Captain Wilm Hosenfeld: Thank God, not me. He wants us to survive. Well, that's what we have to believe.
About The Pianist
The biographical/war/drama movie The Pianist was released in 2002. It's based on the memoir of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish-Jewish pianist and composer who survived the Holocaust. It was written very shortly after the events, unusual for a memoir.The film remains quite true to the book, thanks to the work of Ronald Harwood, who won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. However, the character of Dorota (Szpilman's love interest) was fictional, and some characters were based on more than one person.
There were also small details added by director/producer Roman Polanski, based on experiences he either had, or witnessed, in Poland during the Holocaust.
Trailer
Cast
- Adrien Brody as Władysław Szpilman
- Thomas Kretschmann as Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
- Frank Finlay as Samuel Szpilman (father)
- Maureen Lipman as Edwarda Szpilman (mother)
- Emilia Fox as Dorota
- Ed Stoppard as Henryk Szpilman
- Julia Rayner as Regina Szpilman
- Jessica Kate Meyer as Halina Szpilman
- Ronan Vibert as Andrzej Bogucki
- Ruth Platt as Janina Bogucki
- Andrew Tiernan as Szalas
- Michał Żebrowski as Jurek
- Roy Smiles as Itzhak Heller
- Richard Ridings as Mr. Lipa
- Daniel Caltagirone as Majorek
- Valentine Pelka as Dorota's Husband
The Real Szpilman
Trivia
- When Szpilman (Brody) tells German officer Wilm Hosenfeld (Thomas Kretchmann) his name, Hosenfeld remarks, "good name for a pianist." This is because Szpilman (or Spielmann in German) translates to "play man."
- Adrien Brody won an Academy Award for portraying Szpilman. At age 29, he was the youngest person to ever receive an Oscar in the Best Actor category. The record still stands today.
- The Pianist was awarded the Palme d'Or (essentially best picture) at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
More to come soon.
For now, check out the Wikipedia page for The Pianist