Roman Polanski's The Pianist

“The Pianist” by Wladyslaw Spilman is a extraordianry story about a man’s survival in the holocaust in Warsaw, Poland. The book explains how Szpilman survives the holocaust in Poland by hiding, escaping, and with luck. Szpilman is important to society because he explains the following topics in his perspective for them not to happen again, religious discrimination, human rights, and punishment in crimes involving genocide. Many of the issues raised by the holocaust continue to have an impact on the world today.

Wladyslaw Szpilman was a pianist for a radio station during the beginning of the Second World War in the Fall of 1939. Living in Warsaw at the time, it only took a few weeks until the German forces took full control over the city. Szpilman and his family decide to stay in Warsaw after hearing that the Allied forces (Great Britain) were joining the war against Germany. From that point on the conditions for Jews exponentially deteriorate, suffering caused by both the German forces and the Polish people. Under the Nazi regime, the Jewish people are exposed to many injustices. Polish businesses that once welcomed all, now strictly disallowed the Jewish people. As well as instances of German forces bullying the jewish community, Szpilman’s father was struck in the face by and German officer and told that he was forbidden to walk on the sidewalk. The Nazi control over Warsaw was the start to the horrors of the holocaust, caused by both the assault of the German forces and the acts of the Polish people under the Nazi

Wladek Szpilman was one of the characters in The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski. Wladek is a talented pianist and has a huge passion for playing the piano. In 1939 when Germany declared war on Poland, life for Waldek and many other Jews changed. Wladek plays an important role where his qualities of determination, being a taleted pianist and his brave attitude towards World War II illustrated the key message of how far people go to survive.

In 1939, Hitler was unsure of what he was going to do with the Jews; the Nazis were tossing around options and ideas with the goal of removing Jews from the population. The German invasion into Poland, allowed for the first ghetto, regarded as a provisional measure to control and segregate Jews. Ghettos were enclosed, isolated urban areas designated for Jews. Living under strict regulations, with unthinkable living conditions, and crammed into small areas, the ghettos destroyed all hope of retaliating. In this paper, I will discuss what life would be like to be a Jew inside one of the 1,000 of ghettos within Poland and the Soviet Union. I will imagine myself a member of the Jewish council, describing the

In Maus the main character is young son named Artie. His father Vladek survived the concentration camp and he also shows compassion towards his father on his unbelievable will to survive. The Pianist” is a little different. In it the main

One technique that is used by Polanski is camera angles. The use of camera angles has enabled the audience to see how unimportant the Polish Jews to the Nazis and therefore why they are dehumanised. For instance, they use a panning shot to show the line of the Jewish while waiting next to each other just before the Nazis shoot them down. This panning shot clearly shows the number of polish people who were standing on the line and how unimportant when they are just shot down with no interest in their individualities which are individual human beings. So this very clearly shows how the Nazis dehumanised the polish Jews. Another example of the camera angles used is seen in the scene that closes up the Jewish people’s face who is waiting for the death with bullet loading sound. This close up shot clearly shows the fear, miseries, and dread that the Jewish people can feel just before the Nazis shoot and how they are deprived the happiness that they can feel as a human. Hence, this also effectively shows how the polish Jews are dehumanised emotionally by the nazis. The theme of dehumanization of Polish Jews is clearly conveyed, as the camera angles successfully show how unimportant the Jews were regarded and how they feel.

In Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, I believe the movie's design has a unified feel. By understanding Anderson's approach to cinematography, we can tell that the costume and visual designs ensemble a true Wes Anderson's film. In fact, he is indulged with patterns and lively colors. His plot mainly reflects an old- fashioned, nostalgic feel and he is a bit playful with camerawork. On the other hand, the Grand Budapest really feel like a lively, happy hotel. The use of colors and contrasting hues made the setting almost looks like a painting. For example, the frame narrative where the Grand Budapest Hotel became the setting, the mise-en-scène and the lighting of the film become almost too symmetrical and mannered, especially during the

In Night, Elie Wiesel descriptively shares his Holocaust experience in each part of his survival. From the ghettos to the Death March and liberation, Elie Wiesel imparts his story of sadness, suffering and struggle. Specifically Wiesel speaks about his short experience in the Sighet ghettos. Ghettos were implemented early on in the Holocaust for the purpose of segregating and concentrating the Jews before deportation to concentration camps and death camps. Depending on the region, ghettoization ranged from several days to multiple years before deportation. All Jews in ghettos across Europe would eventually face the same fate: annihilation (“Ghettos”). Wiesel’s accurate account of the Sighet ghettos illustrates the poor living conditions, the Judenrat and Jewish life in the ghetto as well as the design and purpose of the two Sighet ghettos. Wiesel’s description of the Sighet ghettos demonstrates the similar characteristics between the Sighet ghettos and other ghettos in Germany and in German-occupied territories in addition to the differences between the various ghettos.

When faced with the dilemma of jeopardising one’s security to be with the people he loves; one must make the difficult decision to choose what is best for his immediate benefit. The viewers first start to see this trend unfold with Szpilman the antagonist. He is pulled out of line by Itzak Heller; a jewish officer from the Warsaw Ghetto who saved him from the trip his family would take to one of the many death camps. This act of compassion saved Szpilman’s life and reflects back on the theory of the Holocaust survivers luck. Many survivors interviewed said that one did not survive because of the pure

‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ (Wes Anderson, 2014) combines a perfect mix of nostalgia and history. The film explores the themes of war as it recreates history through mise-en-scene. Anderson also incorporates other themes such as racism and elitism during pre-war Europe. The film widely explores Europe from many viewpoints, one of which is of Mr Moustafa. His nostalgia is seen through flashbacks of when he was a lobby boy that went by the name of Zero. As an audience the depth of his nostalgia is seen through mise-en-scene. With the help of cinematography and props we see can see the time and place that Moustafa acknowledges. Anderson shows how history is reimagined through ones nostalgia. Mr Moustafa recalls events, which he was not present in yet he explains them as if he were there. This also shows how one reimagines history from another due to emotions and personal attachment. Despite the outcome being the same there are many viewpoints it can be seen from.

Howard Hughes in his last two decades fixed himself far from the world. At first, he frequented a penthouse in Las Vegas, and after that, he moved to a cottage behind the Beverly Hills Hotel. He was the world's wealthiest man, and with his billions purchased himself a room he never left.

The story revolves around the life of Oscar German, a nazi German who bribes officers in order to acquire a factory in Krakow. He originally had the sole intent of making profit when he hired Jewish workers, who at the time cost less to employ. However this all changed when he witnessed a massacre and the

In the Film The Pianist directed by Roman Polanski. We witness a scene where Szpilman is injured, filthy and starving he rummages around looking for anything to sustain himself. He finds a can of gherkins which he struggles to open he finds some fire stoking equipment and begins opening the can however due to the state of Szpilman he drops the can and the contents falls and drains at the soldier 's feet. In the Hosenfeld scene Points which will be covered are the visual aspects, the aural elements, the mise en scene aspects and post production elements and how all these elements relate to the “big Idea” of having something or someone to hold onto can make you stay focussed and not give up.

‘The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further

Theresienstadt became a ghetto where most of the well-known Jews of Europe would reside happily for the remainder of the war. Theresiensadt, now a beautiful town filled with the most prosperous Jews of Europe became the set for a well-planned propaganda film that the Nazi’s used to deny the final solution. The ghetto had become a scene for a sick play for the worlds viewing.