#17 - The Pianist (2002)

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#17 - The Pianist (2002)

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Recommended Movie-Club Sandwich: The Ninth Gate (1999)
Last edited by NSpan on November 6th, 2009, 5:03 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

Post by NSpan »

i almost pulled this from the Movie Club ranks solely because I don't want to fuel the career of R.P. right now--but, i decided to separate the art from the artist and just let it go... still haven't watched it though... i got Night on Earth first in my to-see stack
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

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It's strange, but I really don't think that this film deserves a movie club- it's above-average and recent. Hasn't everyone seen it?

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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

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This movie won three of the Big Five awards at the Oscars as well (Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director).
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

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Above average? I don't think so. I, myself, find it just as good as Schindler's List and better than many other Holocaust films I've seen. Many other people think so as well or it wouldn't be #53 on the 250 with a 95% RT score. If your opinion is that its above average, that's fine, but its one of my favorites. The scene with the caramel is one of my favorites in any film.

The recentness is a good point, but I'm not sure how many people have seen it.
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

Post by Leestu »

I've not seen it yet. Been meaning to get around to it and now I will.

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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

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Any performance which entitles you to be able to French Halle Berry without repercussion is probably one to watch. :)
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

Post by NSpan »

for the reasons that Boosh and W stated, i think it's a worthy movie-club pick.. recentness is okay, as long as it seems like--for whatever reason--a good amount of us have never actually watched it

i can speak for at least a few movie-clubbers when i say that i've been aware of the movie since it came out, but i just simply never found the time to check it out
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

Post by numbersix »

Fair enough - I guess I assumed everyone had seen it as it was an Oscar film.

I think my problem with The Pianist is probably I have WWII-overdose, and I felt The Pianist added very little from what I've already seen or read (a vulgar formula would be Schlinder's List+The Diary of Anne Frank=The Pianist). The only part that interested me was the shoot out between the resisting Jews and the Nazis in the middle of the film. It's well acted, and well shot, but it's a bit episodic and not nearly as powerful for me as Schlinder's List.

I think an interesting film to watch with this would be Herzog's Rescue Dawn, or the doc it was based on, Little Dieter Wants to Fly

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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

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between the two, I'd definitely go with Dieter
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Re: #17 - The Pianist (2002)

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Ok. It took me a few months, but I finally sat my ass down and watched it.

I try to maintain extra reservation when it comes to Holocaust movies (because even a mediocre filmmaker can juice some emotional material from the, arguably, greatest tragedy in human history).. It's like having a dog die in your movie: it can evoke a cheaply manipulated emotional response from the audience --even if your film is, otherwise, crap.. (funny that i managed to compare the holocaust to old yeller, but i think there's some cinematic truth to it..

that said, The Pianist was well made, and the end result is a terrific film.. I thought the source material was treated respectfully, and Polanski does an admirable job of telling the story without milking it too much.. it was far more atmospheric than i expected--though appropriately so, as much of the story revolves around Szpilman hiding in solitary areas.. Adrien Brody's performance had been so hyped that it'd be impossible to live up to the expectations, but it was still an unforgettable showing nonetheless.. he emotes more with his eyes than most high-paid actors do with their entire bodies.. i'm not sure how much range the guy has--but for a role like this, you can't ask for much more than what he gives.. prior to this, there was only one Polanski film that i actually liked (Chinatown) and one that i sorta liked (Ninth Gate), but The Pianist certainly furthers the argument that he's a director worth talking about--beyond his unenviable personal life.. on a sidenote, the cinematography during the scenes depicting the burnt-out ghetto seemed to predict Children of Men and even The Road.. Makes sense, too--the imagery is effective as hell.
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