Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-16 11:16:05

Three Academy Awards.........

....Should have been FOUR, Another for Best Picture. A Great and Important movie!

2012-05-16 01:35:13

Powerful Story...Powerful Performance

This is undoubtedly one movie that will stay with me for a long time. Adrien Brody's performance as Wladyslaw Szpilman was definately oscar worthy. The story is a touching reminder of what humans are capable of acheiving when fighting for survival. The fact that the film is directed by Roman Polanski who lived in the nazi 'era' made the story all the more real to the viewers. I also liked the way the story was told in that there were good and bad Jews, Poles and Germans. Often in the past one side was 'all bad' and the other side was 'all good.'

2012-05-11 13:16:28

Survival, Yes, But of What?

When Adrien Brody received the Academy Award for best actor in a leading role earlier this year, I was at first surprised. (I had expected Daniel Day-Lewis to be elected because of his incandescent portrayal of William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting in Gangs of New York.) Then I began to think again about The Pianist and realized that Brody's character -- Wladyslaw Szpilman -- was the focal point of that film from beginning to end...and that most of his portrayal was non-verbal. (Some may assert that the Warsaw Ghetto, not Szpilman, is the main character. They have a point.) Directed by Roman Polanski who also won an Academy Award -- as best director -- and deservedly so, this film examines a five-year period during World War Two when Warsaw was invaded and occupied by German and then Allied forces. For me, the defining moment in this film occurs when a bomb exploding in the studio drives Szpilman from the piano and ends the broadcast of his performance. His obsession with creating art seems to exclude from his consciousness any deep concern about his family (parents, two sisters, and a brother) or about the brutalities amidst German occupation, especially in response to Jewish resistance. I have not read Szpilman's memoirs, first published as Death of a City (1946) and then as The Pianist (1998). All I know about him is based entirely on Brody's portrayal in the film. This detachment from the world around him is evident again later, as when Szpilman, in hiding, silently moves his fingers across a piano keyboard, lost in the creation of music only he can hear in that situation but which the film's soundtrack effectively provides.Polanksi's film obviously celebrates human survival during one of history's worst periods. I realize that comparisons and contrasts of Szpilman with other characters in other films is probably a fool's errand. However, at the conclusion of the The Pianist, I thought about Sol Nazerman (played by Rod Steiger) in The Pawnbroker (1964) who, at that film's conclusion, unleashes a silent scream of unspeakable pain. For whatever reasons, there is no such indication that what Szpilman has observed (if not experienced) has similarly affected him. The war ends. Life continues. Szpilman's career resumes. Perhaps, just perhaps Szpilman's own emotions can only be expressed through the creation of great art. It remains for others to express theirs in other ways, perhaps with a silent scream.

2012-05-10 23:22:28

mesmerizing

The whole time my wife amd I watched this film, we couldn't leave it for a minute. Aside from the incredible acting, the film showed disturbingly clear how a whole sect of the human race could be isolated and left open for violation. It was so slow and subtle, that people didn't realize what was happening before it was too big to stop. I have also watched Schindler's List which was more disturbing as a whole, but much more stark in it's telling. This movie is on a more intimate level and I consider it to be one of the best I've ever seen. Warning- there are some extremely disturbing scenes in this movie-stark, and brutal that will stay with you. And one note to the person from New York that wrote-BORING-, did you know that this was a true story? That the effort by people to hide the pianist was because he was considered a national treasure? Or are you really that narrow-minded that nobody suffers like us? Buy this movie? Most definitely!!!

2012-05-06 18:59:48

Ignore the morons and watch this film.

Ignore the reviewers who call this film "dull" or "boring" or "overlong"; they're obviously the kind of people who think Will & Grace is the height of comedy. Ignore the ones who claim Schindler's List is better; Polanski's film goes way beyond Spielberg's sugary tale.Most of all, ignore the beer-swilling, NASCAR-loving rednecks who claim Brody's character is a coward. They must have thought this film had lots of explosions and guns.

2012-05-06 06:51:45

The Pianist

I watched tis movie last night, and I was really moved by it.I admit while watching it, I thought about other Holocaust movies I've seen. This one seemed very personal,and very lonely.Director Roman Polanski,did a great job of letting me feel the human condition of an oppressed people.The bonus material in the DVD version was also helpful.I thought Adrien Brody was most beautifully expressive.This movie is a must see.I will buy the DVD for my collection.

2012-05-01 19:46:59

My Favorite film of the year!

It was so strong with love and human goodness. It leaves one filled with optimism in the light of the one of the worst tradgedies of all time.

lehit18 2012-05-01 06:28:34

just another holocaust film

I have seen many films about the holocaust and I was reluctant to see yetanother one until I read the rave reviews. Although this was not a badfilm, I fail to see its uniqueness and frankly, I was disappointed. Thebrutality, humiliation, inhumanity have all been shown before. Perhaps weneed to see it over and over in order to never forget. In that case, thismovie succeeded. But a ground-breaking work it is not.

brimariex19 2012-04-28 17:44:28

Comparing Director and Style to Szpilman and the Emotional Intensity of this film

The Pianist is a true story full of grit, fate, and even a little bitof hope. Director, Roman Polanski, understands the horrors of this 1940Nazi invasion due to his experiences of being a survivor himself. He,like the main character Wladyslaw Szpilman, has experienced themortifying encounters of murder, separation, torment, torture, and evena conclusion of hope. Viewers can understand his experiences throughthe eyes of Szpilman. The Pianist is not a story of one holocaustsurvivor. Rather it's a story of two, portraying the director'semotional and intense experiences as well as Szpilman's in thisrealistically accurate film.This film is truly honest in the depiction of what the Polish Jews sawand experienced during the Nazi invasion. Right at the start of thefilm, the viewer already experiences the hardship of the war with thebombing of Szpilman's radio station. From there, viewers continuouslyget hit with unbarring, cringing scenes. About thirty minutes in, wesee the first true death of Jews by the Nazis. The Nazi Police take anelderly man in a wheel chair and throw him off a balcony. This scene isbrutal as we hear the cries of Szpilman's mother, adding more emotionsand intensity.Throughout the movie, a viewer can see Polanski's directorial style. Heconsistently portrays sad or emotional scenes through the eyes of theprotagonist. In the ghetto, a Jewish man attacks a Jewish woman forfood. The food falls on the floor, but the man does not cease. He liesdown and eats it right off the muddy dirt. First, Polanski showsSzpilman and then the elements of this unfortunate occasion. Thesetypes of shots occur throughout the movie. Also, officers are mostlyshown with low angle shots and Jews getting killed with high angleshots. This shows how the officers are superior and Jews are inferiorall the time. The Pianist reflects intense reality. The part that is one of the mostrealistic scenes is when a Nazi Officer stops the Jews and simplychooses certain people to lay down in the middle of the street to meettheir fate of getting killed. The rest have to watch this painfulaction and continue on with their day as if nothing occurred. It showsthe true character of the Nazi's and the torment and torture of thePolish Jews. The film is extremely powerful. Every element, every scene, every shotis crafted to show the power of the Holocaust. It makes a viewer cry,feel the heartbreak, cringe at the sight of death, and feel sympathyfor what the actual Jews had to go through. One of the best emotionalscenes is when the Nazi Officer aided Szpilman and helped him in hishideout, giving him food and water. It shows how one life, good or bad,can make a difference. Szpilman did everything he needed to do tosurvive. He was not a "hero" or a fighter. He was just another mantrying to make it through, just like Polanski. They both received anenormous amount of good luck. In the end, hope came through and leadsthem to freedom and a better life.

bev46 2012-04-28 09:23:49

a film of poignancy and precision

I was in Brussels last week and my brother and I went to see the Pianist.Neither of us new anything about the movie or the subject matter - wesimplywanted to see a different film than the one his children chose at thecinema. Imagine what your reaction would be to this film with nopreconceived notion of the subject matter.I am not Jewish, or Polish, or German. I was born 10 years after WW2ended,and so one might think have no vested interest in being so deeply moved bythe film. As most Canadians, I have grown up with the overpoweringinfluenceof the Americans and of their Hollywood versions of history. Perhapsbecauseof this - or in spite of it - I found the film gripping. I thought AdrienBrody's performance mesmerizing. I felt Polanski served the subject withalmost a dispassionate view of events unfolding - whose characterscouldn'tstop the madness from escalating and whose audience found ourselves forcedto be spectators (again) 60 years after the fact.The superlatives are already in place on this board - but there were 2scenes which I find I revisit because of their poignancy and theirprecision: one is where the family is being rounded up from the ghetto,andhe turns to his sister Halina and with a finality so powerful, says, "IwishI knew you better." The other is when he received the packet of bread andjam from Capt. Hosenfeld, and he tastes the jam. In an instant, with onlyasubtle change in his facial muscles, you sense all that Szpilman had beenwithout. I will now purchase the book, and when the distributors in NorthAmerica finally show this film, I will go to see it again and take everythinking person I know with me.Sadly, when the film is made about September 11 (and knowing the way theAmericans work, there are probably several versions being penned as wespeak), I only hope that a man like Polanski can be relied upon to make atruthful, balanced account of yet another instance of man's capacity forcommitting atrocities.

kai ringler 2012-04-22 14:41:18

the pianist

What a mesmerizing film,, watched this the other night on IFC , justsimply amazing.. i think that Adrien Brody gave the performance of hisentire career with that film. the atrocities that were captured on filmare surreal,, these are some of the same things that my mother andgrandmother and mom told me about when i was little that they wentthrough,, like the SS coming right up to the door and asking if youwere hiding any Jews... the air raids at school,, all that stuff,, thecabinet in the movie that is used to hide Adrien Brody,, i actuallyhave one of those,, it's a one piece and weighs almost a ton.. it'smonstrous.. anyway back to the movie,, the landscape was awesome on theother side of the wall,, all of the bombed out buildings,, i reallyliked the part where the German officer talks to our main character notlike a German officer but like a real person would. the movie justfascinated me to the point that it is one of my favorites.. there are afew scenes that might tend to shy people away from this, like the oldman getting thrown out the window,, wheelchair and all,, but this is astory of triumph and survival,, and should be seen by young and oldalike,,,,

diversen 2012-04-22 07:24:23

The Pessimist

Of all the holocaust movie, there's Schindler's ListOf all the pianist movie, there's ShineUp to the 1/3 part of the movie, I can still appreciate the life of thepianist. But not untill he started staying in the apartments trying to stayalive with nothing but luck.It is somewhat interesting to see that someone so obsessed with music,somehow fails to see the danger lies around him. For instance, once you werefaced with this kinda danger, the most logical thing to do when you werekept in an apartment or asylum is to find an alternate route or a hiddenspot. (At least that's what I'll do). Infact, the pianist just carry on andbelieve that luck will keep him alive.Not until he met the german captain and fail to return his thank to him. butalso the ss jacket incident which keep me thinking what an obsession canmake a person fail to see the surrounding life and logical threat aroundhim.But anyway,it is a good movie, especially if you love chopin'sworks.

Steve Scheflow 2012-04-13 01:34:53

Good movie, but something is missing.

I do not believe there is anyone who has seen The Pianist who wouldn'tclaim it to be extraordinary. I do also believe that to be true but theentire movie i felt that there was something missing. When i first satdown to watch this movie i was expecting to actually see him play thepiano. I wasn't looking for a tale of survival. I compared this movieto The Castaway with Tom Hanks. I was thinking to myself about how iwished the title of the pianist to have been more fitting, andcomparing this movie to Castaway, i wouldn't have liked that if thathad been called the post man.If you agree or disagree with me please let me know, me and my friendhave argued many hours about this topic and we would like some otherviews.

John Pugh 2012-04-12 16:40:15

Brilliant and very Moving

I saw two movies this weekend and this will probably be my movie of theyear. I was very impressed with it - perhaps more so than 'Schindler's List'.Also, the movie answered a question that has been in my mind since I firstbecame aware of the 'holocaust' - and that is - why did the polish jews notresist more than they did? It showed the German machinery at work and Icould put myself into the movie, play my game of human chess in my mind andend up dead at every turn.One scene, with the pianist playing his music, in a bombed-out buildingmoved me to tears with its mixture of devastation and despair on the onehand and the incredible beauty of the music on the other.I highly recommend this film although it inevitably weighs heavily on theheart and soul. The images are very real and remind me of how fortunate I amnot to have had to witness such sights in my own lifetime. I am constantlyinwardly thanking those who fought to prevent the rest of us from having todo the same.If you enjoy realistic drama and appreciate a well made movie dramatising aworld-changing event as seen through one man's eyes, make this movie amust-see.Also for the first time I think almost all the audience stayed seated untilthe screen went black - you'll find out why!

John DeSando 2012-04-11 22:34:22

I haven't recently seen a better depiction of the fatally flawed resistance against Germans.

Jerzy Kosinski wrote of a boy escaping all over Europe from Nazi oppressorsin his classic `Painted Bird,' an alleged autobiography influenced by RomanPolanski's flight as a boy. Polanski's `The Pianist,' based on a true storyin the Warsaw ghetto in 1939, is also said to be autobiographical if yousubstitute `film director' for the `pianist." Kosinski's dramaticsituations, memorable right down to the lantern he carries everywhere, aretense and frenetic, even though he is frequently hiding. Polanski's PolishJew Szpilman, a concert pianist, just hides, leaving only the powerful firstthird for the drama and character delineation-the rest is hiding andgrubbing for food. Polanski's flight in Krakow and Warsaw helped Kosinskitell his story; Szpilman's autobiography helped Polanski tell `The Pianist'story.In the first part of the film, Polanski expertly shows us the family of thepianist in a state of quiet decline and denial while the Germans overtakeWarsaw and move Jews to the ghetto and eventually `work' camps. Szpilman'sbrother is fiery and irresponsible but devoted to overthrowing the Nazis. By contrast, Szpilman passively allows others to save him, usually due tohis acclaim as a classical pianist. That he plays Chopin beautifullyattests to why he should be revered and maybe saved. Yet, Polanski mayinadvertently show him to be self-centered when he lets others take greatrisks to save him, when he watches from his safe window fellow Jews of theresistance being slaughtered, and when he does not fully join theresistance. Or Polanski may be expressing the anguish and self-loathing ofone whose mother did not survive the gas chamber.Except for `Charlotte Gray,' I haven't recently seen a better depiction ofthe fatally flawed resistance against Germans than in this film. Polanskihas done a credible job showing there was resistance at great peril andprice. He also creates a bombed-out, ruined Warsaw that looks real enoughto make the audience catch their breath.Polanski also includes a Platonic admiration between Szpilman and the lovelywife of a friend and supporter-here Polanski is at his `Chinatown' bestshowing the heartache and natural shocks fortune visits on lovers in war(Think also of Rick and Ilsa in `Casablanca'). By the end, Szpilman is looking more like Tom Hanks in `Cast Away' thanArthur Rubenstein. The hero is back where he started; I hope the world hasprogressed beyond that.

2012-04-11 06:24:44

an amazing film.

Roman Polanski's the Pianist is an amazing film it was better than the boring Shindler's list. Adrien Brody who definently deserved the oscar for his performance plays the real life character of Wladyslaw Szpilman who is living in Warsaw during the second world war, and now he must survive the holocaust and being separated from his family.I felt that the film was very emotional and very intense because it was based on a true story of survival. During the Nazi ocupation of Poland Wladyslaw who is a famouse concert pianist meets up with friends who help him out by giving him food and water and hide him in an apartment building.He is soon devastated by the cruelty of war and brutality of the nazis as they execute and murder thousands of people mostly jewish. I thought that the cinamatography was excellent and the music is all classical piano, this was definently the best film of 2002.

2012-04-05 09:44:46

ordinary film that has been done before.

The first half of this film is sensationalized, pretentious, laugh at theaudience, propaganda driven film. I as an intelligent person (or so I think) get annoyed at over simplifyinghistory. The portrayal (yet again) of Nazis as nothing more than emotionlessmonsters (even though reality is somewhat close to this image) and the Jewsas moral saints and victims is too trivial.However the film picks up in the second half and becomes more interestingshowing us a less "shove it down your throat" approach.6/10. Wouldn't watch again because 2 and a half hours of film should saymuch more than what this film does... inferior to many holocaustfilms.

mhasheider 2012-04-04 14:40:36

Roman Polanski is back in true form.

If there was one person who survived the Holocaust and several yearslater, he/she was willing enough to bring their tale of survival to thebig screen. Director Roman Polanski ("Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby","Tess") may be one of those brave individuals who might fit the billingand in his latest film - "The Pianist" couldn't have come out indangerous times like now.The story is based on the life (and memoir) of the late WladyslawSpzilman, who lived with his parents and siblings in Warsaw, Poland in1939, the year that Nazi Germany started to make their horrifyinginvasion of their unsuspecting European neighbors. Wladyslaw makes hisliving as a pianist and is performing for a Polish radio when he'sinterrupted by bomb blasts. For that point, Spzilman and the other Jewswho lived in Europe at the time that German onslaught began, theirlives would never be the same again. By telling Spzilman's story here,Polanski finally gets the chance to tell his own story as well.Adrien Brody, who recently won the Best Actor Oscar for his mesmerizingand unforgettable portrayal of the musician is flat out incredible.Brody plays his character like you wouldn't expect in any Polanskimovie yet you're left wondering how does Wladyslaw manage to avoidbeing caught by the SS or death itself? If I were like the maincharacter here, trying to survive in an occupied city and stay out ofsight isn't only impossible, but a true testament of the human heart.The best scene in "The Pianist" are saved for the second half of themovie. Since Spzilman has been separated from his family and has beenliving on the lam with some help from unlikely sources. One of them isa sympatheic German captain, Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretchmann), who iskind enough to let Wladyslaw play the piano and Hosenfeld returns thefavor by giving what appeared to be German chocolate and a loaf ofbread. While Spzilman isn't only performing in front of the captain,he's also entertaining the other German soldiers to think about besidesbeing chased by the Red Army.Once I left the theater in Madison where I saw the film, it made methink twice before even looking at a piano again. Plus, "The Pianist"is one of those rare movies that wants the viewer to feel satisfied andlook at life itself instead taking it for granted. I can't finish thisreview by applauding the Academy's decision not only to give Brody anOscar, but to Polanski (Best Director) and screenwriter Ronald Harwood(Best Screenplay from another material) yet it didn't earn the BestPicture award sad to say. This movie when it comes out on video and DVDshould serve as a wise choice for educating students of any leveleither in history or music.

2012-04-03 18:15:22

Unexpectedly monotonous

This book should never have been made into a movie; the narration of the horros experienced by Wladyslaw Szpilman during the Nazi occupation of Poland was published soon after the war ended, and it constituted a powerful and frequently introspective story; I have not read the book, but the critique it has received from Amazon readers is uniformly good (nothing less than four or five star ratings). The truth is that some books simply cannot be transformed into successful motion pictures, and this apparently is one of them. It is an account of how events descended upon a man who remained a passive receiver of uncountable pain and horror; and how, in the end, he prevailed.The ingredients that went into making this movie are all superb and beyond negative criticisms: the script is masterful and Roman Polanski directs with precision and meticulous concern for detail and nuance. Adrian Brody's performance reflecting his physical decay over time, and his increasing anguish, is certainly a tour de force of extraordinary acting. The film's theme of hope and of survival cannot be faulted. And so, why does the final product miss its goal, and become (dare I say it?) tedious? The clue, in Roman Polanski's own words, is this: "The events [Szpilman] describes are not written like a novel, they are written like a journal, and are therefore unfilmable." Exactly. This film consciously attempts to resemble the newsreels of the day; and like newsreels (in general) it provides the visuals and the immediacy of action without furnishing the transformations that lead to truly great art. When my mind started wondering about what kind of lighting was it that made Mr. Brody's ample nose become translucent, and was this being done on purpose, the movie had obviously lost my attention.

B RUBBLE 2012-04-03 12:34:57

A good supplement to Schindler's List

This movie is a good supplement to "Schindler's List" in that it follows oneof the many individuals that was not saved by Schindler or some othermercenary, and had to endure all the hardships of WWII in Warsaw. It givesa good viewpoint of what happened to one of the many survivors who livedthrough the Holocaust in Poland.While I consider this film good, I feel that "Schindler's List" is much morecompelling, and an over-all better movie. I gave "Schindler's List" a 10(1 of only 3 films I have given a "10") whereas this movie I think meritsonly a "7".Even now, a few years later, I am still haunted and moved by the scenes andstory of "Schindler's List", but do not feel nearly that amount of emotionfrom seeing "The Pianist" just a few days ago. My feelings for "Sophie'sChoice" (another film about one person in WWII and her dealings with theNazis) that I saw several years ago are stronger than for "The Pianist".A good film, but not truly great.