The Pianist (2002 film)

The Pianist
US Theatrical release poster
Directed byRoman Polanski
Screenplay byRonald Harwood
Based onThe Pianist
by Władysław Szpilman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPaweł Edelman
Edited byHervé de Luze
Music byWojciech Kilar
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 24 May 2002 (2002-05-24) (Cannes)
  • 6 September 2002 (2002-09-06) (Poland)
  • 25 September 2002 (2002-09-25) (France)
  • 24 October 2002 (2002-10-24) (Germany)
  • 24 January 2003 (2003-01-24) (United Kingdom)
Running time
149 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Germany
  • Poland
  • United Kingdom
Languages
  • English
  • German
Budget$35 million
Box office$120.1 million

The Pianist is a 2002 biographical film 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. The film was a co-production by France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Poland.

The Pianist premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival on 24 May 2002, where it won the Palme d'Or, and went into wide release that September; the film 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 the BAFTA Award for Best Film and BAFTA Award for 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.