The Bottom Line
“The Pianist” eschews easy emotional connections and refuses to oversimplify, and I think it is one of the most powerful Holocaust films ever made.
Pros
- Powerful, fact-based Holocaust drama
- Excellent period feel (World War II Warsaw)
- Resolutely unsentimental
Cons
- Eschews easy emotional connections
- Has a few longueurs
- Somewhat depressing view of human condition
Description
- DVD containing English-language film “The Pianist” (2002)
- Movie is a Holocaust drama based on memoir by Wladyslaw Szpilman
- Won Oscars for Best Director (Roman Polanski), Best Actor (Adrien Brody), Best Adapted Screenplay
- Won Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival
- DVD is two-sided with feature film on one side, extras on the other
- DVD’s best extra is 39-minute feature “A Story of Survival”
- Excellent picture quality
- Excellent sound quality
Guide Review - “The Pianist” DVD Review
What I like best about “The Pianist” is its resolutely unsentimental approach to the important subject of the Holocaust. The film eschews easy emotional connections, and I believe director Roman Polanski wants us to think more than he wants us to emote. Based on a true story, the movie tells the tale of how a Jewish musician named Wladyslaw Szpilman survived the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. I admire Adrien Brody’s portrayal of Szpilman as an unheroic, often passive man who is nonetheless astonishingly resilient. I think the film derives much of its power from its refusal to oversimplify: there are good and bad Jews, good and bad Poles, and good and bad Germans. I think “The Pianist” is one of the best Holocaust films ever made.