Pianist, the

Even though barely deserving a rebuttal, some of the reviews here are so beyond asinine that I cannot restrain myself, particularly with regard to those reviewers who had the gall to call Mr. Szpilman a coward. Mr. Szpilman risked immediate death every time he helped to smuggle a weapon or ammunition into the ghetto. The ghetto uprising itself was essentially a suicide mission, and everyone involved probably knew that. So Mr. Szpilman was a coward because he wanted to live, then? How dare you. While I don't believe that any work of art should be above criticism no matter what its subject matter, I have not read a single negative review here that has any remotely intelligent criticism of this film whatsoever. They pretty much describe it as "boring" or "another Holocaust movie." Schmucks. One reviewer couldn't even remember the protagonist's name, yet had no shortage of would-be scathing things to say about the movie. Almost as absurd are the unfavorable comparisons to "Schindler's List." Yes, Oskar Schindler was a great man, but the very straightforward good vs. evil nature of the subject matter must have appealed to Steven Spielberg's very American sensibilities. "The Pianist," on the other hand, boldly treads a ground that is decidedly messier, morally less clear-cut, and I think that only a man like Roman Polanski, who understands the particular time and place where these events transpired, could have made this film. And Adrien Brody fully deserved the Academy Award for this performance. And, yes, he does spend a good deal of time searching like a "rat" for food. What do these buffoons think it means to survive in such an environment? Idiots. Anyhow, this film is a masterpiece, an artistic triumph of the highest rank. The naysayers have not been able to level a single legitimate criticism against it.

The movie "The Pianist" is a moving and beautiful piece that truly deserves better treatment than this unfortunate 'cash grab' by TVA Films. The video maxes out at 1080i (yes, you read that correctly - not (P)rogressive) and the sound is (shudder) only Dolby Digital - not DolbyTrueHD or DTS Master HD. Fans of this movie will need to track down the older HD-DVD copy (if you still have an HD-DVD player that is) to view this movie in true HD video and sound quality. The packaging also seems sub-par with no actual Blue-Ray logo on the plastic (like every other BD disc out there) and the "1080p" gold logo is used on the back (and that is simply inaccurate). The disc, quite frankly, seems more like a bootleg than an actual new release BD. Upconvert your DVD copy of "The Pianist" and save your money. Truly unforgiveable, TVA Films. This film gets 2 stars not for the actual disc itself, but simply due to the high quality of the story and film making effort.

I love movies about World War II . Holocaust movies are often over-played but this one is a really a masterpiece.