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garnered seven nominations and three of the most prestigious Oscars: Best Director
(Polanski), Best Actor (Brody), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Harwood). Among a
slew of other awards, The Pianist won two BAFTAs, eight César Awards, and ten Pol-
ish Film Awards. Reviews were almost unanimously favorable. A. O. Scott wrote,
“Perhaps because of his own experiences, Mr. Polanski approaches this material
with a calm, fierce authority. This is certainly the best work Mr. Polanski has done
in many years... and it is also one of the very few nondocumentary movies about
Jewish life and death under the Nazis that can be called definitive” (Scott, 2002).Reel History Versus Real History
Writing his memoir right after the war, Władysław Szpilman still had detailed recall
as to the harrowing events of the previous six years. Assuming that Szpilman is
telling the truth about his experiences— and there is no reason to doubt him—
The Pianist in book form is a highly accurate first- person glimpse of life in Warsaw
under the Nazi occupation. Closely following the narrative contours of Szpilman’s
book, excerpting much of its dialogue, and replicating its detached tone, the movie
version of The Pianist is, likewise, an unusually faithful historical repre sen ta tion.
Though Polanski’s scripting contribution went uncredited, he worked closely with
screenwriter Ron Harwood in adapting Szpilman’s book and brought his own
memories to bear, which coincided with Szpilman’s in many ways. Polanski and
Harwood also watched documentary footage from Warsaw together to grasp the
look and feel of life in Warsaw during the war. Allan Starski’s superb production
design ensured a high degree of visual verisimilitude.Platoon (1986)
Synopsis
Platoon is an American anti- war film written and directed by Vietnam War combat
veteran Oliver Stone, starring Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger as two sergeants—
one decent and humane, the other a hateful nihilist— vying for the hearts and
minds of a U.S. Army platoon during the Vietnam War. Platoon is the first film of
a trilogy of Vietnam War films directed by Stone, followed by Born on the Fourth of
July (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993).Background
A young man from privileged circumstances, Oliver Stone could have avoided the
Vietnam- era draft. Instead he volunteered for military ser vice as a way to expe-
rience something profound. As Stone later put it, “I could think of no greater real-
ity than war” (A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting Platoon, 2001). After finishing a tour
of duty in Vietnam in April 1968, Stone returned home to New York City and
wrote “Break” (1969), an allegorical film script that limned his existential and po liti-
cal transformation. A big fan of The Doors, Stone sent the script to Jim Morrison
in hopes he would play the lead but Morrison never responded. Though he could
not get “Break” produced, Stone pursued a career in film anyway. He attended NYU