The Pianist [2002] [DVD]

I'm a big fan of the movies and this is much better than the Schindler's list. So realistic obviously...The actor nailed it!!!!The DVD works well too.

I consider this one of the best movies regarding the Holocaust, particularly the Warsaw ghetto and the conditions Jewish people went through there. 5 stars.

There are alot of WWII themed films but this one is on a whole different level. It's not about tactics or battlefields. It's not about maximum carnage and body counts. It's not even about heroism and achieving final victory. No, this is one man's true story of surviving one of the most horrific periods in world history.This is the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, played by Adrien Brody, a Jewish man livng in Poland who also happens to be an extraordinary pianist. When the Germans invade, his neighborhood, his city, his piano playing job , and his family are all turned utterly upsidedown. He and his family are forced to move, sell everything, and endure the hardships of a sadistic and heartless Nazi occupation. His whole life of prosperity and promise quickly deteriorates into a daily horror as he witnesses his friends and neighbors abused and murdered. Soon after, his family is penniless, bodies lay in the street, and the jewish people are constantly relocated until the day comes when they'll all be boarded a train to a horrible fate at a concentration camp. Szpilman escapes that fate but finds himself alone among the ruins of his once peaceful neighborhood. He takes shelter in the abandoned and burned out buildings, trying evade German troops and hold out as long as he can.The actors are wonderfully played and cast but Adrian Brody gives what I believe is his best performance ever. Many times, conveying his thoughts and emotions without a single word. He gives life and passion to his character. This is also Roman Polanski's finest hour as the sets, scenery, and overall look of the film are exquisite. He gives the viewer the eyes of the characters, as it becomes you that's looking to see if the coast is clear while peeking through windows and cracks between buildings. Every scene is set perfectly as the early part of the film is bright, colorful and clean. But as the events darken, so does the enviornment. The city takes on a slow decay until it lay in total ruin. It becomes dirty and war torn. Everything looks authentic and period like. The peoples clothes, cars and furniture, the soldiers uniforms, vehiles and weapons are all spot on. An excellent production all around.The video on the HD DVD disc is spotlessly clean, clear and vivd. It doesn't have the bright colors to give you that three dimensional pop, but it's detailed enough to remind you, your watching an HD DVD disc. I upgraded from my standard disc to this one and noticed the difference almost immediately. The standard disc is good but this one is clearly better overall. A superb transfer.The audio is presented in Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus. I only listened to the TrueHD as it has a higher bitrate and is always the clear winner of the two. While I'm generally happy with the performance, it seemed a little too front loaded. There were'nt many times where the surrounds grabbed my attention with atmosphere or background movement. There are some big bangs, explosions and gunfire to pick things up a bit but the film is pretty quiet for alot of the time too, which doesn't really take advantage of the surrounds. I don't fault the disc though, as it's just the sound design. Still though, everything comes across clearly and distinguishable. The loud and soft moments are perfectly balanced to where you won't have to adjust the volume at all. The piano pieces are beautiful and sound wonderful too.This is a wonderful film. It's clearly WWII but different than most every other WWII film out there. The Pianist gives us another insight to the atrocities against the Jewish people but the film never forces excessive gore to create shock value. Theres almost no bad language to brace for either. There's maybe a handful at most through the entire film. For me, that's important and makes it much easier to watch. The violence isn't throughout, but what's there can be pretty unsettling. But it has to be there for this type of film, or it's just not accurate at all. We don't want to sugar coat this and besides, it's a true story. If your interested in true stories and WWII period films, it's an easy recommend. If your considering upgrading, it's even easier.

THE PIANIST is the movie that made Adrien Brody the youngest-ever Best Actor Oscar winner, but it was hardly the first movie about the Holocaust. Where it differs from movies like SCHINDLER'S LIST is in its particular focus: not so much "the Holocaust" as the Warsaw ghetto and one man, young Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman (Brody), successfully eluding the Nazis thanks to the kindness of an unwilling Nazi, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretschmann), and then establishing himself as a successful concert artist. THE PIANIST is based upon Szpilman's memoirs of the same name.As Szpilman's family is sent off to a death camp a third of the way through THE PIANIST and never appears again, it would be tempting to call the film "Adrien Brody's show all the way." But in fact the film's first distinction lies in its painstaking period detail: everything looks right out of 1940's Continental Europe, from the costumes, to the narrow side-streets, to the house interiors -- to the truly spectacular set depicting a bombed-out Warsaw just before its liberation by the Russians. Yet nothing is romanticized: the filth of the ghetto is just as credible as is the exterior of a genteel cafe that excludes Jews. The actors playing the Szpilmans were all cleverly chosen to form a believable-looking family, with Brody and Jessica Kate Meyer as his sister Halina resembling their mother (Maureen Lipman) and the other siblings, Regina and Henryk (Julia Rayner and Ed Stoppard), resembling their father (Frank Finlay). A last, gratifying detail is the fact that Brody plays most of his piano solos (the majority of them by the great Polish composer Chopin) himself. In a film about a pianist, it would have lessened the impact had the solos been entrusted to a double. (I believe the only time a double -- Polish pianist Janusz Olejinezak -- is used is for an intricate passage during the film's closing credits. All you see, however, are his hands.)Against this superb backdrop it is, in fact, Brody's performance that carries the film. Director Roman Polanski could hardly have found an actor with more strikingly dark looks, or one who wore the period costumes better -- or one who could be so riveting while actually saying very little. As a character who spends so much of his time quiet and alone, Brody's expressive face, with its famously prominent nose and big, sad green eyes, is exactly what was needed. Take, for instance, the moment in the film when Szpilman noisily drops some crockery in an apartment where he is hiding. In the seconds following the accident, a range of emotions -- from shock and dismay to acceptance and even mild amusement -- flit subtly across Brody's features. Watch the way he struggles to dissemble as the deportation train leaves the ghetto with his family aboard, or the way he looks both exhausted and cold to the point of numbness as he sinks into a waiting chair in a safe house. Whatever the emotion or mood, Brody finds the proper expression, vocal or (most often) physical, for it.Several touching moments (most of them from Brody) aside, THE PIANIST lacks the sentiment (not to be confused with sentimentality) of some other Holocaust dramatizations. In place of warmth, it generally offers a terse look at events of the period, emphasizing the randomness and senselessness of them. This probably should not be called a drawback; but two drawbacks I believe the movie does have are that a few of its "bit" actors are hammy and that its final "running from the Nazis" sequence (which ends with Szpilman meeting Hosenfeld) goes on a bit too long, exciting as it is (I invariably jump at several moments). These drawbacks are not serious, of course, and should not deter you from checking out this great movie. You will be on the edge of your seat as I was, I promise you that!

this movie is so good! is and will always be one of my favorite movies! This movie is such a rare film because you don’t just watch it, you experience it. The director Roman Polanski did a fantastic job picking the actors and actresses for this movie. I don’t think they could of picked any other actors and actresses for this movie who would of played any of the parts any better, especially Adrien Brody who played Wladyslaw Szpilman. His acting was spot on. Also the reenactment of the timeline was just incredible. Just watch it!

Ein eindringlicher, erschreckend nachfühlbarer Film, der zeigt, wie unbescholtene Menschen, die doch nichts weiter wollen als in Frieden leben, auf das Grausamste Greuel ertragen müssen. Der Film ist unglaublich dicht - und auch in seinen unfassbaren Grausamkeiten so eindrücklich, dass man sich nach dem Anschauen kaum zurücklehnen kann - es bleibt ein Seelen-Kater zurück, der nachwirkt. Empfohlener Pflichtfilm für alle, die glauben, es sei heutzutage nicht mehr so wichtig oder erforderlich, für Demokratie einzutreten.

This DVD "The Pianist" is a must have for your collection- This is an incredible and inspiring true story of a man, living and suffering at a time of such cruelty that we couldn't even begin to imagine it. It tells of some wonderful people at their very best, but sadly others who were an their very worst - this man Spielmann never lost faith, despite losing everyone in his family.The bonus on this DVD is extra with Roman Polanski the director explaining about what happened and how he wanted authenticity throughout and achieved it! There is lots of original archive film of the time and people who had been there at the time - speaking about their experience -

Love this movie it's my favourite holocaust movie after Schindler's list. But this is a disappointing edition...1st there are no subtitles of any kind.2nd there are no extras not even a director's commentary.The image and sound are very good. But honestly it's a cake that needs the cherry on top. But this is a great movie with a beautiful story based on real facts... I just wish they added more on this edition...

Biopic - 2002 Academy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated film starring Adrien Brody (who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as "Władysław Szpilman" in this film). his is a monumental film in so many ways and here is the Wikipedia review that sums it up -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pianist_(2002_film).And for Music lovers it is especially poignant with two memorable scenes for pianists, not least the occasion when Szpilman is hiding in a room with a piano he dare not play (torture) and the other where he has to play for a Nazi Officer.The sound track for this film is also outstanding and for Chopin lovers in particular, it won't disappoint. In 2003, the music won the César Award for Best Music Written for a Film, and was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film Music.The Chopin pieces are played by Polish pianist Janusz Olejniczak and the original score piece was composed by Wojciech Kilar. The music in the actual movie also includes pieces by Beethoven and Bach.1."Nocturne in C-sharp Minor (1830)" - Frédéric Chopin, Score at IMSLP (4:12)2."Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72, No. 1" - Frédéric Chopin (4:31)3."Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1" - Frédéric Chopin (5:57)4."Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38" - Frédéric Chopin (7:41)5."Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23" - Frédéric Chopin (9:01)6."Waltz No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2" - Frédéric Chopin (5:13)7."Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28, No. 4" - Frédéric Chopin (2:34)8."Andante spianato in G Major" - Frédéric Chopin (4:28)9."Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major" - Frédéric Chopin (9:31)10."Moving to the Ghetto Oct. 31, 1940" - Wojciech Kilar (1:52)11."Mazurka in A Minor, Op. 17, No. 4" - Frédéric Chopin (3:42)

I never thought I would ever see such a wonderful film again,as there is so many disappointing films around that have received good reviews.This would appeal to anyone who is sensitive,musical and compassionate by nature ~~ as we see the Jewish families stripped of everything they have and hold dear to their hearts,their family life destroyed,their homes taken away,and then herded into walled in ghettos to die of starvation and disease.Many are transported to the death camps in trains,thrown in to the carriages as if they were rabid animals..The story begins with the full horror of the Nazi takeover in Warsaw."Oh Warsaw,what did they do to you?" ~~ the City of endless tears!!I still cannot fathom out why intelligent and cultured German people joined the Nazi regime in their droves.What power Hitler had over the Germans is impossible for me,after all these years,to grasp and come to terms with.How could anyone with an ounce of human compassion stand aside and watch the mass cruelty without even trying to stop it?I would have preferred to die with the Jews.I will not spoil the story anymore for prospective buyers,but I can promise the ones that do buy this,you will not be disappointed and you will want to see the film again and again.Just as a good book can be read many times and still hold the interest then so with this masterpiece.