Plot Summary: The true story of Wladyslaw Szpilman who, in the 1930s, was known as the most accomplished piano player in all of Poland, if not Europe. At the outbreak of the Second World War, however, Szpilman becomes subject to the anti-Jewish laws imposed by the conquering Germans. By the start of the 1940s, Szpilman has seen his world go from piano concert halls to the Jewish Ghetto of Warsaw and then must suffer the tragedy of his family deported to a death camp, while Szpilman is conscripted into a forced German Labor Compound. At last deciding to escape, Szpilman goes into hiding as a Jewish refugee where he is witness to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the Warsaw City Revolt in August/October 1944.
Summary written by Anthony Hughes
Cast list The Pianist
Szpilman’s Warsaw:
The History behind The Pianist
The Pianist
Test Open
Photographic comparison of Wladyslaw Szpilman to the actor Adrien Brody, who plays him in the film adaptation of the true life story.
Actor Adrien Brody on the set of The Pianist with director Roman Polanski.
