Reviews

A groundbreaking masterpiece that reestablishes Roman Polanski's status as one of the best filmmakers in history. With its incredible feeling for authenticity and its shocking portrayal of the true horrors of war and the holocaust devoid of any cheap melodramatic effects it is by far superior to "Schindler's List" and Mr. Spielberg's other attempts in the "serious" field. "The Pianist" proves that European cinema is still capable of outshining Hollywood's money machine.

This groundbreaking masterpiece reestablishes Roman Polanski's status as one of the best filmmakers in history. With its feeling for authencity and multi-dimensional characters and its shocking portrayal of the true nightmare of war and the holocaust devoid of any cheap melodramatic effects it is by far superior to "Schindler's List" and Mr. Spielberg's other attempts in the "serious" field. "The Pianist" shows evidence that sometimes European cinema is still capable of defying the calculated blockbusters of Hollywood's money machine with inspired and original filmmaking.

This episode manifests the absolute decline of a once very sophisticated German TV series. It tried to establish new characters and it tried to give itself airs as for atmosphere and tension, failing dramatically on every level. The direction is so far beyond any quality that it physically hurts.

Roman Polanski has always been an expert in disturbing his audience. He's also been an expert in fascinating and hypnotizing his spectators. Actually this tale of a hapless tenant in the most grave-like version of Paris you've ever seen is even more hypnotizing and fascinating than his elder "Repulsion." There are a lot of subliminal images and sounds that will leave you queasy for weeks after viewing this film. Be warned.

This gem of a film is, at least to me, the most beautiful movie ever made. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves to be spellbound by fairy-tales and fairy-tale-like horror-films, by pictures of snow-heralded baroque-clad characters that remind us of our childhood experiences and childhood fears. If only at least 10% of all movies could be like that!

Obviously, this flick was not made for gore-hounds. Admittedly you don't get to see the murder victims' innards, so avoid it if that is your cup of tea. What you get to see in plentiful are fascinating and nightmarish images that should be envied by the majority of contemporary genre film makers. These images emanate an underlying violence that is much more frightening than gut-spilling excesses. Recommended.