The ‘best WW2 movie ever made’ based on a true story | Films | Entertainment
A powerful war film, based on a book that details a true story has landed on Amazon Prime, and fans are hailing it a “masterpiece”.
The Pianist is a 2002 epic biographical historical drama produced and directed by Roman Polanski, with a script by Ronald Harwood, and starring Adrien Brody. It is based on the autobiographical book The Pianist (1946), a memoir by the Polish-Jewish pianist, composer and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman.
Szpilman’s work was also named one of the Best Books of 1999 by the Los Angeles Times.
The Pianist won the coveted Palme d’Or award, and received widespread critical acclaim, with critics lauding Polanski’s direction, Brody’s performance and Harwood’s screenplay. At the 75th Academy Awards, the film won for Best Director (Polanski), Best Adapted Screenplay (Harwood), and Best Actor (Brody), and was nominated for four others, including Best Picture (it lost to Chicago). It also won two BAFTA Awards for Best Film and Best Direction in 2003, and seven French Césars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Brody. It appeared in BBC‘s 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century in 2016.
In this film adaptation of the autobiography The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939–1945, Władysław Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish Jewish pianist who works at a radio station, witnesses the gradual transformation of Warsaw as World War II unfolds. After being confined to the Warsaw Ghetto and later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard, Szpilman spends the rest of the war hiding in multiple spots throughout the devastated city until the concentration camp prisoners are finally liberated.
The film has an impressive 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics’ consensus stating: “Well-acted and dramatically moving, The Pianist is Polanski’s best work in years.”
Fans have taken to Rotten Tomatoes to share their thoughts on the film.
One audience reviewer said: “This movie hits hard and stays with you for years.”
Another added: “This is a literal masterpiece, not only this… almost all the work of Adrien is a damn masterpiece and underrated. This felt way too realistic.”
“The best war film ever made,” added a third.
Another said: “Shocking and masterful. The Pianist left me completely in shock. I had heard about it before, but I never thought it would be this good. It’s a raw, moving, and profoundly human film that portrays the horrors of war without resorting to sensationalism. Adrien Brody’s performance is flawless, conveying his character’s suffering, loneliness, and fragile hope with both subtlety and strength.”
“Adrien Brody’s performance is impeccable. The scene where he silently plays the piano is memorable for years,” added another user on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Pianist is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
