Rating: 
Summary: An excellent movie, but an overworn subject matter.
Review: This movie moves right along, and although the subject is well-worn, it contains enough surprises along the way to keep it interesting. Adrien Brody does an excellent job, as do several others in the film. Polanski's direction shines, although not as brightly as in some of his other films, especially "Chinatown". But the film is involving, quite convincing, and the subject utterly tragic.As much as I liked this film, however, I found it too predictable both in outcome and action. Nazis were scum, and the Jews and others persecuted horribly. Right. And in the midst of all that some acted nobly, some had moments of great bravery, and there were many desperate hours, days, weeks and years for everyone. Right. But... Frankly this has been done so, so often I was expecting more, or at least different. Maybe Polanski being a survivor could not make it, but a film about why the Nazi's developed and held their grip on the German psychology and the Jewish psychology (that would be controversial perhaps) would make a very interesting film on this general subject, I think . Perhaps one of the great, and as far as I know, best remaining subjects not yet touched by great film making. A related film on the edges of that subject, "Conspiracy", starring Kenneth Branagh and Stanley Tucci and made for HBO, was a better, more interesting and more original film on the general subject of Nazi's persecuting Jews than "The Pianist" I thought. If "The Pianist" had been the first film made on this subject I might give it a higher rating. As it is, given both the story and the excellent acting and particularly the fine directing by Polanski, I'll give it three stars. As for its sweep of the Oscars, I thought that too a bit disappointing. ... the overall subject of "The Pianist" is hackneyed.
Rating: 
Summary: The Pianist
Review: If you are looking for a great drama movie then "The Pianist" is the movie for you. It is not exactly a war movie, but it is a time during World War 2 taking place in Poland. This movie is mainly about a Poland Jew who is a great piano player. Things are going very well until the German Nazi's finally invade. The great piano player, who was a Jew, finds that his life is endangered and changed forever now that the German Nazi's are invading his homeland and killing many people that he once loved and knew. Though this is a great movie I think that it can get a little boring at times, but understandable. "The Pianist" is a great and wonderful film. I give it a good four out of five stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Best film of 2002. Shall I tell you why it's personal?
Review: Because Polanski's parents were both shipped off to concentration camps. His mother was murdered there. Young Roman, like 'The Pianist', Wladyslaw Szpilman--upon whose memoirs this film is based--managed to escape and hide; oftentimes helped by fellow Poles who were not Jewish but who had managed to resist the temptation to embrace the evil which so many others chose. It was, after all, the status quo, so it required great courage to be merely decent. Which poses the question of how far would we go: How much would we endanger ourselves or our families, had we been there? Polanski has been quoted as saying that if a filmaker portrays violence unrealistically, if it does not upset the audience, then it's simply obscene. ( I've got a feeling that while he may have been moved by 'Schindler's List', he probably didn't care much for the manipulative pratfall/tearjerker 'Life is Beautifull'. Remember folks, Polanski WAS there ) Adrien Brody, by anyone's reckoning, fully deserved the award for his portrayal of Wladyslaw. Favorite moment? Too many to pick from, though the 'silent' playing of the piano, a great symbol on the necessity to hide your soul in order to save your skin, is quite memorable. As are the scenes when the enormity of the madness of the regime begin to slowly dawn on the characters through bits and pieces; eg; the dialogue about the park and the benches. A small thing, really, but indicative of far worse to come. In Western Europe and the USA we're used to tales of genocide or tyranny because we've never experienced them outside our television sets. We grew up in the post WW2 world, we've watched the newsreels of the atrocities and we're blase. Only a few naturalized Americans have ever lived under a dictatorship, ever experienced madness at first hand. Roman Polanski takes us back in time in vivid detail; to show us what humanity was---and still is--capable of doing to itself. We see it through his--and Szpilman's eyes. A superb achievement by one of the finest directors of all time.
Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece
Review: 'The pianist' has earned its place as one of the greatest holocaust movies. It is a true masterpiece, not just in its storytelling, but as Roman Polanski's best work (even better than Chinatown) and for making us "discover" Adrien Brody. The academy awards are well deserved! The film tells the story of a polish pianist, just as World War II is starting, and the Nazis are entering Warsaw. Even as it starts, the events that the jewish poles had to face are thrusted upon us, from the city being bombed to the jewish population being moved to the ghetto. The different points of view are present in the Szpilman family, as the father is completely naive, expecting the French and the British to help Poland, the brother is a pessimist, trying to "resist" the Nazis, and even the lead character, Wladyslaw, seems unsure of what he should do under the circumstances. The real glory of the film is in showing a side of the war not usually seen in holocaust movies, that of a jew successfully escaping from being taken to the concentration camps, and going into hiding in Warsaw as the war rages on. How he survived, how some non-jewish poles helped him, while others tried to have him captured. While this film shows not a single scene from the concentration camps (save from a short scene at the ending), there are some intense moments, as we see the Nazis torturing and killing jews, mocking them, forcing them to work and basically treating them like inferior animals. Kudos to Adrien Brody for an outstanding performance. His turn as Wladyslaw Szpilman is extraordinary.
Rating:
Summary: "I want to help . . . I want to do something."
Review: "The Pianist" is Holocaust survivor Roman Polanski's deeply personal cinematic work. It is a film shaped by a director who has a special insight on the subject of his creation. It is a chronicle of a traumatic and horrifying era in which the human race illustrated both the limitless cruelty and kindness that it was capable of. "The Pianist" follows the character of Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish Jew who finds himself swept up in a whirlwind of circumstances. He is playing Chopin for a radio audience when the Nazis descend upon Warsaw in force. Soon, Szpilman and his family find themselves deported to the ghetto district where they hold out hope that the Nazi regime will be defeated. However, the Nazi's hold tightens instead and Szpilman's family are deported to the death camps. He is spared this fate by an act of kindness and left to fend for himself within the lion's den. It is natural to compare "The Pianist" to the other two high profile Holocaust films of the last ten years - Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" (1993) and Roberto Benigni's "Life is Beautiful" (1997). Yet, Polanski's film is a different creature entirely. Szpilman's exploits are more passive in nature. He is not driving the events of the film but is rather reacting to them. Szpilman is not an Oskar Schindler manipulating the Germans to hand more and more Jews into his care or a Guido Orefice who has to stay one step ahead of his captors to keep his son alive. He is a man shaped by his events and not a man trying to shape them - he just wants to stay alive. This approach to the "The Pianist" means that there are no opportunities for the viewer to be distracted by its main character's "mission." Quite simply, Szpilman is only concerned with self-preservation. There is no time, opportunity, or resources to consider anything else. This minimalist approach to the story gives the film a rawer, you-are-there feel than its aforementioned contemporaries. "The Pianist" is about the Holocaust experience in its most inescapeable, starkest, and purest sense. It is a film about an experience and not about an objective.
Adrien Brody provides an amazing performance that haunts the soul. His portrayal of a man who starts out as a proud and accomplished individual but is later reduced to a shell of a man who finds joy in an unopened can of food is stunning. Thomas Kretschmann's performance as German Captain Wilm Hosenfeld also is memorable. His befriending of Szpilman near the end provides the film with a powerful emotional lift. No doubt the Academy Award awarded to Roman Polanski will forever hold special significance to him considering it was for this particular film. It may not be remembered as his best work but it certainly is the best work he has put out in quite some time.
Rating:
Summary: powerful film about life and death
Review: IT'S AN IMMPORTANT FILM ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH AND THE SURVIVAL OF ONE MAN LIVING AGAINST THE ODDS BUT AT THE SAME TIME IT'S THE MUSIC THAT SAVES HIM. ADRIAN BRODY DESERVED THE OSCAR AS WELL AS ROMAN POLANSKI BOTH PUT SO MUCH OF THEIR SELVES INTO THIS FILM. PLEASE WATCH IT WITH AN OPEN MIND AND AN OPEN HEART, DO NOT LOOK AWAY FROM THE SCREEN FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION AND REALIZE THAT WAR DOESN'T SOLVE ANYTHING. ART IS IMMPORTANT SO LIVE FOR THE COLORS IN MUSIC AND FILM FOR IT'S THAT FREEDOM THAT ENSURES SURVIVAL.
Rating:
Summary: A work of art. See it.
Review: A moving, understated, almost documentary-like story of a Jewish pianist's attempt to survive the Nazi holocaust in Poland. Polanski's direction is beautifully restrained, there is no spelunking in violene nor melodrama, but a simple, unrelenting story of both a people's suffering and especially one man's suffering and survival in a world temporarily gone mad. The note of hope at the end is realistically done and mitigates but does not cancel out the suffering we have just spent the past two hours witnessing. Adrien Brody's Academy Award was not only deserved but indeed ineluctable unless Hollywood wanted to publically confess it is no longer interested in film as art. This is an infinitely sad, infinitely moving but also infinitely human testament to the art of music, the art of life and the art of film.
Rating:
Summary: Why was it The Pianist?
Review: Well made movie alright, but we have seen countless depictions of war time Nazi domination. I expected from the title that "The Pianist" would mean something about the struggle of a pianist to save his people or to contribute to war, or to use his musical capabilities to escape or something! But this is JUST ANOTHER ESCAPE movie! I mean, it could easily have been "The Barber" and how he saved his life and in the end gave a fabulous haircut to a good samaritan German general and everything could still be oh so touchy touchy. I just dont get it. Anyway, good movie worth watching but it is a war movie afterall...with all the cliches of war (like Nazis being real rude and stuff).
Rating:
Summary: a personal story of Holocaust
Review: I am very proud reviewing this movie by the fellow Pole Roman Polanski. Not because he's a Pole - I always thought he's an OK. director, but for me never outstanding. I liked his early movies the most: fresh and thrilling "Knife In Water" made in Poland in early sixties, sinister and fascinating "Rosemary's Baby" with beautiful score by Komeda. What he did later I considered, more or less, a relative letdown. Even acclaimed "Chinatown" was Ok., but still a 4-star movie for me. So I did not expect anything brilliant from "The Pianist", especially that, for some reason, first reviews in Poland were lukewarm. The movie was said to be too straightforward, too conservative for this contemporary director, too sentimental etc.
So I went to the theater with some anxiety; happily from the very beginning all fears were gone. All critical objections turned out to be ridiculous; all listed weaknesses turned out to be strengths.
Starightforward? Yes. But man, it is the true and simple story of survival. The movie is quite exactly based on memoirs of Wladyslaw Szpilman, famous Polish pianist of Jewish origin, not only great interpreter of Chopin, but also great personality, full of humour, intelligence and warm hearted. This is a very personal story from the beginning to the very end. Moving and epic pictures of war and holocaust were somehow in the background, seen from Szpilman's window when he was moved from one hidden flat to another. And it's the main advantage here - a perfect balance between personal and general. That makes "The Pianist" even more moving than "Schindler's List" (also superb film), which concentrated more on paradocumentary, epic details. War, from a personal point of view is a tragedy, for the history it is only statistics. The story here was so personal and simple that I was moved to tears in some moments, the scene near the end when a German officer found Szpilman in a deserted, burned house (there were only ruins all around) and asked him to play piano... When the beautiful melody started I could not stop tears... Funny, isn't it?
For the same reasons I find accusations that "The Pianist:" is too conservative or sentimental even more ridiculous. Polanski was certainly a great innovator. Most of his films are based on weird, somehow artificial plots delivered in a weird way. Modernistic filmmaking fit these plots very well. But here, I feel it was the true story of another man, fellow Jew and fellow Pole; the story deeply hidden in Polanski's mind and heart. It's like we say "I love you" - we use the simplest language known since the beginning of humanity...
Nobody moved in the theater till last writings appeared on the screen, nobody talked, people went out silent. We could taste the real great art. I am very happy the Academy gave the makers their due, I only can't understand why the jury preferred the lightweight and forgettable "Chicago" over this. Maybe (my guess) only to satisfy Hollywood which produced no real gem this year ;-) Igor Kurowski
Rating:
Summary: Quietude generates a sense of premonition
Review: A picture is better than a thousand words. This saying is especially true for The Pianist, a film based on the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman who escaped the fate of being put into concentration camp and survived in Warsaw by a fluke. That is not to downgrade or take anything away from the Mr. Szpilman's memoir that procreates a personal attachment to Szpilman. Director Roman Polanski commented, 'Until The Pianist, I have never read a piece so moving that I felt I had to bring it to the screen.' On September 23, 1939, Szpilman played Chopin's Nocturne in C-sharp Minor live on the radio as shells exploded outside in Warsaw. The bombing was so loud that he could not even hear his piano. It was the day that marked the last airing of Warsaw radio station. The city went starkly quiet as the Germans laid out boundaries of Jewish Ghetto and roamed through which to manhunt Jews to be hurled into concentration camps. Though he lost his entire family, Szpilman survived in hiding, in homes of his non-Jewish friends, in attics of empty apartments, in rubbles. A German officer who heard him play the same Chopin nocturne on a piano found among the rubble saved his life. The Pianist achieves the same caliber of sobriety and grief though this filming does not take into the concentration camps. The scenes of Szpilman's parting from his own family is just as provocative as the horrible bloodshed images shown in many documentary films. Viewers immediately develop a personal and sentimental tie with Szpilman and feel his pain. The film, for the most part, delineates life in Warsaw during the occupation and the starkness of which lends it a verisimilitude that no other filming can afford. The quietude and the prolonged shots generate a sense of imminent danger, threat, and premonition. When is Szpilman going to be caught? What will he do when he runs out of food? Will shrapnel kill him? The mental threat is far greater than physical suffering. In the sense the film is powerful in what it doesn't do. The film is almost 2 hours and 30 minutes long and yet none of the scenes are excessively long. The prolonged shots produce an ominous effect that is crucial in setting the mood of the film. Andrien Brody's performance is superb as if he himself went through the fugitive life. Brody really acts out the physical disintegration and emotional devastation of the protagonist. He has adroitly projected Szpilman's refusal to die and his endurance to live. The fact that Roman Polanski himself is a Holocaust survivor makes the film a valuable piece of the Holocaust history and its studies. 4.5 stars.
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