Pianist [Blu-ray]

Excellent film

The talented Jewish pianist, Wladislaw Szpilman (1911-2000), is the central character in this absorbing film by Roman Polanski who had plenty of personal and family experience on which to draw for this war film, set in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. Szpilman was a well-known pianist of exceptional talent who found himself in the ghetto with all its dehumanised deprivation.Adrien Brody's performance is engrossing and his features seem to become more gaunt and drawn with every sequence and his eyes simply emit a raw fear which draws viewers into his soul. Throughout the film, he captures what must have been a harrowing, inhuman and terrifying experience. His musical spirituality draws others in and the power of his music overwhelms even the toughest Nazi who sees Szpilman, not as a Jew but another human being, one with a stunning talent which seems to diminish the war and all its inhumanity, reminding him of what he once was.It is an exceptionally powerful film which asks deep questions of its audience but, ultimately, it leaves them with a deeper awareness of their own humanity.BACKGROUND"As set out in his memoir, Szpilman found places to hide in Warsaw and survived with the help of his friends from Polish Radio and fellow musicians. In November 1944, Szpilman was hiding out in an abandoned building when he was found by a German officer. Surprisingly, the officer did not kill Szpilman, but instead after finding out that he was a pianist, asked Szpilman to play for him on a piano they had found. After that, the officer showed Szpilman a better place to hide and brought him bread and jam on numerous occasions. He also offered Szpilman one of his coats to keep warm in the freezing temperatures. Szpilman did not identify the German officer until 1950. His name was Captain Wilm Hosenfeld. Despite the efforts of Szpilman and the Poles to rescue Hosenfeld, he died in a Soviet Prisoner of War camp in 1952."Highly recommended - one of Polanski's best.

the solo piano sound track compliments the harsh true story of the WW2 period for the European Jewish citizens, told from the perspective of a musician and artist of the time. Superbly cast and a well shot piece of cinema .

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)

Fantastic acting and brilliant story lines. Shame there are no subtitles for the parts in German. They must have been there for the cinema release.

Even if it's just an excert, Adrian Brody leaning the coda from Ballade no. 1 for this film while basically starving himself to look the part is insanely impressive. I had seen that scene before, and to my pleasure the rest of the film is even more heart-wrenching. It's shocking that in many ways the film might not even go far enough to show Szpilman's true suffering, having been moved around in hiding much more than twice and by around 30 different people between 1943-44 (including to my surprise Witold Lutosławski, a great composer who is not in the movie), but what it does show is more than enough to get the point across. Władysław Szpilman's survival through these years is an extroadinary feat, grinding him down to nothing but his artistry and his life. Even when he claims it's no longer his

Great quality DVD.

Excellent intensive value for money pretty Xmas