~~Heya! I'm Koz! Hmm, what to say...?~~ I'm at Sixth Form at the mo, hopefully be going to Durham un...
~~Heya! I'm Koz! Hmm, what to say...?~~ I'm at Sixth Form at the mo, hopefully be going to Durham uni come October time *fingers crossed* ~~ Thanks for reading & rating people!~~
Member since:25.03.2005
Reviews:9
Members who trust:21
Winner of three Oscars (and nominated for four more), two BAFTAs, and the coveted Palm d'Ore, The Pianist certainly has the credentials. Anyone who has read Szpilman's original biography, also titled 'The Pianist', will already know that the narrative is gripping enough, but combined with amazing direction by Roman Polanski, and breathtaking performances by many of the actors, specifically Thomas Kretschmann and the fabulous Adrian Brody, the story is taken to an entirely new level.
Certainly Polanski's finest work, The Pianist follows the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman through the horrors of the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The film is largely presented from the viewpoint of Szpilman himself, and this is certainly one of the film's greatest successes. While first person narratives can be tricky to perfect, when this is done so the effect is magnificent, The Pianist is certainly no
exception. While the events of the Holocaust seem very removed from today's reality, the film does bring home the reality of the events: the holocaust was more than merely a story we learn about from the history books. Polanksi's direction enables the viewer to immerse themselves in the story, and like Szpilman, they are helpless to the plight of the Jews. The idea of showing the Holocaust merely from the perspective of one man is very effective, as while it does indeed create a sense of partiality, it also makes the events seem all the more real.
In my mind, The Pianist surpasses even the great Schindler's List, and there are a few main reasons for this. Firstly, Polanski does not fall into the trap of the Jewish identity being synonomous with the Jewish religion, he more emphasises the individual passions of the Jewish people than even Speilberg seemed capable of. As the title suggests, Szpilman was a Pianist, and this, not his religion, is used to create his main identoty in the film.
Even the stereotypes of the Nazis and Poles used by Polanski are not so stereotypical. There are indeed harsh, cruel Nazis, but there are also ones who prove to have a much more compassionate side. For the Poles too, this is true, some of the gentile Poles are opposed to the Nazi invasion, but other, in Szpilman's own words 'want to be better Nazis than Hitler'. The effect of this representation is crucial, and creates the overall theme of the horrific effects war can have on communities, bringing out the worst aspects of humanity in otherwise compassionate human beings.
Despite the films classification as a war film, this is not entirely accurate, as while the Second World War is indeed the setting, the film fits more easily into the category of 'Personal Survival Story', and is indeed comparable in this aspect with films such as 'Touching the Void' - another true story, and 'Castaway'.
Perhaps one of the film's main shortcomings is entirely narrative based, and unavoidable if the film was to keep with it's factual emphasis. For much of the latter half of the film, which is a lengthy one anyway, Szpilman is in hiding, and thus isolation. While the audience does get a decent idea of the war and the treatment of Jews by the Nazis, they remain somewhat detached from Szpilman's character, because although he is the centre of the film, he is not what the film is 'about', the viewer does not really 'know' him as such, other than his love of his music, his personality is left almost entirely in the dark.
Insofar as the bonus disk is concerned, it must be said that I have never been one for 'extras', and unfortunately, 'The Pianist' can make no exception. Indeed I find that the extras are rather thin on the ground, despite the additional disk devoted to them. The most substantial is a 40 min documentary on the making of the film, and this does actually have some interesting interviews with Polanski. Unlike many other 'the making of' documetaries, this one doesn't actually delve too deeply into the technicalities of the film making, and as a result is actually rather interesting. Unfortunately, the other extras are somewhat dissapointing, and do include an advert for the OST, which is rather cheeky! The gallery consists of merely 12 photos, and as a result, the extras do come off rather poorly.
Unless you're particularly interested in the 'making of' documentary, I would strongly suggest purchasing the single disk edition and saving your pennies!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1997 - Drama - Director: Gillian Armstrong - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Richard Roxburgh
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
exceptional by (14%):
very helpful by (86%):
