The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
Acting
Brody's physical transformation—hollow eyes, trembling hands, real hunger.
Direction
Polanski's personal connection bleeds into every frame.
Cinematography
Warsaw as corpse and cathedral, beauty in rubble.
Director
Roman Polanski
Adrien Brody
Władysław 'Władek' Szpilman
Thomas Kretschmann
Captain Wilm Hosenfeld
Frank Finlay
Father
Maureen Lipman
Mother
Emilia Fox
Dorota
Ed Stoppard
Henryk Szpilman
Julia Rayner
Regina Szpilman
Jessica Kate Meyer
Halina Szpilman
Michał Żebrowski
Jurek
Wanja Mues
SS Slapping Father
Richard Ridings
Mr. Lipa
Nomi Sharron
Feather Woman
Anthony Milner
Man Waiting to Cross
Lucy Skeaping
Street Musician
Roddy Skeaping
Street Musician
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adrien Brody dropped to 130 pounds and sold his apartment, car, and phone to disconnect from his life. He remains the youngest Best Actor winner at 29.
The real Szpilman died in 2000, just before filming. Polanski had refused Holocaust films for decades until this memoir—so personal, so unsentimental—finally broke through his resistance.
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