Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Maureen Lipman, Frank Finlay, Ed Stoppard

An adaptation based on the autobiography of the acclaimed Polish composer, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who detailed his survival during World War II, and narrowly escaped a roundup that sent his family to a d...( read more  read more... )eath camp. A composer and pianist, Szpilman played the last live music heard over Polish radio airwaves before Nazi artillery hit. There, in Poland, Szpilman struggled to stay alive--even when cast away from those he loved. He spent the duration of the war hiding in the ruins of Warsaw and scavenging for food and shelter. Szpilman eventually reclaimed his artistic gifts, and confronted his fears--with aid from the unlikeliest of sources.

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94% liked it

218,555 ratings

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95% liked it

169 critics

R, 2 hr. 28 min.

Directed by: Roman Polanski

Release Date: December 27, 2002

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DVD Release Date: May 27, 2003

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Flixster Reviews (12,343)


  • February 5, 2010
    Schindler's List, the ultimate holocast drama, was told from the viewpoint of Oscar Schindler the anti-hero no-jew who becomes their saviour, whereas The Pianist is told solely and intimately from the viewpoint of a Jewish pianist in the Warsaw ghetto. Adrien Brody is shateringly...( read more) powerful in his meek silence, deserving of his Oscar. The Pianist is haunting, the scene in which the SS officer has him play the piano is one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen. An essential film.
  • December 13, 2009
    Easily one of 2002's best. An important and fantastic true story, in league with Schindler's List.
  • October 3, 2009
    Much much better than 'Schindler's List'. This is a film that shows the gritty reality of the Holocaust while maintaining a non - political, sympathetic and unschmaltzy tone.

    Adrien Brody shines; a well - deserved Academy award winner, though once again I think the role would ha...( read more)ve been better filled by a Polish actor. The rest of the cast is pretty good too, though I didn't see any other standout performances (a bit like Johnny Depp in 'Pirates of the Caribbean'). Directed by Roman Polanski, 'The Pianist' avoids the Stephen Spielberg fail of falling into the glitz and glamour of a typical Hollywood movie. It is everything that 'Schindler's' is not.

    While this topic is still not one of my favourites, I did actually have a good time while learning something new from a different point of view. Highly recommended to those who disliked 'Schindler's List' and want to see a different treatment of the topic.
  • August 30, 2009
    It was a good movie, but it wasn't much different from other movies made about the Holocaust. It was really slow moving and a little too long. Maybe if it had focused more on his life as a piano player, it would've stood out more to me.
  • February 26, 2009
    I'm sure that Roman Polanski envisioned "The Pianist" as his Opus magnum. At the back of his mind, he always wanted to make a picture about his painful childhood in Cracov ghetto, but since he was always against autobiography, calling it "pointless", he was looking for a story. A...( read more) story that would be a way to show us, from the point of actual survivor, how the horror of war and opression really looked like.

    Well, if we look at the numbers concerning Warsaw at that time, it turns out disturbing. Himmler says it cut and dried: Warsaw is to be level to the ground. Let's make an example to the Russians and the rest of the world of what we're capable of. Result? Milion people are murdered and not much is left of the city. For almost five years, Warsaw is a place of thousands of big dramas: losses, arguments, fights, humiliations...

    "The Pianist" is a bold, realistic film. Polanski's concept is to present the events of occupied Warsaw through the eyes of a one man, Wladyslaw Szpilman, a famous Jewish pianist. When the bullets and bombs started to fly over his head, Szpilman, a fragile man, suited himself in a position of a passive observer, which is completely understandable. He saw the events of Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and then Warsaw Uprising hidden in the apartments and that way Polanski was able to show the war as it is: without any pathos or special effects. People are hidden behind the walls and shot at each other to survive - that's a sign of courage enough...

    And yet after seeing the picture, I couldn't help but ask: why Polanski decided to materialize his vision through the story of a life of the one Wladyslaw Szpilman? Wasn't there at the time among Jewish community much more interesting story than Szpilman's undoubtely painful yet laborious and often dull misfortunes? I highly doubt it. The idea of unmilitarian point of view is fantastic, and yet... the result feels uninvolving and sometimes even heavy-handed. Szpilman's character itself (which I think is important even though he's not playing the key part here, War does) isn't interesting from the beginning, when he's left alone, he's apathetic, desperate, real and boring at the same time, and sometimes one get the feeling that he might as well disappear from the screen.

    With its striking scenography, lighting and atmosphere, Polanski's brutally realistic approach is the picture's biggest quality. No other war picture I've seen brings the atmosphere of fear of not knowing whether you lose your life now or in the next hour so powerfully. There're few shocking scenes that slowly yet consequently build that tension. The most disturbing scene would be seeing a nasty sociopath named Josef Blosche executing five Jewish workers who are, in his mind, expendable and unable to work anymore.

    Since I'm a Polish I probably should praise it like everyone else in my home country and aboard but I don't see any true reason to do so. I feels as if Polanski wanted to say something important here, but it remains unclear what theme he had in mind, other than present the cruelty of World War II. The scene with German capitan near the end of the film was supposed to be a symbol of universal power of art which can save us, suddenly awakening compassion and fragility? Possibly, but even if that was the point, to me, if we still stick to realism, it rather looked like a delusion of a starving Szpilman. In the end, "The Pianist" kept my attention, but ultimately, left plenty to ask for.
  • February 3, 2010
    A little depressing, but could not help but be moved by this film, interesting to learn about the war from different prespectives.
  • January 30, 2010
    As epic as I hoped, thanks Jof for reminding me to watch this!
  • January 30, 2010
    Sublime and heart-wrenching at the same time.
  • January 23, 2010
    A classic! Well told, and potrayed.
  • January 23, 2010
    Acting in this movie was spectacular, as was the lighting and set etc.etc. It was done in such a way that the two and a half hours didnt seem that long. However, on the entertainment side of things I wasnt exactly entertained. The story was good but I didnt get as into it as I ha...( read more)ve with other films of this genre. Still though I have to give credit where credit is do and say that technically this is a brilliant movie, its just not something I found completely enthralling or entertaining.

    What did this movie teach me? Humans are the most resiliant of creatures. Somehow there is always those who are capable of surviving the most terrible hardships.

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Comments


  • cindycb07
    June 26, 2009
    Excelent movie
    One of the best I seen.
  • PinkBohemianSweetie
    July 9, 2008
    Shocking!!!

    One of the scariest scenes from this gem of a film, is the "wheelchair" scene...sorry for the spoiler! :-D
  • jechsper
    January 24, 2008
    The movie is really good. But everyone who have seen the movie should also read the book.
  • CandyLIPS69er
    September 25, 2007
    omg this movie is such an eye opener, i felt sick watching the way the Jews were treated. Its such a great film and i feel everyone she c it. It shows just how xtreme the war was and how badly the jews were treated in these times. It is a truly great film!
  • VilaVila
    August 16, 2007
    Simply perfect, magnificent. Beyond the classic movie of a bad life that ends good, is the fact that he survived thanks to his habilities, and was succesful before and after the war. A man that loved the music, an didnt want to leave the studio even during the german attack. He loved the music, and the music returned him the favor. Simply Perfect, I say again. No more words.
  • vandalima95
    June 21, 2007
    very very good.
  • crispy211
    June 13, 2007
    Incredible! The most powerful file ive seen. I place The Pianist beside the Pastion of Crist
  • fierygal58
    June 6, 2007
    i watched it in class, and the less gory parts were worse that any guns because of the way they had created the effect like when the germans walked into a room in one of the ghettos, expecting every1 to stand up but the man in the wheelchair couldn't and he was tipped over the side, and any1 who tried to help him was shot, they even got the lst 1 scrambing over the wall 4 his life.
    i cn't believe sum ppl in my clas laughed at the man being tipped over by the germans the side falling to his death just because he was a) different
    b) he cudn't follow the rule even if he wanted to.
    i hated the whole fact that hitler got voted and only because he brainwashed them and gave them easy answers to their problems caused by debt after the war like blaming the communists , the jes (in general alll the ppl he was against) im not going to go into detail tho
  • EastEuroballer
    May 26, 2007
    Excellent movie showing how much the Poles and Jews suffered during WW2.
  • anddontforgetit
    May 3, 2007
    A true masterpiece with everything you could want from a film

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The Pianist Trivia


  • What movie did Adrien Brody win an Oscar for Best Actor?  Answer »
  • The movie "The Pianist" takes place during what war?  Answer »
  • "Music was his passion. Survival was his masterpiece." Name The Movie...  Answer »
  • Winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes 2002.  Answer »

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