The Pianist Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)June 13th, 2003
THE PIANIST (2002): Starring Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner and Jessica Kate Meyer. Music by Wojciech Kilar. Based on the book by Wladyslaw Szpilman. Screenplay by Ronald Harwood. Directed by Roman Polanski.
THE PIANIST (Universal Home Entertainment): For the DVD presentation of a multi-Academy Award winning film, The Pianist is a bit of a
disappointment.
The fault does not rest with the movie. That is a brutal, harrowing, touching story of survival, made even more remarkable by the fact that it is true.
The transfer is sharp, the picture crisp, the sound superb. In fact, The Pianist works better in the intimacy of the home than it did on the big screen. It allows you to get closer to Wladyslaw Szpilman and become more closely involved with his struggle to stay alive.
Where the DVD falls short is the lack of extras. True, a most interesting 45-minute documentary, "A Story of Survival," accompanies the film, and takes the viewer through the process of filming The Pianist, as well as learning of how director Roman Polanski infused some of his childhood memories of these harrowing times into the film.
But this is a feature that would have greatly benefited from a commentary track by either Polanski or screenwriter Ronald Harwood or both.
It also would have satisfied the curious to see what Polanski had to cut from the film, as the DVD does not contain any deleted scenes.
Perhaps down the road Universal will do this film justice and reissue The Pianist with these additions. But for now, this transfer of a drama saluting the human spirit must suffice.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline.com by clicking on movies.
Bloom's reviews also appear on the Web at the Rottentomatoes Web site, www.rottentomatoes.com and at the Internet Movie Database:
http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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