The Piano Explained
The Piano is a 1993 historical drama film written and directed by New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion. It stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin in her first major acting role. The film focuses on a mute Scottish woman who travels to a remote part of New Zealand with her young daughter after her arranged marriage to a frontiersman. The plot has similarities to Jane Mander's 1920 novel, The Story of a New Zealand River, but also substantial differences. Campion has cited the novels Wuthering Heights and The African Queen as inspirations.[5]
An international co-production between New Zealand, Australia, and France, The Piano was a critical and commercial success, grossing US$140.2 million worldwide (equivalent to $ million in) against its US$7 million budget (equivalent to $ million in). It was noted for its crossover appeal beyond the arthouse circuit to attracting mainstream popularity, largely due to rave reviews and word of mouth.[6]
Hunter and Paquin both received high praise for their performances. In 1993, the film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making Campion the first female director to receive the award. It won three Academy Awards out of eight total nominations in March 1994: Best Actress for Hunter, Best Supporting Actress for Paquin, and Best Original Screenplay for Campion. Paquin was 11 years old at the time and remains the second-youngest actor to win an Oscar in a competitive category.
Plot
In the mid-1800s,[7] Ada McGrath, a Scottish woman with elective mutism, is sold by her father into marriage with New Zealand frontiersman Alisdair Stewart, along with her daughter Flora. Ada has not spoken since the age of six, and the reason for this as well as the identity of Flora's father remain unknown. She communicates through playing the piano and sign language, with Flora acting as her interpreter.
Ada and Flora, along with their handcrafted piano, are stranded on a New Zealand beach by a ship's crew. The next day, Alisdair arrives with his Māori crew and neighbour George Baines, a retired sailor who's adapted to Maori customs, including facial tattoos. Alisdair tells Ada that they don't have enough bearers for the piano and then refuses to go back for it, claiming that they all need to make sacrifices. Desperate to retrieve her piano, Ada seeks George's help. Although he can't read her note, he is entranced by her music and agrees to help her. George offers Alisdair the land he's been coveting in exchange for the piano and Ada's lessons. Alisdair agrees, oblivious to George's attraction to Ada. Ada is enraged by George's proposition but agrees to trade lessons for piano keys. She restricts the lessons to the black keys only and resists George's demands for more intimacy. Ada continues to rebuff Alisdair's advances while exploring her sensuality with George. George eventually realizes that Ada will never commit to him emotionally and returns the piano to her, confessing that he wants Ada to care for him genuinely.
Although Ada has her piano back, she longs for George and returns to him. Alisdair overhears them having sex and watches them through a crack in the wall. Furious, he confronts Ada and tries to force himself on her despite her strong resistance. He then coerces Ada into promising she will no longer see George.
Shortly after, Ada instructs Flora to deliver a package to George, which contains a piano key with a love declaration engraved on it. Flora delivers it to Alisdair instead. Enraged after reading the message, Alisdair cuts off Ada's index finger, depriving her of the ability to play the piano. He sends Flora to George with the severed finger, warning him to stay away from Ada or he will chop off more fingers. Later, while touching Ada as she sleeps, Alisdair hears what he thinks is her voice in his head, asking him to let George take her away. He goes to George's house and asks if Ada has ever spoken to him, but George says no. George and Ada leave together with her belongings and piano tied onto a Māori canoe. As they row to the ship, Ada asks George to throw the piano overboard. She allows her leg to be caught by the rope attached to the piano and is dragged underwater with it in an attempt to drown herself. As she sinks, she appears to change her mind and struggles free before being pulled to safety.
In the epilogue, Ada describes her new life with George and Flora in Nelson, New Zealand, where she gives piano lessons in their new home. George has made her a metal finger to replace the one she lost, and Ada has been practicing and taking speech lessons. She sometimes dreams of the piano resting at the bottom of the ocean with her still tethered to it.
Cast
Production
The film was originally titled The Piano Lesson, but the filmmakers could not obtain the rights to use the title because of the American play of the same name, and it was changed to The Piano.[8]
Casting the role of Ada was a difficult process. Sigourney Weaver was Campion's first choice, but she was not interested. Jennifer Jason Leigh was also considered, but had a conflict with her commitment to Rush (1991).[9] Isabelle Huppert met with Jane Campion and had vintage period-style photographs taken of her as Ada, and later said she regretted not fighting for the role as Hunter did.[10]
The casting for Flora occurred after Hunter had been selected for the part. They did a series of open auditions for girls age 9 to 13, focusing on girls who were small enough to be believable as Ada's daughter (as Holly Hunter is relatively short at 157abbr=onNaNabbr=on tall[11]). Anna Paquin ended up winning the role of Flora over 5,000 other girls.[12]
Alistair Fox has argued that The Piano was significantly influenced by Jane Mander's The Story of a New Zealand River.[13] Robert Macklin, an associate editor with The Canberra Times newspaper, has also written about the similarities.[14] The film also serves as a retelling of the fairytale "Bluebeard",[15] [16] itself depicted as a scene in the Christmas pageant. Campion has cited the novels Wuthering Heights and The African Queen as inspirations.
In July 2013, Campion revealed that she originally intended for the main character to drown in the sea after going overboard after her piano.[17]
Principal photography took place over 12 weeks from February to mid-May 1992.[18]
Campion was determined to market the film to appeal to a larger audience than the limited audiences many art films attracted at the time. Simona Benzakein, the publicist for The Piano at Cannes noted: "Jane and I discussed the marketing. She wanted this to be not just an elite film, but a popular film."[19]
Reception
Critical reception
Reviews for the film were overwhelmingly positive. Roger Ebert wrote: "The Piano is as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen" and "it is one of those rare movies that is not just about a story, or some characters, but about a whole universe of feeling".[20] Hal Hinson of The Washington Post called it an "evocative, powerful, extraordinarily beautiful film".[21]
The Piano was named one of the best films of 1993 by 86 film critics, making it the most acclaimed film of 1993.[22]
In his 2013 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gave the film three and half out of four stars, calling the film a "haunting, unpredictable tale of love and sex told from a woman's point of view" and went on to say "writer-director Campion has fashioned a highly original fable, showing the tragedy and triumph erotic passion can bring to one's daily life".[23]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 71 reviews, and an average rating of 8.50/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Powered by Holly Hunter's main performance, The Piano is a truth-seeking romance played in the key of erotic passion."[24] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 89 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[25]
Box office
The film was the highest-grossing New Zealand film of all-time surpassing (1986) with a gross of $NZ3.8 million.[26]
It grossed over US$140 million worldwide, including $7 million in Australia, $16 million in France, and $39 million in the United States and Canada.
Accolades
The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards (including Best Picture), winning three for Best Actress (Holly Hunter), Best Supporting Actress (Anna Paquin) and Best Original Screenplay (Jane Campion). At age 11, Anna Paquin became the second youngest competitive Academy Award winner (after Tatum O'Neal in 1973).[27]
At the Cannes Film Festival, the film won the Palme d'Or (sharing with Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine), with Campion becoming the first woman to win the honour, as well as the first filmmaker from New Zealand to achieve this.[28] Holly Hunter also won Best Actress.
In 2019, the BBC polled 368 film experts from 84 countries to name the 100 best films by women directors, and The Piano was named the top film, with nearly 10% of the critics polled giving it first place on their ballots.[29]
Soundtrack
The score for the film was written by Michael Nyman, and included the acclaimed piece "The Heart Asks Pleasure First"; additional pieces were "Big My Secret", "The Mood That Passes Through You", "Silver Fingered Fling", "Deep Sleep Playing" and "The Attraction of the Pedalling Ankle". This album is rated in the top 100 soundtrack albums of all time and Nyman's work is regarded as a key voice in the film, which has a mute lead character.[54]
Home media
The film was released on VHS on May 25, 1994. Initial fears in leadup to its release were in relation to the films status as "arty" and "non-mainstream," however its nominations and success at the Academy Awards guaranteed it profitability in the home video market.[55] It finished in the top 30 video rentals of 1994 in the United States.[56] It was released on DVD in 1997 by LIVE Entertainment and on Blu-ray on 31 January 2012 by Lionsgate, but already released in 2010 in Australia.[57]
On 11 August 2021, the Criterion Collection announced their first 4K Ultra HD releases, a six-film slate, will include The Piano. Criterion indicated each title would be available in a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack, including a 4K UHD disc of the feature film as well as the film and special features on the companion Blu-ray. The Piano was released on January 25, 2022.[58]
See also
- List of films considered the best
References
Bibliography
Further reading
- Althofer . Beth . The Piano, or Wuthering Heights revisited, or separation and civilization through the eyes of the (girl) child . . 81 . 2 . 1994 . 339–342.
- Attwood . Feona . Weird Lullaby Jane Campion's "The Piano" . . 58 . 1 . 1998 . 85–101 . 10.1080/014177898339604 . 1395681 . 144226880 .
- Bentley . Greg . Mothers, daughters, and (absent) fathers in Jane Campion's The Piano . Literature/Film Quarterly . 30 . 1 . 2002 . 46 . .
- Bihlmeyer . Jaime . The (Un) Speakable FEMININITY in Mainstream Movies: Jane Campion's" The Piano" . . 44 . 2 . 2005 . 68–88 . 10.1353/cj.2005.0004. 191463102 .
- Bihlmeyer . Jaime . Jane Campion's The Piano: The Female Gaze, the Speculum and the Chora within the H (y) st (e) rical Film . Essays in Philosophy . 4 . 1 . 2003 . 3–27 . 10.5840/eip20034120 .
- Bogdan . Deanne . Davis . Hilary . Robertson . Judith . Sweet Surrender and Trespassing Desires in Reading: Jane Campion's The Piano and the struggle for responsible pedagogy . Changing English . 4 . 1 . 1997 . 81–103 . 10.1080/1358684970040106.
- Bussi . Elisa . 13 Voyages and Border Crossings: Jane Campion's "The Piano" (1993) . The Seeing Century . 161–173 . Brill . 2000 . 10.1163/9789004455030_014. 9789004455030 . 239977351 .
- Book: Campion, Jane . Jane Campion . Jane Campion's The Piano . United Kingdom . Cambridge University Press . 2000 . 978-0521597210.
- Chumo II . Peter N. . Keys to the Imagination: Jane Campion's The Piano . Literature/Film Quarterly . 25 . 3 . 1997 . 173.
- Dalton . Mary M. . Fatzinger . Kirsten James . Choosing silence: defiance and resistance without voice in Jane Campion's The Piano . Women and Language . 26 . 2 . 2003 . 34.
- Davis . Michael . Tied to that Maternal 'Thing': Death and Desire in Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Gothic Studies . 4 . 1 . 2002 . 63–78 . 10.7227/GS.4.1.5.
- Dayal . Samir . Inhuman love: Jane Campion's "The Piano" . . 12 . 2 . 2002 . 10.1353/pmc.2002.0005 . 144838814 .
- DuPuis . Reshela . Romanticizing Colonialism: Power and Pleasure in Jane Campion's "The Piano" . The Contemporary Pacific . 1996 . 8 . 1 . 51–79 . 23706813 .
- Book: Frankenberg, Ronnie . Re-presenting the Embodied Child: the Muted Child, the Tamed Wife and the Silenced Instrument in Jane Campion's "The Piano" . The Body, Childhood and Society . 2016 . 125 . Springer . 978-0-333-98363-8.
- Book: Frus, Phyllis . Borrowing a Melody: Jane Campion’s "The Piano" and Intertextuality . Beyond Adaptation: Essays on Radical Transformations of Original Works . Frus . Phyllis . Williams . Christy . McFarland . 2010 . 978-0786442232.
- Gillett . Sue . Lips and fingers: Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Screen . 1995 . 36 . 3 . 277–287 . 10.1093/screen/36.3.277.
- Hazel . Valerie . Disjointed Articulations: The Politics of Voice and Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Women's Studies Journal . 10 . 2 . 1994 . 27 .
- Hendershot . Cyndy . (Re) Visioning the Gothic: Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Literature/Film Quarterly . 26 . 2 . 1998 . 97–108 . 43796833 .
- Izod . John . The Piano, the Animus, and the Colonial Experience . Journal of Analytical Psychology . 41 . 1 . 1996 . 117–136 . 10.1111/j.1465-5922.1996.00117.x. 8851259 .
- Jacobs . Carol . Carol Jacobs (academic) . Playing Jane Campion's Piano: Politically . . 109 . December 1994 . 757–785.
- News: James . Caryn . Caryn James . A Distinctive Shade of Darkness . . November 28, 1993 . July 19, 2023.
- Jayamanne . Laleen . Post-colonial gothic: the narcissistic wound of Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Toward Cinema and Its Double: Cross-cultural Mimesis . Indiana University Press . 2001 . 24–48 . 978-0253214751.
- Jolly . Margaret . Looking Back? Gender, Sexuality and Race in "The Piano" . Australian Feminist Studies . 24 . 59 . 2009 . 99–121 . 10.1080/08164640802680627. 1885/31897 . 143160100 . free .
- Klinger . Barbara . Contested Endings: Interpreting The Pianos (1993) Final Scenes . 2003 . Film Moments: Criticism, History, Theory . 135–39.
- Klinger . Barbara . The art film, affect and the female viewer: "The Piano" revisited . . 47 . 1 . 2006 . 19–41 . 10.1093/screen/hjl002. free .
- Book: Molina, Caroline . Muteness and mutilation: the aesthetics of disability in Jane Campion’s "The Piano" . The Body and Physical Difference: Discourses of Disability . 1997 . University of Michigan Press . 267–282 . 978-0472066599.
- Najita . Susan Yukie . Family Resemblances: The Construction of Pakeha History in Jane Campion's "The Piano" . ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature . 32 . 1 . 2001 .
- Norgrove . Aaron . But is it music? The crisis of identity in "The Piano" . Race & Class. 40 . 1 . 1998 . 47–56 . 10.1177/030639689804000104. 143485321 .
- Pflueger . Pennie . The Piano and Female Subjectivity: Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" (1899) and Jane Campion's "The Piano" (1993) . Women's Studies . 44 . 4 . 2015 . 468–498 . 10.1080/00497878.2015.1013213. 142988458 .
- Preis-Smith . Agata . Was Ada McGrath a Cyborg, or, the Post-human Concept of the Female Artist in Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Acta Philologica . 2009 . 21 .
- Reid . Mark A. . A few black keys and Maori tattoos: Re‐reading Jane Campion's the piano in PostNegritude time . . 17 . 2 . 2000 . 107–116 . 10.1080/10509200009361484. 191617268 .
- Riu . Carmen Pérez . Two Gothic Feminist Texts: Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights" and the Film "The Piano" by Jane Campion . Atlantis . 2000 . 163–173 .
- Book: Sklarew, Bruce H. . I Have Not Spoken: Silence in "The Piano" . Psychoanalysis and Film . Gabbard . Glen O. . 115–120 . Routledge . 2018 . 978-0429478703.
- Book: Taylor, Lib . Jonathan . Bignell . Inscription in "The Piano" . Writing and Cinema . 88–101 . Routledge . 2014 . 10.4324/9781315839325 . 978-1315839325.
- Thornley . Davinia . Duel or Duet? Gendered Nationalism in "The Piano" . . 24 . 3 . 2000 . 61–76 . 44019061 .
- Williams . Donald . The Piano: The Isolated, Constricted Self . Film Commentaries . 2013 .
- Wrye . Harriet Kimble . Tuning a clinical ear to the ambiguous chords of Jane Campion's "The Piano" . Psychoanalytic Inquiry . 18 . 2 . 1998 . 168–182 . 10.1080/07351699809534182.
- Zarzosa . Agustin . Jane Campion's The Piano: melodrama as mode of exchange . New Review of Film and Television Studies . 8 . 4 . 2010 . 396–411 . 10.1080/17400309.2010.514664. 191596093 .
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: The Piano (1993). Oz Movies. 9 March 2024.
- Web site: Top 100 Australian Feature Films of All Time. Screen Australia. 12 May 2023.
- Web site: The Piano (35mm). Australian Classification Board. 8 April 2023.
- Web site: Box Office Information for The Piano . https://web.archive.org/web/20131211233700/http://powergrid.thewrap.com/project/piano . 11 December 2013 . . 4 April 2013.
- Web site: Frey . Hillary . September 2000 . Field Notes: The Purloined Piano? . Lingua Franca.
- Book: Jane Campion's The Piano. Elaine Margolis. Harriett. 2000. 32. Cambridge University Press. 978-0521592581.
- Web site: 15 June 2018 . The Piano review – Jane Campion's drama still hits all the right notes | The Piano . 2022-02-17 . The Guardian.
- Book: Bourguignon. Thomas. Ciment. Michel. 1999. 1993. Interview with Jane Campion: More Barbarian than Aesthete. Wexman. Virginia Wright. Jane Campion: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. 109. 1-57806-083-4.
- Web site: A Pinewood Dialogue With Jennifer Jason Leigh. Museum of the Moving Image. 23 November 1994 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070703112419/http://www.movingimage.us/pinewood/files/pinewood/2/24866_programs_transcript_pdf_209.pdf . 2007-07-03.
- Web site: Isabelle Huppert: La Vie Pour Jouer – Career/Trivia . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120216030405/http://mjf.missouristate.edu/faculty/wang/ih/career/index_trivia1.htm . 16 February 2012 .
- News: Show Business: Holly Hunter Takes Hollywood. https://web.archive.org/web/20071223092530/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966298,00.html. dead. 23 December 2007. time.com. 22 July 2010 . Denise . Worrell. 21 December 1987.
- Andrew . Fish . Summer 2010 . It's in Her Blood: From Child Prodigy to Supernatural Heroine, Anna Paquin Has Us Under Her Spell . Venice Magazine . 22 July 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100725155534/http://www.venicemag.com/news/index/view/235 . 25 July 2010 .
- Web site: Puritanism and the Erotics of Transgression: the New Zealand Influence on Jane Campion's Thematic Imaginary . Alistair . Fox . 7 October 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071024034335/http://www.otago.ac.nz/communicationstudies/campion/participants/fox.html . 24 October 2007.
- News: FIELD NOTES: The Purloined Piano?. lingua franca. 10. 6. September 2000. Macklin . Robert.
- Web site: Modern Interpretations of Bluebeard. Heidi Ann . Heiner. 12 April 2010.
- Web site: Look at The Piano . Scott C. . Smith . 12 April 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101012042312/http://blogcritics.org/video/article/a-look-at-the-piano/ . 12 October 2010 .
- News: Child, Ben. Jane Campion wanted a bleaker ending for The Piano. The Guardian. 8 July 2013.
- 'The Piano' Ain't Got No Wrong Notes . June 12, 2018 . . July 19, 2023.
- Book: Jane Campion's The Piano. Elaine Margolis. Harriett. 2000. 136. Cambridge University Press. 978-0521592581.
- Web site: The Piano . Ebert . Roger . 19 November 1993 . 3 July 2017 . Rogerebert.com.
- News: 'The Piano' (R) . Hinson . Hal . 19 November 1993 . 3 July 2017 . The Washington Post.
- News: 86 Thumbs Up! For Once, The Nation's Critics Agree on The Year's Best Movies . The Washington Post. Pat. McGilligan. Mark. Rowl. January 9, 1994. December 13, 2021.
- Book: Maltin, Leonard. 2013 Movie Guide. 2012. Penguin Books. 1084. 978-0-451-23774-3.
- Web site: The Piano (1993) . 2 April 2022 . . Fandango Media.
- Web site: The Piano Reviews . . . 20 March 2018.
- Variety. 29 August 1994. Summer B.O. goes out like a 'Lion'. 14. Groves. Don.
- Anna Paquin: Did she really deserve an Oscar?. Young. John. 24 December 2008. Entertainment Weekly.
- Web site: 1993 is the first and last time the Palme went to a woman. Dowd. AA. 13 February 2014. 3 July 2017. The A.V. Club.
- News: The 100 greatest films directed by women. 28 December 2019. BBC. 26 November 2019.
- Web site: The 66th Academy Award Nominations : Oscars : The Nominees . . February 10, 1994 . December 22, 2023 . December 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231222070342/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-10-ca-21456-story.html . live.
Web site: The 1994 Oscar Winners . . March 22, 1994 . December 22, 2023 . December 22, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231222070302/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/22/movies/the-1994-oscar-winners.html . live.
- Web site: The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110802060537/http://www.theasc.com/asc_news/awards/awards_history.php. 2 August 2011.
- Web site: 1993 Winners & Nominees. 15 November 2022. Australian Film Institute.
- Web site: Bodilprisen 1994 . bodilprisen.dk . 19 July 2023 . da.
- Web site: Past Award Winners. 27 July 2018 . 15 November 2022. Boston Society of Film Critics.
- Web site: Film in 1994. 2 July 2017. British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- Web site: Best Cinematography in Feature Film. 23 June 2021.
- Web site: The Piano. Cannes Film Festival. 15 November 2022.
- Resnais' 'Smoking' duo dominates Cesar prizes. Williams. Michael. 27 February 1994. Variety.
- Web site: Spielberg, 'List' Win in Chicago. Terry. Clifford. 8 February 1994. 2 July 2017. . https://web.archive.org/web/20200929051511/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-02-08-9402080288-story.html . 2020-09-29.
- Web site: 46th DGA Awards. Directors Guild of America Awards. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: 1994 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards. Mubi. July 5, 2021.
- Web site: The Piano – Golden Globes. HFPA. 5 July 2021. .
- Web site: The Piano (1993). 3 July 2017. Swedish Film Institute.
- Web site: 36 Years of Nominees and Winners. Independent Spirit Awards. 13 August 2021.
- Web site: Critics' Circle Film of the Year: 1980–2010. 4 December 2010. 2 July 2017. London Film Critics' Circle.
- Web site: London Film Critics Circle Awards 1994. Mubi. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: The 19th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. Los Angeles Film Critics Association. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: 1993 Award Winners. National Board of Review. 5 July 2021.
- Web site: Past Awards. 19 December 2009. 2 July 2017. National Society of Film Critics.
- Web site: 1993 New York Film Critics Circle Awards. New York Film Critics Circle. 5 July 2021.
- Cox. Dan. Laurel noms announced. Variety. 19 January 1994.
- Web site: 1993 SEFA Awards. sefca.net. 15 May 2021.
- News: 'Schindler's' Adds a Pair to the List : Awards: Spielberg epic takes more honors - for screenwriting and editing. Jane Campion's 'The Piano' also wins.. Fox. David J.. 14 March 1994. 3 July 2017. Los Angeles Times.
- Entertainment Weekly . Top 100 Soundtrack Albums . 12 October 2001 . 44.
- Web site: Hunt. Dennis. February 11, 1994 . Oscars Give Rentals New Lease on Life . Los Angeles Times.
- Web site: January 7, 1995 . Top Video Rentals . 65. Billboard.
- https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Blu-ray/dp/B0064MT1NU/ Piano [Blu-ray] (1993)
- News: Machkovech . Sam . Criterion announces support for 4K UHD Blu-ray, beginning with Citizen Kane . 12 August 2021 . Ars Technica . 11 August 2021 . en-us.
