Brody, who took piano lessons as a child from his mother, practised diligently in preparation for his role. Other leading players are Thomas Kretschmann, the German officer who saves Szpilman's life, while British actors Frank Finlay and Maureen Lipman have supporting roles. The soundtrack is to include pieces from Frederick Chopin, and other compositions from the standard pianistic repertoire, as well as original compositions from Wojciech Kilar in the film score. Der Pianist is the third big European production prepared and partly filmed at the former East German Defa Studios, following its reconstruction and revival as a film and television production centre. Other recent Babelsberg productions include Enemy at the Gates, the opener at this year's Berlin International film festival, and the above mentioned Taking Sides .
Life is a cabaret . . .
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