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| Reviewed by: Chris Burton 12 Jan 2008 Pianist, The
| |  I feel it necessary to preface any review of a Roman Polanski film with a short dissertation on his well known and beleaguered history. His wife, Sharon Tate (a full foot taller than him) was notoriously murdered by the Manson family. Then he made Rosemary’s Baby and Chinatown. Then he apparently drugged and molested an underage girl, causing him to flee the United States for fear of arrest and never to return. I believe he was not able to personally collect the Academy Award he received for The Pianist. I suppose it was mailed to him.
However, as one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors on the planet, Polanski has an important story to tell, and I suppose it immoral and philandering ways can be placed aside for the moment, only to be retrieved when he makes a sequel to The Ninth Gate. Polanski was Polish and most of his family was murdered by the Nazis. He survived in the Krakov ghetto under constant threat of imminent and horrible death.
The Pianist tells the true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody) a Jewish pianist living in Warsaw in 1939. He’s popular, and he always has work. He’s on the rise. Then the Germans march in. Things change, but at first seem manageable. Then the new laws against Jews are passed. They can’t walk on the sidewalk. They can’t own property. Eventually, the Szpilman family realizes that things will never be the same. Eventually, they are all herded into a walled off section of Warsaw now known as the most famous ghetto of the war. Then, those who can’t work are deported to death camps. Eventually, even those who can work are deported. It is a systematic extermination.
Wladyslaw escapes the deportation with the help of a morally questionable Jewish guard working for the Nazis. He hides out in the ghetto for awhile, then has to go work with the few remaining survivors. He gets help from a few people. Eventually, the Warsaw uprising begins, and luckily he has escaped into the greater city. When the Russians march in, well..... just see it.
The Pianist is an excellent film, and a heart-wrenching one. Brody’s performance is incredible, and he was thankfully awarded with an Oscar. While any Holocaust film will be compared to Schindler’s List, that should not be a detraction. Of course, The Pianist comes nowhere near the greatness of Schindler’s List (one of the greatest of all time). However, it stands on its own as an unrelenting and brilliant work, certainly some of the finest work Polanski has ever done.
An excellent HD presentation that is far far better than its dvd counterpart, The Pianist comes at us in 2.35:1 widescreen and encoded at 1080p. From the first scene onward, we are treated to a rich array of colors that are bold and vibrant. The scenery is both beautiful and horribly depressing. Blacks are incredibly detailed throughout. Grain and blemishes are a non-issue, and the video quality is very three dimensional.
Audio is Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround, and it wows much more than I was expecting. Both bass and surrounds are constant throughout. An immersive audio mix adds to the feel of the revolt of the ghetto. Dialogue is crisp and clear and music sounds excellent. |
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Copyright (c) 2007 Rock Star Media Works, Inc. All rights reserved.
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