To prepare for the role of pianist
Wladyslaw Szpilman, actor Adrien Brody
lost 35 pounds and spent four hours a
day for six weeks learning how to play
classical music on the piano. But that all
pales in comparison to the true horror the
Polish musician endured while evading
execution-style killings, avoiding fire
bombs, hiding under wood floors,
stepping over corpses in the streets and
scavenging for scraps of food for years as
the Nazis destroyed his family, friends
and freedom in the Warsaw ghetto during
World War II. This arduous fight for
survival is an attention grabber in itself,
but Brodys chilling tranquility and
relentless will plus director Roman
Polanskis stellar skill capturing both the
humanity and inhumanity of the situation
will grab your heart and mind.