The Pianist [2002] [DVD]

 

 

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Specifications:-

Case Type - Book style case with removable booklet.

Disc - 50GB, MPEG-4 AVC encoded, Region B Locked.

Video - 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio in a 16:9 frame, Colour, 1080p/24fps

Audio - Original English/German Master Audio DTS-HD 5.1. Dubbed French and Italian Master Audio DTS-HD 5.1

Subtitles - Optional Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish. English Subtitles appear as mandatory during German dialogue when the original audio is selected (apparently this was a problem on the previous vanilla Blu-ray disc release).

Supplements -

'A story of survival: behind the scene of the pianist' Documentary (40 mins. 1.85:1 letterbox in 4:3 frame).
Interview with writer Ronald Harwood (20 mins).
Interview with Andrzej Szpilzman (30 mins).
Interview with Daniel Szpilzman (2 mins).
Theatrical Trailer.

All supplements in Standard Definition.

Censorship? - No cuts or censorship have been applied to this film. The BBFC passed the film without cuts with a 15 certficate. The film contains disturbing and graphic wartime violence, and infrequent strong bad language (towards the end of the film).


This is not an easy film to sit through. Roman Polanski and his crew of filmmakers have created a powerful, upsetting and yet optimistic account of Wladyslaw Szpilman's experiences during the holocaust. Every detail of authenticity is shown in the sets, costumes and props. At the 2003 Academy Awards the film was nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing and Best Picture. It won (Deservedly) Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), Best Director -Roman Polanksi and best Leading Actor - Adrien Brody.

The picture quality is not going to blow you away nor could it be used as demo material (ie: to show off your new HD set up to family and friends), however it is quite competent. There is no edge enhancement or at least i didn't notice any and i didn't see any signs of digital tinkering like DNR. Grain is noticable in numerous scenes, and the blacks are very deep. Early in the film it appears a little hazy, but this is most likely intentional. Compared to the dvd edition, the skins tones and colours look far more realistic and you can see more of a texture on the costumes.
There are only a few scenes which will make use of ones surround sound system, but the audio does a very good job of adding realism to the film (Gun shots sound very disturbing), and the dialogue is very clear too.
The main supplementary material is the excellent 'A Story of Survival' documentary. This features interviews with actor Adrien Brody (who more or less became a recluse for the role), and director Roman Polanski who recollects his own experiences (some of which are used in the film). The documentary also includes archive footage of the holocaust and also briefly an elderly Wladyslaw Szpilman performing in concert. The interviews are a welcome addition and are informative. This is a matter of quality rather than quantity.

An exceptional film and one of the best holocaust dramas (better than 'Schindler's List'?) made with masterful direction and brilliant acting - just be warned that there are a few upsetting scenes. This is the best release currently available and i can strongly recommend this edition for anyone to add to their collection. Make sure you get the 'Studio Canal Collection' edition though and not the previous vanilla disc release.

Unlike the previous reviewer, I have decided to go for the Full Monty and give "The Pianist" a 5 star rating. The film is a biopic of the talented Jewish pianist Wladislaw Szpilman ,set against the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of Warsaw throughout World War Two. The full scale of the persecution of the Polish Jews during this period is laid bare, as verbal abuse turned to physical assault, dehumanisation , ghettoisation and ultimately extermination."The Pianist" is the story of Szpilman's personal experience of these times as he is thrown from the cosseted surroundings of his prime time slot playing Chopin on Polish Rundfunk into the grim surroundings of the Warsaw ghetto with all its deprivation,uncertainty and terror.As he gets separated from his family and friends, a primeval and astonishing lust for survival consumes Szpilman as he faces all manners of peril."The Pianist" is a gripping film from beginning to end with Adrien Brody playing Szpilman with great skill and emotion as chaos and confusion engulf his well ordered life. It is as harrowing, but not as graphic as "Schindlers List" , but it captures perfectly the demonic nature of the Nazis and the sense of dread and terror that surrounded their occupation. However I rated "The Pianist" so highly because of the thread of metaphysical symbolism that ran through it. Szpilman and his music were the corporeal expression of the human spirit, perhaps even of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by an almost supernatural hate, forced into hiding , stalked by terror, but never extinguished.

Director Roman Polanski had much personal history to draw on, when he directed "The Pianist." He spent his own childhood in Poland, and escaped from the Krakow Ghetto, although his mother, and other family members, perished in the Holocaust. Polanski makes this his most personal and powerful film to date, and deservingly won the Academy Award Oscar for Best Director.
"The Pianist" is the agonizing story of Polish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman's survival of the Nazi's destruction of Polish Jewry.

The film begins in 1939, with Szpilman playing Chopin on the piano for Radio Warsaw, as the Germans bomb the city, and finally force him to stop playing. History has documented well what happened in Warsaw over the following two years - the Jewish ghetto was constructed and settled, racial laws were written and enforced, people died of starvation, illness, or Nazi murder. Then the "resettlement" roundups began. Szpilman was waiting at the Umshagplatz to be deported to Treblinka, with his family, when fate seemingly intervened, and he was spared. His survival story is a different kind of hell than others that I have seen or read about. Szpilman watches the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and subsequent destruction, from the outside, looking in. Usually, accounts of the Jewish uprising are from former fighters, or survivors, who were inside the ghetto at the time. I can only wonder if Szpilman longed to join his fellow Jews and fight the Nazis, rather than remain in his solitary apartment overlooking the ghetto, with his own end unknown.

The story is told from a uniquely unsentimental point of view. I felt at times that Szpilman, brilliantly portrayed by Adrien Brody, had distanced himself from all emotion, except for the periods when he played the piano in his imagination, and listened to music in his head. Perhaps this detachment was the mechanism that allowed him to survive emotionally.

The well-written screenplay, by Ronald Harwood, was adapted from Wladyslaw Szpilman's memoirs published in 1946. During some of the movie's most emotional parts, there are amazing camera shots of snow falling, or leaves blowing across an empty street, or the snow covered ghetto ruins that look like the end of the world, with the only sound - Chopin's piano music. These film takes add emotion to the film, compensate for, and contrast well with Szpilman's emotional isolation.

There is a haunting scene, near the film's end, with Szpilman and a German officer, that still moves me to tears when I think about it.

The film is a remarkable in its sensitivity, and portrayal of one man's struggle to survive. I highly recommend it.
JANA

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5.0 out of 5 stars Doppleganger!
A deeply authentic, incredibly harrowing film, exceptionally well made. I thoroughly recommend it. The one problem I had with it was that Adrien Brody looks remarkably like the... Read more

Published 15 days ago by Monk

5.0 out of 5 stars DVD The Pianist
DVD arrived promtly and was well packaged. We haven't watched this yet but I have every confidence it will be fine.

Published 18 days ago by henry

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good and that's about it
I liked this film but I did not think it was that good. Kudos for portraying Szpilman as just an ordinary man. Read more

Published 2 months ago by katyn1940

5.0 out of 5 stars A very moving, enthralling 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... Read more

Published 2 months ago by RR Waller

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
excellent prompt service from amazon great film although very sad. a film for anyone who is interested in the second world war.

Published 2 months ago by pmanhire11

5.0 out of 5 stars Harrowing and heartfelt
This was a superb film, and moreso because the producer Roman Polansky based parts of it on his own experience. Not a dry eye in the house! I recommend it strongly.

Published 4 months ago by butterfly

5.0 out of 5 stars good film base on true story
i actually watched this film before but I bought this to watch again with my family. we enjoyed this.
very good film. base on true story. good value to purchase.

Published 5 months ago by Siska

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed with the lack of subtitles
I would never expect that a blu ray can be without English subtitles! I was very surprised that this is the case with this blu ray. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Malina

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and very moving.
It must be one of my favourite films ever. Roman Pola'ski gave us all a beautiful encounter of tragic and also very moving story of W'adys'aw Szpilman. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Katarzyna Z. Gaca

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE MOST MOVING FILMS I HAVE EVER SEEN.
I never thought I would ever see such a wonderful film again,as there is so many disappointing films around that have received good reviews. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Mrs. D. Surrey

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