The Pianist (2002)
97%RT Audience Score: 96%
Awards & Nominations: Won 3 Oscars
57 wins & 74 nominations total
Well-acted and dramatically moving, The Pianist is Polanski’s best work in years.
The Pianist is a total tear-jerker, guys! Polanski really outdid himself with this one. The acting is top-notch and the drama is so intense, you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time. It’s definitely Polanski’s best work in a hot minute. Bring tissues, because you’re gonna need ’em!
Production Company(ies)
R. P. Productions, Heritage Films, Studio Babelsberg
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Instalatorów, Ochota, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for violence and brief strong language
Year of Release
2003
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 28m
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Language(s):English, German, Russian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 27, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 27, 2003
Genre(s)
War
Keyword(s)
starring Adrien Brody, directed by Roman Polanski, written by Wladyslaw Szpilman and Ronald Harwood, war, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Geoff Andrew, Ian Freer, Paul Byrnes, Steven D Greydanus, Fico Cangiano, Nicholas Oon, Alan Small, Leigh Paatsch, Cole Smithey, R rating, World War II, Warsaw Ghetto, concentration camp, survival, drama, historical, adaptation, autobiography, Polish Jewish, radio station pianist, Operation Reinhard, Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde, Surround sound mix, Adrien Brody as Wladyslaw Szpilman, Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, Frank Finlay as The Father, Maureen Lipman as The Mother, Emilia Fox as Dorota, Ed Stoppard as Henryk
Worldwide gross: $120,072,577
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $194,622,248
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 707
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 21,223,800
US/Canada gross: $32,572,577
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $52,795,970
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,048
US/Canada opening weekend: $111,261
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $180,340
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,706
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $35,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $56,730,511
Production budget ranking: 714
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $30,549,380
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $107,342,356
ROI to date (est.): 123%
ROI ranking: 845
Thomas Kretschmann – Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
Frank Finlay – The Father
Maureen Lipman – The Mother
Emilia Fox – Dorota
Ed Stoppard – Henryk
Director(s)
Roman Polanski
Writer(s)
Wladyslaw Szpilman, Ronald Harwood
Producer(s)
Robert Benmussa, Roman Polanski, Alain Sarde
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
Won 3 Oscars
57 wins & 74 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Writing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (185) | Top Critics (49) | Fresh (176) | Rotten (9)
True story of a Jewish pianist; OK for older kids.
December 28, 2010 | Rating: 5/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
Old-fashioned in both visual and narrative style and in its overall restraint, the film clearly benefits from the director’s first-hand knowledge of the territory.
February 9, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The fact that the director never once caves into easy sentiment or cheap hectoring is almost as amazing as the story itself.
August 1, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The loneliness, guilt and impotence on Brody’s face is haunting. His performance is extraordinary.
March 14, 2003
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
February 27, 2003 | Rating: A-
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Not a celebration of the human spirit, neither demonizing the Germans nor lionizing the Jews, resisting both deceptive moral uplift and despairing moral nihilism, The Pianist is a work of exquisite restraint.
February 21, 2003 | Rating: A+
Steven D. Greydanus
Decent Films
TOP CRITIC
An obligatory watch for any true cinephiles and film history buffs. [Full review in Spanish]
October 13, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
An obligatory watch for any true cinephiles and film history buffs. [Full review in Spanish]
September 6, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress
Deserves its place in the annals of the great historical movies. Movies that offer us a fleeting glance into a different time, a different community, and at its core, an individual’s incredible experience.
September 5, 2021
Nicholas Oon
Maximum Hype (YouTube)
The Pianist, like many films about the Holocaust, can be difficult to watch, but remembering what happened is necessary.
March 9, 2021
Alan Small
Winnipeg Free Press
The real value here can be found in director Roman Polanski’s haunting, harrowing tribute to the uniquely human instinct for survival.
August 13, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Roman Polanski’s “The Pianist” is the director’s finest achievement, and elevates Adrien Brody (Oscar win for Best Actor 2002) to eminence in his representation of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who survived the Nazi occupation of Warsaw.
May 26, 2009 | Rating: A+
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com…
Plot
In this adaptation of the autobiography “The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945,” Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From this time until the concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilman hides in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Adrien Brody won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Pianist.
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