From the title, you can guess why I like this show. If I recalled, the show did not create such a big hype in the beginning, and only after through word of mouth that people flocked to watch the show. I went to watch because of the title, and I was told there were a few nice classical songs.
At that point in time, I did not even know who Adrien Brody was. But after I watched the show, I started to gush about it and recommended it to all my friends. This was one of those times when I entered a cinema not expecting much but in the end the movie exceeded my wildest expectations.
I always wondered why this show did not win Best Picture. If I recall, that year’s Best Picture went to “Chicago”, which deserved the win as well. The male lead in “The Pianist” Adrien Brody won Best Actor that year, and he really deserved it as he really portrayed the character very well.
No other contenders for Best Actor that year even came close to his stupendous performance. He was the one that carried the entire show throughout, and it was this show that enabled him to rise to almost, if not already, A-list status.
“The Pianist” is more than another typical war epic. Most other war epics were on soldiers and fighting against the enemies. But this entire show was on just one man, a Polish Jew, struggling for survival during the Holocaust known as the second World War in Europe.
He became so famous because during the era where most of the Jews were exterminated, he alone managed to survive throughout, went into hiding at various places, yet was never discovered and killed. He really had to thank his God, as it was through His grace that he was helped by his fellow Jews, then his Polish friends, and finally a German high-ranking officer.
Adrien Brody really acted well in the show. The piano pieces (mostly of Frederic Chopin’s best works, since he himself was Polish) were mostly played by himself. If only I can play like that! He spent fourteen hours a day practicing the piano before the filming started.
His character went from a professional pianist at Warsaw Radio to a poor guy when his family were forced to move into the Jewish ghettos, then through a help from one of the Jewish soldiers, he was the only one saved when his family were carted away to be killed at concentration camps.
Then he went back to his old neighbourhood, only to find almost everyone dead. He was later taken on by the German army as a labourer and made to construct buildings. He escaped one night and went to find a former colleague of his who put him up in an empty apartment.
He stayed there for quite a while and his friends would visit and bring him food and water once in a while. When the building he was in was shelled, he ran away again and sought shelter in a row of houses which had been burnt down, where he was discovered and helped by the German officer until the end of the war.
This show was based on the tragic true life experiences during the war of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew and pianist during the second World War. I find the movie so good as it shows the extent of the Jewish discrimination and extermination by the Germans, the strength of one man who wanted to survive against all odds, and the suffering he had to endure just to live even when the rest of his family had been killed.
It was a very real movie about the war and the fight for survival. The show also captured the audience’s attention. I remember while watching the show, I was hoping that he could be saved soon, and the war would end.
I felt hurt and pain for the Jews who were unjustly treated, anger at the Germans for cruelly abusing the Jews, gratitude for the German officer who took a big risk in helping him, relief when the war finally ended and he could go back to his normal life, and awe and appreciation whenever he belted out some tunes on the piano.
After the show, I bought the soundtrack and score book. All the songs in the soundtrack (with the exception of one) were played by Wladyslaw Szpilman himself, accompanied by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, all played to perfection. In some versions, some other pianist played but it sounded just as good.
Up to now, I can still hear Chopin’s “Nocturne in C-sharp Minor” running through my head. I have been playing the songs as and when I can find the time, but I need lots more practice to perfect those songs. Chopin’s songs are not easy, so really hats off to Adrien Brody who was able to play the songs to perfection.
To get a feel of how Chopin’s songs sound like, here are some songs from the movie and soundtrack :
1. Nocturne in E minor, Opus 72 Number 1
2. Ballade Number 2 in F Major, Opus 38
3. Ballade Number 1 in G minor, Opus 23
4. Waltz Number 3 in A minor, Opus 34 Number 2
5. Prelude in E minor, Opus 28 Number 4
6. Andante Spianato (preceding Grande Polonaise, Opus 22)
7. Mazurka in A minor, Opus 17 Number 4
Hope you enjoy them!
At that point in time, I did not even know who Adrien Brody was. But after I watched the show, I started to gush about it and recommended it to all my friends. This was one of those times when I entered a cinema not expecting much but in the end the movie exceeded my wildest expectations.
I always wondered why this show did not win Best Picture. If I recall, that year’s Best Picture went to “Chicago”, which deserved the win as well. The male lead in “The Pianist” Adrien Brody won Best Actor that year, and he really deserved it as he really portrayed the character very well.
No other contenders for Best Actor that year even came close to his stupendous performance. He was the one that carried the entire show throughout, and it was this show that enabled him to rise to almost, if not already, A-list status.
“The Pianist” is more than another typical war epic. Most other war epics were on soldiers and fighting against the enemies. But this entire show was on just one man, a Polish Jew, struggling for survival during the Holocaust known as the second World War in Europe.
He became so famous because during the era where most of the Jews were exterminated, he alone managed to survive throughout, went into hiding at various places, yet was never discovered and killed. He really had to thank his God, as it was through His grace that he was helped by his fellow Jews, then his Polish friends, and finally a German high-ranking officer.
Adrien Brody really acted well in the show. The piano pieces (mostly of Frederic Chopin’s best works, since he himself was Polish) were mostly played by himself. If only I can play like that! He spent fourteen hours a day practicing the piano before the filming started.
His character went from a professional pianist at Warsaw Radio to a poor guy when his family were forced to move into the Jewish ghettos, then through a help from one of the Jewish soldiers, he was the only one saved when his family were carted away to be killed at concentration camps.
Then he went back to his old neighbourhood, only to find almost everyone dead. He was later taken on by the German army as a labourer and made to construct buildings. He escaped one night and went to find a former colleague of his who put him up in an empty apartment.
He stayed there for quite a while and his friends would visit and bring him food and water once in a while. When the building he was in was shelled, he ran away again and sought shelter in a row of houses which had been burnt down, where he was discovered and helped by the German officer until the end of the war.
This show was based on the tragic true life experiences during the war of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew and pianist during the second World War. I find the movie so good as it shows the extent of the Jewish discrimination and extermination by the Germans, the strength of one man who wanted to survive against all odds, and the suffering he had to endure just to live even when the rest of his family had been killed.
It was a very real movie about the war and the fight for survival. The show also captured the audience’s attention. I remember while watching the show, I was hoping that he could be saved soon, and the war would end.
I felt hurt and pain for the Jews who were unjustly treated, anger at the Germans for cruelly abusing the Jews, gratitude for the German officer who took a big risk in helping him, relief when the war finally ended and he could go back to his normal life, and awe and appreciation whenever he belted out some tunes on the piano.
After the show, I bought the soundtrack and score book. All the songs in the soundtrack (with the exception of one) were played by Wladyslaw Szpilman himself, accompanied by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, all played to perfection. In some versions, some other pianist played but it sounded just as good.
Up to now, I can still hear Chopin’s “Nocturne in C-sharp Minor” running through my head. I have been playing the songs as and when I can find the time, but I need lots more practice to perfect those songs. Chopin’s songs are not easy, so really hats off to Adrien Brody who was able to play the songs to perfection.
To get a feel of how Chopin’s songs sound like, here are some songs from the movie and soundtrack :
1. Nocturne in E minor, Opus 72 Number 1
2. Ballade Number 2 in F Major, Opus 38
3. Ballade Number 1 in G minor, Opus 23
4. Waltz Number 3 in A minor, Opus 34 Number 2
5. Prelude in E minor, Opus 28 Number 4
6. Andante Spianato (preceding Grande Polonaise, Opus 22)
7. Mazurka in A minor, Opus 17 Number 4
Hope you enjoy them!
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