Rating: 
Summary: Very Realistic
Review: I guess we have all tendencies to compare this movie with the Shindler's list.This movie is certainly very close to the reality and as a matter of fact, it's really well done. I will mostly compare this to the movie serie named HOLOCAUST filmed in the 80's with Meryl Streep
You become easily like involved in the story.If you want to compare with the Shindler's list, I will say the Spielberg's work was more telling about the period, the fate of most of the jews. Polansky tells about the fate of just one character walking in what Spielberg described.
The pianist is someone who will have a lonely journey and it for sure makes the story,not less interesting, but flatter or quieter than the Shindler's list.Adrien Brody is simply excellent and it's an actor I'd like to see more often.
Last thing, please try to get and watch Night and Fog, it's a french 30 minutes documentary by Alain Resnais. In it, no actor but real pictures, real people and I can tell you, It will certainly be the more horrible thing you have ever seen on a screen making very weak everything you saw about the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing New, Liked SCHINDLER'S LIST Better
Review: This film is competently made, even very involving in the beginning, but the disappearance of the Pianist's entire family so early on and endless shots of him staring out of various windows made me think there was a more interesting story going on elsewhere.It would have had a much more profound effect if I'd never seen SCHINDLER'S LIST, Steven Spielberg's best "adult" masterpiece, but I kept comparing the atrocities of this film's color scenes of horror with Spielberg's black-and-white ones and had to go with SCHINDLER every time. I've always loved what Polanski did with THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, ROSEMARY'S BABY and especially CHINATOWN, but I've been scratching my head since then with efforts like FRANTIC, BITTER MOON and THE NINTH GATE.
THE PIANIST is one of his great films told at the pace of one of his bad films.
Sorry.
Rating: 
Summary: Reviewing the reviewing of "The Pianist"
Review: Have you noticed that with this movie, as well as probably all other entertainment products on Amazon, people do not vote on whether they thought a review was sueful or not, just on whether they agreed with it! If people thought "The Pianist" was great, then they will click on the "Yes" button for "Was this review useful to you?" and if they didn't agree with you, they will click on the "No". A great many people using Amazon are simply missing the point when it comes to reviews!
Rating: 
Summary: groundbreaking...Roman Polanski scores
Review: probably one of the best movies of 2002 last year has Adrien Brody..a jew who has managed to avoid being sent to any Nazi cap and who is also a pianist..with beautifully played out actors and a performance like Adrien Brody's....its a sure winner.
Rating:
Summary: Essential viewing
Review: I'll preface this by saying that a) I have studied the Holocaust quite a bit, particularly in relation to the modern media, and b) I am not Jewish, and feel that I therefore can never have a full understanding of the Shoah and its implications. That being said, this is probably the best drama that I have seen about the period.
It drives me to distraction to hear people say that this film is "slow", "not engaging", or "unemotional." Those who think this is slow should probably not even be watching it, because they clearly don't have the capacity to even attempt to glean insight into the Shoah (which is of course, impossible for anyone but survivors to understand, as Primo Levy said). This is not a subject that should be trimly packaged to pander to American's ridiculous attention spans. This is not a long film. I shudder to think what people who say this is long would say in response to Lanzmann's "Shoah." Those who find that it is not engaging are not seeing the exuisite subtlety of the film. Adrien Brody's performance is absolutely beyond description, and probably beyond the abilities of 90% of today's actors. All I can say is that this film is driven (particularly in the second half) almost entirely by his eyes and the way he moves, down to the finest detail. It could be missed if you are not paying this film the rapt attention it deserves. As far as this film being unemotional, I'd say that it is mercifully and tastefully lacking in pathos. If you need a director or an orcestra to tell you how to feel, watch Schindler's List, it's perfect for you. Spielberg is more than happy to help you avoid all that mental and emotional work, and to tell you when to cry and when to stop.
Another aspect of this film that makes it all the more deserving of the cultural-icon status that Schindler's List occupies in America is that it does not attempt to gather up the entire Shoah into 2.5 hours. Polanski isn't trying to tell the whole story, which shows a great deal of humility where Spielberg shows hubris. Without denying that film is, intrinsically, pop culture, this film is something beyond pop and marketing (this mentality is so sadly lacking, particularly in the currently climate of the Bush regime). When I first went to see this film, I had zero expectations, other than supposing that Adrien Brody would perform well. I hadn't "prepared" myself for it at all. Within five minutes, I was absolutely alone in that theater with this movie (figuratively). I found myself crying throughout the film because I was so moved by Brody's performance. I could rhapsodize about this film for much longer, but I'll try to be more succinct. This is *the* drama (though it is a true story, and an equally laudable book) to see about the event. There are documentaries (Night and Fog, and again, Shoah) that should not be missed, either, but this is a good example of how best to portray these events for mass audiences. I can only hope that this will be shown in schools sometime in the near future as a learning tool, and thus give young adults a more healthy viewpoint than they get from the usual suspects - Schindler's List and Life Is Beautiful. If you are able to read German, I highly recommend reading the article "Die Seele In System" by Georg Seesslen, which is archived at the website www.zeit.de. It offers even more reasons why The Pianist is a uniquely valuable film, and some good thoughts on media and the portrayal of the Holocaust.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most boring movies ever to hit the silver screen!
Review: I honestly couldn't be more bored or annoyed by this movie. It depicts the life and conditions of a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation of Poland during WWII, and probably does a very good job of showing what conditions were like, and the horror and suffering inflicted on the Jewish people, but it just isn't entertainment! There comes a point in the movie - about half way through - when you realise that nothing is actually going to happen. It almost seems as though only half a script was written and the rest of the movie needs to be filled in with a haggard looking pianist staring out of various windows. Yes, I know that the intention was to make the viewer feel the tedium and claustrophobic conditions that the pianist was enduring, but it just isn't interesting! I don't really think that the life story of...I can't actually remember his name so you see how much impact this movie had on me...was actually worth making a movie about in the first place! This was just an overindulgence of the part of some writer and director, and such a shallow movie with underdeveloped characters, not to mention the apathy! This film only really showed me three things about the nature of people. (1) Everyone in this movie cares for nothing other than himself - even the pianist who seems to care little for the fate of his family as long as he is OK. Everyone is on the take - even the "nice" guy who is supposed to be collecting for the pianist is creaming off the money and letting the pianist get sick - is there noone in this movie with any human decency? (2) The Jews simply allowed their fate to happen to them without so much as an attempt to fight back until it was all too late. Those thousands of Jews in Warsaw could have made a real problem for the Nazis if they had just had the backbone to do something about it! (Again, I'm not saying they don't - this is the message I am getting from this movie). There are so many hints that they are going to fight back, but the vast majority end in apathy! (3) All Germans are evil. By the time we have witnessed the many horrendous acts of cruelty we see so many of the Germans comitting, the one German who is supposed to redeem the others at the end of the film, just doesn't have any significance. Also, as ALL the Germans are portrayed as evil and brutal, the kindness of the German officer who brings the pianist food is now way out of character. I am aware of the brutality committed by the Nazis, but the overindulgence in brutality this film portrays can have but one goal - to pit people against the Germans! Do we really need to dredge up all that hatred again and again as the world is supposedly becoming a closer community? I think not! If you want to be bored, depressed and feel very negative about humankind, then this is the movie for you! If you want to be entertained, then go and watch the Star Wars collection!
Rating:
Summary: Very real and sensitive movie!
Review: This is the best movie about Jewish discrimination in the II World War.Why? Because it shows the good and the bad side of both sides, it means of the Jewish people and of Nazis.
EXCELENT! A must see.
Rating:
Summary: Vivid recreation of Warsaw
Review: I am kind of torn as to what to think about this movie. While watching it, I was annoyed because I have seen it all before. There have been tons of movies on holocaust and of the individual incidents displayed here. There is even a movie that covers the Warsaw ghetto rebellion in much more depth. This movie didn't really say anything new. But, then I think, so what. There are tons of great movies out there that are remakes or cover old ground. The real beauty of this movie is the vivid recreation of Warsaw during WWII. You really get the feeling that you are there. That makes this movie a journey worth taking. The movie does have some problems. The hero is not very engaging. He is like Candide who experiences one adventure after the other, without making any impact. All he is there for is to have someone's eyes to see the action. Roman Polanski, the director, talks about how this character represents an affirmation and celebration of life. I don't get that feeling at all. You especially get no feeling of how this event affected him, shaped him or how he moved on after the war. The other problem with this movie is that it is just boring and slow in some parts. Too much time is spent sitting around in a room with nothing happening. In some respects, this does give you an idea of tedious and boring his life must have been at times, but you really don't get an idea of how he responded to it. The main bonus features of the DVD is a "making of" short and bio of the director, Roman Polanski. It shows why he had such passion for making the movie. It explains how Polanksi grew up during WWII in Poland and how he suffered through some of the atrociities. But, Polanski painful childhood is still no excuse for what he did later in life. He drugged and sodomized a thirteen year old girl in the US and then fled to Europe. Should we be honoring such a person?
Rating:
Summary: The Robinson Crusoe of the Nazi Holocaust.
Review: The Pianist is an amazing film on all counts and could well be the best film from Polanski and his most personal work to date. The best way to describe The Pianist is by sticking Robinson Crusoe in the middle of a Nazi Holocaust. Holocaust films are always striving to get at you emotionally by creating good guy bad guy type scenarios. The truth is that The Pianist is not really concentrating too much on delivering a Holocaust movie. Instead it aims for telling the tale of a feeble piano player trying to survive Polish Nazi occupation. The premise is a simple one. The Pianist is not like his brothers, sisters or friends who are all actively seeking ways to rebel against the Nazis. Instead he is just trying to stay alive in order to engage in his one passion in life - playing the piano. Basically the film starts with Wladyslaw Szpilman (An amazing Adrian Brody!) learning with his family that the Nazis are making decrees against the Jews. You see the elevating intensity of a rich family suddenly being relocated to a confined Jewish district and then the horrors start to build up from simple street provocations to full out mass murders in public view. The buildup is powerful and horrifying. The things you see in this film will make you angry and mad, but the Holocaust is not really what is at the heart of this film. Wladyslaw is just a Piano player and can do very little to stop what is going on. He does not wish to join any revolution and tries to stay out of the way being hospitable and polite when he can. As the world collapses around him he finds his life spared from the concentration camps only to be catapulted from the frying pan into the fire as he tries to survive in solitary either with the help of Jewish sympathizers or by living among the rumbled ruins in search of food. Seeing the world through the eyes of Wladyslaw is what this film is all about and Brody gives his best performances when he is alone with nobody to talk too or anything to say. Just seeing him stagger around in search of food is like nothing you have seen before or will see again. Sure the encounter with the Nazi commander at the end is a little hard to believe and it does border on the fantastic as if to create a musical plot twist for our pivotal character but then again it is based on a true story and these things did happen so it is believable in an unlikely sort of way. At its core, The Pianist is a survival movie about one man trying to last among the rubbles and ruins. At times it is surreal and at others it is devastatingly emotionally potent. This is one of the best films of the 21st century and you should certainly not miss out on seeing this drama. The set designs, plot, script, costumes, acting and action sequences are all on top form. For realism it is simply unparalleled by any film of its kind. Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great Film
Review: At first I did not want to see this movie, mainly because of the cliche that there are no real good holocaust movies. "Sophie's Choice" was a snooze and too long, "Life is Beautiful" got me rooting for the Nazi's to put old Roberto out of his misery & "Shindler's List" was an abysmal piece of dreck. But with that in mind- this is, after all Roman Polanski- a good if not great director who knows how to tell a story and well. Is this as good as his earlier masterpieces "Repulsion" & "Chinatown"? Well, yes and no. This film works because it is not drenched in sentiment & the characters are real people & not cliches. It also works by focusing on one man's struggle & that fact that he had a love for music- which helped to keep his mind intact (& therby make him more unique). Therefore you begin to care about the characters- & the film moves as in a point by point basis. There are no forced emotions- everything is as is and Polanski leaves it up to the audience to feel the way they want. Also- this film does not label the characters as all "good" or all "bad". There are good Jews and bad Jews. Good Poles and bad Poles. Good Germans and bad Germans, unlike Oscar Schindler who is either ALL bad & then changes to become ALL good. Let us remind ourselves that Hitler and these Nazi's were people just like you and me- who laughed and cried and felt, which is what makes them all the more SCARIER- that they too could be ANY one of us. Kinda freaky if you really think about it. So kick back and give 2 1/2 hrs of your time to learn and enjoy & probably feel depressed at the end.
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