In the other scene, his response to a young mother's inquiry about the deportation destination is simply to shoot her.

A year goes by and life in Warsaw further deteriorates. On more than one occasion, Szpilman nearly dies due to jaundice and malnutrition. The Polish resistance mounts the Warsaw Uprising against the German occupation. Warsaw is virtually levelled and depopulated as a result. After the Warsaw population escapes from the ruins, and the SS then escapes from the approaching Russian army, Szpilman is left entirely alone.

In houses not being ruined, he searches desperately for food. While trying to open a can of cucumbers, he realizes to his horror that he is being watched from behind, but then realizes that he's not been just discovered by a SS ghetto patrol, but by a Captain of the regular German army, Wilm Hosenfeld. Hosenfeld asks the initially perplexed Szpilman to play something for him on the grand piano. The decrepit Szpilman, only a shadow of the flamboyant pianist he once was, gives a performance of Chopin's Ballade in G minor for Hosenfeld. Hosenfeld is touched, and lets him continue hiding in the attic of the building. He even brings the almost starved Szpilman food regularly, thus saving his life eventually.

Another few weeks go by, and the Germans troops are forced to withdraw from Warsaw due to the advance of the Red Army troops. Only before leaving the area, Hosenfeld asks Szpilman what his name is, and, upon hearing it, remarks that it is apt for a pianist (Szpilman is a homonym for the German Spielmann, meaning "man who plays"). Hosenfeld also promises to listen for Szpilman on Polish radio. He gives Szpilman his coat and leaves. Later, that coat nearly proves fatal for Szpilman when Polish troops, liberating what remains of Warsaw, mistake him for a German officer and shoot at him. He is eventually able to convince them that he is Polish, and they stop shooting. When harshly asked, "Why the fucking coat?" the haggard Szpilman simply replies, "I'm cold."

When a nearby concentration camp is liberated, Captain Hosenfeld and other Germans are captured. Hosenfeld begs a passing Jewish prisoner, a musician, to contact Szpilman to free him. Szpilman, who has gone back to playing live on Warsaw radio, arrives at the site too late; all the prisoners have been removed along with any trace of the stockade. In the movie's final scene, Szpilman triumphantly performs Chopin's Grand Polonaise Brillante in E flat major to a large audience in Warsaw. Title cards shown just before the end credits reveal that Szpilman later moved to America and died in 2000, but that Hosenfeld died in 1952 in a Soviet prisoner-of-war camp.

[edit] Production

The story had deep connections with director Roman Polanski because he escaped from Krakow Ghetto as a child after his mother died. He ended up living in a sympathetic 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.

Principal photography on The Pianist began on 9 February 2001 in Babelsberg Studios 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 Belitz, Germany. The scenes that featured the Germans destroying the hospital with flame throwers were filmed here. On March 15 filming finally moved to Babelsberg Studios. The first scene shot at the studio was the scene 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 on to 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 concentration camps was filmed at a local Military Academy.

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

[edit] Music

For more details on the soundtrack, see 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 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 approximately 9 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).

[edit] Cast

[edit] Awards

[edit] Wins

[edit] Nominations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ German TV Documentary (2003) "Der SS-Mann Josef Blösche - Leben und Sterben eines Mörders" (The SS figure Josef Blösche - A Murderer's Life and Death), based on court case archives etc., see also http://www.wdr.de/tv/dokumentation/ss-mann.html

[edit] External links


Awards
Preceded by
The Son's Room 		Palme d'Or
2002 		Succeeded by
Elephant
Preceded by
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 		BAFTA Award for Best Film
2003 		Succeeded by
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Preceded by
Amélie 		César Award for Best Film
2003 		Succeeded by
The Barbarian Invasions
v • d • e
Films directed by Roman Polanski
Film Awards 2002 (Best Picture)
Industry:
(USA, Europe and Australia)
Academy Awards (Chicago) | Australian Film Institute (Rabbit-Proof Fence) | BAFTA Awards (The Pianist) | César Awards, France (The Pianist) | European Film Awards (Hable con ella) | Genie Awards, Canada (Ararat) | Golden Globe Awards (Drama: The Hours / Musical or Comedy: Chicago) | Goya Awards, Spain (Los lunes al sol) | Image Awards (Antwone Fisher) | Independent Spirit Awards (Far from Heaven) | Satellite Awards (Drama: Far from Heaven / Musical or Comedy: My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
Festival:
(International)
Berlin, Germany (Golden Bear: Bloody Sunday and Spirited Away) | Cannes, France (Golden Palm: The Pianist) | Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (Crystal Globe: Rok dábla) | Sundance, USA (Grand Jury Prize: Personal Velocity: Three Portraits) | Venice, Italy (Golden Lion: The Magdalene Sisters)
Critics:
(USA and Canada)
Boston (The Pianist) | Broadcast Film Critics Association (Chicago) | Central Ohio (Punch-Drunk Love) | Chicago (Far from Heaven) | Dallas-Fort Worth (Chicago) | Florida (Adaptation.) | Kansas City (About Schmidt) | Las Vegas (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) | Los Angeles (About Schmidt) | National Board of Review (The Hours) | National Society of Film Critics (The Pianist) | New York (Far from Heaven) | Online Critics (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) | Phoenix (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) | San Diego (Far from Heaven) | San Francisco (The Pianist) | Seattle (Far from Heaven) | Southeast (The Hours) | Toronto (Adaptation.) | Vancouver (The Hours) | Washington DC Area (Road to Perdition)
ar:عازف البيانو

bs:Pijanist (film) ca:El pianista cs:Pianista (film) de:Der Pianist el:Ο πιανίστας (ταινία) es:El pianista fa:پیانیست (فیلم) fr:Le Pianiste gl:O pianista hr:Pijanist (film) id:The Pianist (film) it:Il pianista (film) he:הפסנתרן hu:A zongorista nl:The Pianist ja:戦場のピアニスト no:Pianisten (film) pl:Pianista (film) pt:The Pianist ru:Пианист (фильм) sr:Пијаниста (филм) fi:Pianisti (elokuva) sv:Pianisten (film, 2002) vi:Nghệ sĩ dương cầm (phim) tr:Piyanist (film, 2002) zh:钢琴家 (电影)

Retrieved from "http://india.smashits.com/wikipedia/The_Pianist_%282002_film%29"
Views
Personal tools

Toolbox