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The Pianist Poster

The Pianist (2003) 9.5

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General Information

Completed On: 28 Mar, 2003

Director: Roman Polanski

Duration: 2 hr 30 min 0 sec

Genres: Fiction

Language: English

Country: United States

Submitted By: Anna Maurice

Festival Rating

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 death 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.

  • Directors
    Roman Polanski
  • Writers
    Ronald Harwood
  • Film Type
    Fiction
  • Genres
    Biography,Drama,Music
  • Runtime
    2 hours 30 minutes 0 seconds
  • Completion Date
    28 Mar, 2003
  • Production Budget
    USD
  • Country of Origin
    United States
  • Country of Filming
  • Film Language
    English
  • Shooting Format
  • Aspect Ratio
  • Film Color
    Color
  • Student Project
    No
  • First-time Filmmaker
    No

Director's Biography

Roman Polanski, in full Roman Raymond Polanski, original name Rajmund Roman Thierry Polański, (born August 18, 1933, Paris, France), French-Polish director, scriptwriter, and actor who, through a variety of film genres, explored themes of isolation, desire, and absurdity.
Thanks to his darkly unique perspective and grim, often nihilistic approach to storytelling, director Roman Polanski has left an indelible mark on world cinema. Although his films have been compared to those of Alfred Hitchcock, with their use of gallows humour, tension, and occasional surrealism to tell amoral stories of ordinary men struggling to cope in a hostile, ironic world, Polanski, unlike Hitchcock, has chosen to experiment with a variety of genres. In this regard, the director has considered himself a "cinematic playboy" intent on exploring the possibilities of all film categories. A uniformly pessimistic viewpoint provides the clearest link to entries in Polanski's body of work, something that is widely traced back to years of childhood trauma. The son of a Polish Jew and a Russian immigrant, Polanski was born in Paris on August 18, 1933.
A turning point in his life took place in 1969, when his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, and four friends were brutally murdered by members of the Manson Family. Following her death, Polanski returned to Europe and eventually continued directing. He made Macbeth (1971) in England and back in Hollywood, Chinatown (1974), which was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. In 1977, Polanski was arrested and charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He subsequently pled guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful sex with a minor. After spending 42 days undergoing psychiatric evaluation in prison in preparation for sentencing, Polanski, who had expected to be put on probation, fled to Paris after learning that the judge planned to reject his plea deal and impose a prison term.
In Europe, Polanski continued to make films, including Tess (1979), starring Nastassja Kinski. It won France's César Awards for Best Picture and Best Director and received three Oscars. He later produced and directed The Pianist (2002), a drama about a Jewish-Polish musician escaping Nazi persecution, starring Adrien Brody and Emilia Fox. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Director, along with numerous international awards. He also directed Oliver Twist (2005), a story which parallels his own life as a "young boy attempting to triumph over adversity". He was awarded Best Director for The Ghost Writer (2010) at the 23rd European Film Awards. He also received Best Screenwriter nomination at the aforementioned awards for Carnage (2011). In 2018, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to expel Polanski from its membership.

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