September 1, 2019 is the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the combined Nazi and Soviet invasion of Poland, which marked the start of World War II.
This episode of SoundsReels explores producer and director Roman Polanski's 2002 film The Pianist and will take you back to that moment in history and into the harrowing true story of Polish-Jewish concert pianist W艂adys艂aw Szpilman's struggle to survive the brutal realities of the Polish invasion and the Warsaw Uprising.
Based on Szpilman's memoirs, The Pianist received many awards, including鈥� three Oscars, two British Academy Film Awards, seven Cesar awards from the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques and a Golden palm at the Cannes Film Festival. The honors most frequently bestowed were Best Actor to Adrien Brody, for his portrayal of W艂adys艂aw Szpilman, Best Director to Roman Polansky and Best Film.
The film's score consists of new music by Polish composer Wojciech Kilar and significant moments from some of the piano works of Poland's most famous musical son, Frederic Chopin. The score won a French Cesar Award, but all told, the film received only a few nominations for Best Music.
Why did this film about a noted concert pianist and titled The Pianist not receive more hardware for its music? The answer might have to do with the story of the film