The Piano

Year:	1993
Country:	International
Language:	English
Genre:	Drama, Romance, Music
IMDB:	IMDB Page
Rating:	8.0 Rate
Collection:	Seen It Wishlist
Community:	11 Have Seen


Director	Jane Campion
Selected Cast	Holly Hunter as Ada
	Harvey Keitel as Baines
	Sam Neill as Stewart
	Anna Paquin as Flora
Producer	Jan Chapman
Writer	Jane Campion
Soundtrack	Michael Nyman

On DVD & Blu-ray World

DVD

The Piano - Video/Film Express - Netherlands (2010)

DVD

The Piano - Universal - Netherlands (2002)

DVD

The Piano - Optimum Classic - UK (2005)

DVD

The Piano - Artisan - USA (1998)

DVD

The Piano - Studiocanal - UK (2018)

VHS

The Piano - Touchstone - Australia

DVD

The Piano - Filmax - Spain (2010)

VHS

The Piano - Inter Sonic - Czech Republic (1994)

DVD

O Piano - Prisvideo - Portugal (2006)

Images

Comments and Reviews


Magic Marmalade 21st Aug 2023		Rated 8/10 Realistic Magicalism. There was always something bleak and forbidding about this movie, that put me off watching it from the moment of it's release; Aware of course, of all the buzz and hype surrounding it since that time, I still couldn't get myself into wanting to watch it, as it seemed like a drab, pretentious, arty Merchant / Ivory piece, except set in some miserable wasteland. ...Still, thirty years later, the right mood finally stuck, and I thought: "Why the hell not?" (I was at a loose end, and it was either this, or the prospect of watching some of those awful housewife "humans" on tv, so I rolled the dice) Very glad I did, as it seems, to some extent, the promotion and ads mis-sell it somewhat, giving the kind of impressions I stated above.... ...Instead, I found this to be quite a magical movie - not sure if I'd go so far as to call it one of those "Magical Realism" stories, but it does have very quirky elements, and a slight tone that could come from a Grimm fairy tale, and plays out like a parable of yore. What it's a parable of (And I think I still need some getting of my head around, and into it yet), is a woman's voice; That is, more accurately rendered, the voice of woman, and the personal empowerment that proceeds from that, as seen through the eyes of a particular woman. Opening with Holly Hunter's: Ada, having been married to a man the other side of the world, In New Zealand, and essentially "mailed off" to him on on a long sea voyage, with her daughter from a previous partnership, she carries with this most precious, and personal object - her piano - to express herself, or better yet, communicate with herself... (In the sense, that her playing of the piano is a sort of personal communion between her and her own soul) ...In a world where she, being woman in this time, is not master of her own destiny. For she is also mute, as the voice of a child, which is her own internal voice, states in a brief voice over at beginning (and end) informs us is for no real biological or physical reason yet at the same time, not really a matter of choice... she just is. Her daughter interprets for her, when not at the Piano, which, being left on the harsh weathered beach at their arrival, seems to be, of course, a symbol of her current state - the men refuse to help her take it to her new home. Of course, her new "master" / husband, in the shape of Sam Neil's: Stewart is a very uptight guy with a very conventionally colonial sense of Victorian propriety, and won't have it in the house, it seems, but agrees to swap it with Harvey Keitel's: Baines, a subordinate "Scottish" (his accent is pretty ropey, alas :) servant of his, who brings it in to his own home, with the intention of drawing Ada over, and perhaps getting to know her a little better than he oughta - crumbs. A very sensitive, and soft seduction then ensues by degrees, and of course you feel this moving inexorably towards a tragic conclusion, the unempowered / unheard woman caught between her duties to her Husband, and the man she comes to love. There will be tears before bed-time. All of which, as I said, could be a very melodramatic, grim story in the telling, especially, as the underlying theme is fundamentally, of course, feminist story, which could get very... er,,, over earnest, and so forth, but, I must repeat: In giving just the right amount of fairy-tale and a sense of the magical, in being framed as a parable, it all actually adds up to a very engaging, engrossing, watch - compulsive viewing, with a wonderful slightly magical air. Really enjoyed it actually... and would probably watch it again, as it certainly makes you think about the underlying meanings to the symbolic aspects of the movie, and what they say about the world. 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?



zabadak 12th Apr 2023		Trailer :happy:



Quad5point1 4th Aug 2018		Nod to Dr Doom, added Blu Ray title screen

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