The German officer who helped Szpilman toward the end of the film, Wilhelm Hosenfeld, also helped hide or rescue many others. Szpilman didn’t learn of Hosenfeld’s fate until 1950, when he tried to help him, but at that point Hosenfeld was imprisoned in the Soviet Union, and they refused to release him. He died only two years later, most likely of injuries due to torture. In 2009, Israel recognized Hosenfeld as a “Righteous Among The Nations”, an award honoring non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews.

Well deserved Oscar for Adrien Brody. Beautiful, emotional film in what the human spirit can endure.

The German officer that helped Adrian Brody's character wasn't SS, rather he was Wehrmacht - regular army.

After all the killings and all the physical pain he's been through, one line that still gets me is when he says "I am - I was a pianist." His profession is so much a part of his identity and on top of everything else the war took from him, it took that from it too. It's like twisting the knife.

"Why?" As it pertains to the man in the wheelchair, remember that some of the earliest victims were those who were considered burdens. The mentally ill and disabled in hospital beds went first. In short order, those that were in line for the camps (primarily Jews but also others) were largely a labor force. What can a man in a wheelchair do for the war effort? Then there were plenty of sadists in the military and antisemitism was encouraged, and killing not punished. Regarding the comparison between this and Schindler, I think SL is more about looking inward. The way it's shot, it asks us at various points to think of how we would react. That movie allows us to think we'd do all the right, heroic things. The Pianist shows us things, implies things, and makes it abundantly clear we'd be helpless one way or another. That one day you're home and employed and surrounded by family ... until you aren't. And the reality is most of us would be buying bread in that market, concerned with survival of our own families, finding excuses not to help ---- many of them pretty compelling. I know this because we do it now. There are horrors happening tonight, all around the world but also down the streets. But I'll be sleeping in my warm bed instead of revolutionizing someone's life. I only do what I can do, but I also keep myself and my family comfortable. We all hope we'd be a part of the saved, or the savior, in SL. But this movie... it gives no such illusion.

This movie was so brutal, especially when the child-stealing food is near beaten to death with his eyes rolled back in his head. I myself play piano and to see the heights from which Szlenski starts to where he falls is just heartbreaking and soul-crushing, all in his bid for survival. Brody's mouth is twisted, representing Jundis, for the last 20 minutes of the movie, is just another level of physical acting I've only seen from a few great like Daniel Day-Lewis, Brando, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino.

I found that The Pianist was ultimately a more impactful film than Schindler’s List for the simple fact that it was told from the side of the ones actually engaged in the suffering. SL was from the side of a man of power and the horror was seen from his eyes. Not to diminish the quality of SL by any means. Adrien Brody was simply remarkable in this film.

Polanski was born in 1933. He was actually trapped in the Krakow ghetto and his parents disappeared during a raid. His mother died un Auschwitz, but he reunited later with his surviving father. He was a child, but he lived trough this.

Please consider "Downfall" - it's one of those must-see WW2 movies.

I suggest Come And See(1985)Is considered one of the best war movies of all time and it makes all war films look like The Care Bears and My Little Pony. By the way this is considered the most war horror film of all time and let me tell you Shan,THE DIRECTING IS EASILY TOP NOTCH.

This film took place in Warsaw from 1939 to 1945; Schindler’s List premises are the Polish city of Cracow and the Czechoslovakian town of Brinnlitz-Zwittau, Oscar’s hometown

Roman Polanski is a Holocaust Survivor. He survived along with his father in the Krakow Ghetto. His Mother was gassed at Aushwitz. Polanski was able to incorporate his own memories into this film through the Wladek Szpilman character. Polanski was offered Schindler's List by Steven Spielberg but he turned it down saying it was too personal a story for him to direct. Despite being wanted in America, Polanski won his only Oscar for Best Director.

One of my most favorite films. 2 scenes that just haunts me, Where the Lady keeps saying " why did I do it, Why did I do it " then finding out why she did it. Then watching Brody play piano in the in freezing cold , no dialogue. The steamed breath coming out of his mouth, he looks exhausted, frightened, but in love with what he was doing, playing music.

I seldomly come across a movie that strikes me and leaves a scar, "The Pianist" did. Beautiful, sad, strong movie. Thanks for reacting.

How Chicago beat this out for best picture is beyond me

Please watch DOWNFALL (2004)! True Story!

Like you, I don't care about people's controversies but instead focus on the art form. If you enjoy Polanski you MUST watch --- ROSEMARY'S BABY --- , a MASTERPIECE in psychological horror.

As a huge classical music fanatic, Szpilman's recordings stand out to me as deeply melancholic, with an almost eldritch undertone to them, as if the darkness of his past burnt through his soul whenever he played. You can find him playing the nocturne you recognised at the beginning of the movie here on KZfaq, however I would highly recommend giving his performance of Chopin's Polonaise op.53 in A-Flat Major - a piece which proudly cries Polish nationalism from the rooftops - a listen.

It's such a great movie. I can't imagine the horrors that the Jews, and some others, went through during World War II. It's unfortunate, and horrible, that some people *still* hold onto bigotry against the Jewish people for no real reason. But I guess we're very close to animals and we're guided and controlled by our emotions, especially the negative ones. One of these days, I hope humans will abandon hate and come together to build a wonderful future.

Little correction: Hosenfeld was from the Wehrmacht (regular Army) not SS.

This film stays with you.Its amazing.Brody is phenomenal.His facial expressions and eyes tells you so much. The empathy you feel for Hosenfeld the enemy, at the end,that glimmer of humanity in hell on earth such great film.

I have to say that I prefer The Pianist to Schindler's List any day, and that's not to say that the latter isn't a spectacular film. I just prefer the intimate feel of The Pianist and the fact that we get to see the perspective of a family and their experience of this tragedy and actually feel what it was like for them to go through it from beginning to end. your reaction was everything I hoped for and more; thanks so much for sharing it with us ❤️

Putting all controversies aside, Polanski is a great movie director. You should definitely check out the apartament trilogy: Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant. They're fantastic films.

IMHO this film was way better than the matter of fact history book account that was _Schindler’s List_ . Following the life of an individual and his family from before the war through to the very end gives the viewer so much more empathy with the character and it creates much more of an impact to see how he has gone from a comfortable life to the lonely struggle to survive.

"Szpilman" means "player", which seems fitting for a piano player. But yes, the real man had that name. I didn't watch this movie until after visiting Warsaw (and other places in Poland) a few months ago. After enough times of having the ghetto pointed out and the spots where the movie was filmed, I figured I should watch it. Yes, like Schindler's List, it shows Poland (but Warsaw/Warszawa) instead of Krakow/Cracow, and it shows ghetto life and survival much more. I think the pair of movies are very useful in helping people understand what went on in Poland during that time. When I watched it, I initially didn't understand why the woman thought he was German. It took a moment for me to realize the coat was causing that impression. This was a very good movie.

I'm curious why they changed how Szpilman escaped his hiding place. He didn't duck out in the fighting as depicted. I read his book, and he couldn't get out. He returned to his room and took a bottle of sleeping pills while the building was on fire, trusting that he'd never wake up. He woke up two days later and everyone was gone and he just walked out.

These weren't sets. It was shot in the Kazimirz, the Old Jewish quarter of Krakow, in Southern Poland. A really beautiful city.

Hi Shan...another great reaction/review...but one note. In case nobody mentioned it, the German officer that helps Szpilman near the end is Wilm Hosenfeld...who was in the Wehrmacht, not the SS. You can look Hosenfeld up, he was posthumously honored by both Israel and Poland, Szpilman was most definitely not the only person that he helped to save. 🖖✌

Fantastic reaction, especially as the film goes on and on. I feel you, I was sad just watching your edit. As a boy, Polanski had his family taken from him and sent to Auschwitz, never to be seen again. He was smuggled into the countryside and lived through Nazi occupation, witnessing horrors first hand (I know, for instance, he saw them kill an old woman on the street). Unbelievable he emerges from all that, against all odds. I definitely hope you check out "Rosemary's Baby" (1968 - excellent). "Knife In The Water", "Repulsion", "Cul-de-Sac", his first three, great. Also, in your own time (and to anyone reading who hasn't seen it) watch the excellent documentary: "Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired" (on You Tube right now) which will tell you everything you want to know about his career, his life, the Manson family murdering his wife and the media circus around it, you'll hear all about the case and the trial (including from the girl herself, all grown up) and by the end of it, you'll have a good idea why nobody will extradite him, lol.

Movies you should add to watch list: - The man from Earth (philosophical movie, great storytelling) - Taxi (1998, fun comedy) - Lord of War - The Ghost and the Darkness - The Edge

Fun fact... Frank Finlay who played the father was lead in a NZ TV movie that I was an extra in back in 1987 - Erubus: the Aftermath. I played a computer technician handling cockpit voice recorder tapes from the real-life 1979 crash of NZ901 in Antarctica.

The pianist is so intense, stark, and depressing. I can only watch this when I'm in s good mood. To remind myself, life is never as good as it seems and life is never as bad as it seems.

Yeah this one is brutal Shan. Scenes etched in memory. Powerful film.

A family friend who survived the Lvov ghetto said this film was dead on.

Maureen Lippmann (the mother) is big in the UK. And Helen is part of the famous English Fox Family.

Hi, Shan. The 1957 movie - Paths of Glory, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas , is another great war movie.

The book is beautiful and gives you a little more substance on Hosenfeld. I recommend it.

I haven’t seen this but my son has been recommending it for a while. I showed him Schindler’s List, introduced him to the paper clip project at Whitwell high school. 20 miles south of where I grew up. I have to actually see this now. What I’ve seen in this review solidifies it. I’ve had a patient, RIP, who lived in Nazi Germany. She was an amazing woman. So many stories. Such a dark, dark piece of History. But banning books is wrong. Especially at this magnitude. I haven’t read the banned book. I did, sit in an actual train cart from the Holocaust that was, at one time, in front of the school in Whitwell, TN. This looks like a beautiful film. I have to see the entire thing.

IMDb trivia: "Director Roman Polanski considers this his best film. At the end of the documentary Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir (2011), interviewer Andrew Braunsberg asks him which of his own films he believes to be absolutely perfect, and wouldn't change a frame if he could. To this, Polanski replies: "If any film cannisters were to be placed on my grave, I'd like them to be The Pianist's"."

Shan, I just saw this movie about a month ago! Happy to see it reacted to! After you've recovered from this (can't do too many Holocaust movies in a row), PLEASE react to "Sophie's Choice", Meryl Streep's greatest performance, the equivalent of De Niro in "Raging Bull", it's the bedrock on which her reputation is formed. Kevin Kline is also fantastic in it. Not a single reaction video for it, and it's definitely a movie made to react to, especially one very famous scene that gets referenced all the time. Ok, got that off my chest, now I'm going to watch your reaction. Polanski. Brody. Shan. Let's go!

A great one is STALINGRAD (1993) about German soldiers fighting in Russia

Adrien Brody stars in a new film called Clean. Apparently he co-wrote, produced, and scored it with director Paul Solet.

Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld was a veteran of the First World War and his experiences (and his pacifist wife) made him sympathize with the greatest victims of war: innocent people. He became a school teacher in the tiner-war years and joined the Nazi Party in 1935 for political reasons. He was *drafted* into the Wehrmacht in 1939 and was stationed in Poland for the duration of the war. Hosenfeld managed a POW camp for captured Polish soldiers, even allowing the prisoners visits from family members. In 1940 he was transferred to Warsaw and put in charge of a sports stadium/parade grounds. The position, similar to that of Schindler's, allowed him to write false work passes to save Jews from "liquidation" by the SS, whom he detested. He and other staff the Army Headquarters in Warsaw saved hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Jews and Poles. He tried to learn Polish, despite the suspicion that would bring him if any Nazis found out. He helped the local Catholic Church organize a Mass for local Poles, and later attended it himself multiple times, all of which was illegal. Catholicism was regarded as weak and "Un-German" behavior unfit for an officer according to the SS, whose attitudes and racial hatred rubbed off on many German soldiers stationed with SS divisions. He surrendered himself and his men to Soviet troops, who looked up his Party affiliation and code number. Upon discovering that he was a Nazi Party member, he was sentenced by a Soviet Court to 25 years hard labour for "war crimes" and unit affiliation. From his cell in Stalingrad in 1946, Hosenfeld sent a letter to his wife with the names of every single Jew he saved personally, that he could remember, and asked her to plead for his release. He was tortured to death by a Soviet interrogator in 1952, for protesting his innocence in false espionage charges. Spzillman only learned the Hosenfeld's name in 1950, and he spent the rest of his life trying to find out his fate and petitioning Israel to award Hosenfeld the title of "Yad Vashem" ("Righteous Among the Nations") for his bravery and goodness among all the horrors of the Second World War.

It is briefly noted in the film, but his name Szpilman is (like many names) the word for a job - a musician! It's like a smith who's name is Smith :D In a way the name more means "troubadour" - literally translating to "play[music]-man"

It was a great survival story but also really showed how random luck mainly determined whether someone lived or died. Had he not been pulled out of that line, there would have been no opportunity for survival. He would just be dead - end of story. The only 'very small' inaccuracy I noticed (as a musician myself) was that a piano sitting for an extended period of time in those weather conditions would never have sounded that in-tune.

The officer wasn't SS. He was just in the regular army (The Wehrmacht)

The German soldier that helped the pianist was in the wehrmacht (the regular German army) not in the ss.

That officer that helped zpilman is not an ss officer that’s a Wehrmacht coat that he gave zpilman

Thank you for the great reaction. I really enjoy and appreciate your insightful knowledge and love of movies, and I'm glad I found your channel. You are so much better than the majority of movie reaction channels in that you don't feel the need to make silly jokes all the time, and you don't feel the need to make the reaction all about you (unlike other reaction channels that I won't mention). It's refreshing to see someone that's appreciating movies as an art form. I agree with the other comments that this is a superior film to Schindler's list, and more affecting. Much as I love Spielberg as a director and the film itself, I found Schindler's list tended to overstate and force certain serious moments to envoke emotion. It felt at times like Spielberg was so desperate to ensure that his movie was hard hitting, that his worse traits as a filmmaker came out (although some of his best traits are also present). With the Pianist it feels like you get to see a more subtle way in which the Nazis slowly and methodically built up hatred and division of the Jews, starting with the process of segregation and incremental dismantling of Jewish communities through the labelling on their businesses, forcing them to wear armbands, and the confinement into the Jewish ghettos. The manner in which Wladek Szpilman, his family and the other Jewish people duly went along with it in the beginning was really chilling to me, in that humans can be quite accepting of authority to avoid confrontation and to protect themselves. It's also chilling as a viewer to see them begrugingly accepting it, not knowing or refusing to believe that the Nazis would effectively try and destroy them completely in the end. I always felt that Polanski did a better job in highlighting that part of the genocide, showing how easy it is for a society to create a culture of hate which can lead to awful tragedy. Showing it through Wladek Szpilman's eyes made it more relatable and real, which I think makes it more hard hitting for the viewer.

When Adrian Brody won his Oscar he kissed Halle Berry because of the excitement

Alright Shan! Long time bud. Nice upload; fantastically made film this. 3-2 to the Arsenal the other night too eh ; )

The shown violence really happened, and much more. And many people nowadays around the world try to bring that time back.

I suggest "Valkyrie" with Tom Cruise from 2008. Based on true events.

The German officer at the end of film was German army and not an SS man. You can tell by looking at the collar markings.

"This movie has me feeling bad about a Nazi." Hosenfeld was Wehrmacht, not a Nazi. Nor was he SS. He was a professional soldier serving his country, not Hitler.

The guy that plays Itzak Heller ( Roy Smiles) who saves Wladyslaw Szpilman ( Adrien Brody) is a really good friend of mine! This is such a heartbreaking yet beautiful movie!! You should react to Uprising with Hank Azaria

The German officer towards the end of the movie isn't a part of the SS, but a part of the Heer (Army) of the Wehrmacht which is the standard military. The SS were the political arm of the National-Socialist party independent from the regular military. The easiest way to tell the difference is the SS runes (lightning bolts) on the collar, or divisional/legionary symbols which are in the same pattern of style. While Wehrmacht the uniforms follow Prussian traditions of the Kragenpatte (collar patch) with Doppelitze (double length braid). 23:45

I might be in the minority but The Pianist in my view is far better than Schindler’s List

Another Polanski movie recommendation, Bitter Moon (1992). A young British couple going through the motions (played by Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas in very early roles for them) meets a wheelchair-bound middle aged American and his considerably younger French wife as they're all on a cruise ship together. Hugh Grant's character finds himself overwhelmingly attracted by the wife, but in order to receive the husband's blessing to pursue her, he first must listen as the husband tells their (love) story...

Sounded like Chopin at the beginning. Chopin was Polish. I think that was from nocturnes opus 9 no 2, but I could be wrong.

Excellent film made me a Brody fan, thanks again Shan

Amazing video sir

Roman Polanski survived the Holocaust in Poland when this story happened. He was born in France 1933.Shortly after the young Polanski’s family settled in Kraków, Poland, his parents were interned in a Nazi concentration camp, where his mother died. Polanski escaped internment and survived the war years by finding occasional refuge with Catholic families and often fending for himself. At age 14 he appeared on the stage, later acting in films directed by Andrzej Wajda

It’s a shame Brody’s career has taken such a downturn. I hope he makes a comeback someday.

I’ve seen this movie many times it’s horrific yet beautiful , I’m so glad you reacted to this film✌️

The poor old man in wheelchair such a disturbing scene

Man, try now "Escape from Sobibor", 70s war movie about prisoners escape from Sobibor Death Camp (true event). One of the stars is Rutger Hauer. Very powerful movie!

I recommend watching The English Patient, such an underrated masterpiece.

Shan, put Life Is Beautiful on your list.

The pianist not only tells a story of a real man but also is really historically accurate and intimate. More than Schindler’s list for sure. Probably because Polanski lived through it all and knows how it really was and how it felt :war, being in ghetto in Krakow, losing his family in concentration camps, hiding in polish homes, everything. And the destruction of Warsaw and flaming remainings of the buildings there after the Warsaw uprising looked exactly like the real photos and tapes of that time.

For more of Adrien Brody (albeit in a smaller role) check out Harrison's Flowers (2000). An American war photographer goes missing in war-torn Yugoslavia, and his wife who stubbornly refuses to believe he's dead travels there in a desperate attempt to find and rescue him. With Andie MacDowell, Brendan Gleeson, Adrien Brody as mentioned, David Straitharn and Elias Koteas as the most recognizable actors, in a really gut-wrenching depiction of the horror and madness of war.

24:56 "Great people...on BOTH sides!" - the most recent former president. Try "The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp" a terrific WW2 era film

I highly recommend you watching Jojo Rabbit. It’s a genius satire told from the POV of a young German boy during WW II.

Wilhelm Hosenfeld wasn't SS, he was Wehrmacht - regular army. He helped rescue over 60 other people.

I would reccomend you "Downfall" 2004. Great historical movie and quite accurate

I've gone through a few of your videos, and I'm so surprised as a person who works int he industry, that you comment on things like physical acting, the scope of the sets and things that mostly industry people talk about. You also aren't afraid of heavy hitting movies. Well done.

I saw this film at the theater with my sister. She kinda dragged me along. It was such a difficult movie to watch. I almost got up and walked out during the scene of the old man in the wheelchair being thrown out the window. I couldn't take it anymore but I just turned my head away and stayed to watch the rest of the movie.

Great reaction of one of my favorites movies of all time

I am so glad you finally get to watch this masterpiece. No matter what one may think of Roman Polanski, this is a fantastic movie and among his best with Rosemary's Baby and Chinatown. This is mostly based on the true story of Władysław Szpilman and it is a hard watch. I'd even say it is more brutal and unflinching than Schindler's list. You cannot talk about the movie without mentioning the absolutely stunning performance of Adrian Brody. Sadly, he has not been in many noticed roles since or before, but he is forever in the pantheon of great actors for this absolutely jaw-dropping tour de force. You can only compare it to Heath Ledger in the Dark Knight or Charlize Theron in Monster. A physically demanding role, but what a performance, it is a marvel to watch.

Polanski is of Polish Jewish descent. He personally lived a version of this story as an orphaned boy, so he knew what he was doing with this film. All of his strengths are on display here.

This movie is a masterpiece by one of the great directors. I always preferred this to Schindlers list. It just has a more initimate feel to it. But they're both incredible films. IF you haven't already, check out Platoon. But, like the others, it's a hard watch.

The parents are quite famous in the UK - Frank Finlay has been in an amazing amount of TV and Movies. Maureen Lipman is also very famous - not so much for her film roles, much more for her TV and stage roles.

You can bet that the German officer was the one playing the piano before.

Not based on a novel, but an actual memoir. Polanski chose to follow it precisely. Other great films by him are Rosemary's Baby and The Ninth Gate. The Tenant is also a favorite and unbelievably creepy. But his whole output is worth a look on your channel. He was also a young Polish boy in the time of the Pianist so his visual memory is quite accurate.

I think the German officer who asks him to play at 23:40 is not SS. From other films I have seen (mostly Where Eagles Dare 😅) the SS wear black uniforms while the army officers wear grey uniforms to mark their distinct and separate authorities.

Spielmann in german = man who plays/playing man/player: so a good name for a pianist

The 9th Gate is a must watch same Director

This film is a masterpiece hands down a definitive cinematic statement on the Holocaust brought down to a personal level. Polanski himself has quite a harrowing story of survival escaping Nazism as a child going on to become a genius filmmaker and ending up in controversy but that does not take away from his amazing talent and work. He has a unique penchant for the macabre with films like Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby, The Tenant, Th Ninth Gate and my personal fave The Fearless Vampire Killers, a fairly spooky comedy which he co wrote , directed and even co stars in with his tragically fated wife Sharon Tate,I highly recommend you give it a watch

Oh boy, what a light-hearted film this is.

This is the best holocaust movie. In my opinion. Schindler's list is up there also. Unlike Schindler's list, The pianist is way more rewatchable.

Also RIP Ivan Reitman director of Ghostbusters Twins and Stripes He passed away last night at the age of 75

Wooow i was waiting fo you to watch this ,you can say anything and everything about Roman Polanski but not that he is a bad movie director this and Schindler's list are timeless and Polanski was a kid back then .

Whoopie Goldberg needs to watch this and schindlers list....

Can you imagine pack up all your stuff and just go? 3 Weeks after this review: Well, yes. I can.

Recommend The movie1996 “Primal Fear” with Richard Gere/Edward Norton

I absolutely love this movie!!! Hard to watch but moving at the same time.

Shan : Roman Polanski was born in Paris in 1933. His parents returned to Poland from France in 1936, three years before World War II began. On Germany's invasion in 1939, as a family of mostly Jewish heritage, they were all sent to the Krakow ghetto. His parents were then captured and sent to two different concentration camps: His father to Mauthausen-Gusen in Austria, where he survived the war, and his mother to Auschwitz where she was murdered. Roman witnessed his father's capture and then, at only 7, managed to escape the ghetto and survive the war, at first wandering through the Polish countryside and pretending to be a Roman-Catholic kid visiting his relatives. Although this saved his life, he was severely mistreated suffering nearly fatal beating which left him with a fractured skull. Try to find the interiew with Polanski about the film, or maybe the 'behind the scenes' video ... Remember when Adrien Brody was saved from being sent to the camps, and told : "don't run" ! Polanski tells about this as something he was told himself as a child ~ if I remember it right ~ I will try to look it up myself as well.

yeah definitely not a feel good movie of the year. i like Adrien Brody, i think my favorite thing i've seen him in is the movie Oxygen(1999) where he plays a kidnapper that kidnaps a woman from a wealthy family for ransom and buries her alive which means she has a limited amount of oxygen to breathe before she suffocates. It's actually pretty good, a hidden gem many people probably don't know about.

Polanski was approached to direct Schindler's List but couldn't do it at the time because of his own memories of the Holocaust. By the time the Pianist came around he felt ready.

To answer the question, none of his family survived.