In 1939, Poland is invaded by the German Nazis, and the story starts off with this. The Pianist is the tale of a popular Polish composer, Wladyslaw Szpilman, who played for the Polish radio which was bombed when the invasion started, and his journey throughout the war, with a focus on his amazing survival. Based off his memoirs, the movie, directed by Roman Polanksi, has been hailed as one of the greatest Holocaust-based films of all time. Through Szpilman, the viewer is shown the dehumanization of war, but most importantly the will to survive and the power of music.

Lovers of drama, war stories or historical buffs.

Adrien Brody, who plays Szpilman - his performance was magnificent and most deserving of all the awards given to him. The cinematography and directing was top notch (as expected from Polanski), and for almost three hours, we are transported to a time when we have to wonder if the events really did happen and shake our heads in disbelief.

I would have loved to see more special features - although the documentary about the making of the film and interviews with the director and others was okay - I would have loved to see more of the real Szpliman playing (besides snippets).

Read the book and watch it again.

Adrien Brody, Frank Finlay, Thomas Kretschmann, Maureen Lipman, Katarzyna Figura and so much more.

Although the movie does not go into the really gritty sections of the war, since we are seeing this from Szpilman's point of view, the impact of Nazi occupation and atrocities can still be felt with every scene and Polanski - who survived the war himself - seems to pour his heart and soul into this project, reminding us that it is the strength of the human spirit that makes us who we are. For Wladyslaw Szpilman, this is a testament to his survival and a passion for a craft he loves.

This is a definitely a must have in anyone's collection.