The Piano Teacher (2001)
La pianiste (original title)Reference View | Change View
- R
- 2h 11min
- Drama, Music
- 31 Aug 2001 (Finland)
- Movie
A young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.
Director:
Writers:
Awards:
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 18 wins & 22 nominations.
- See more »
Reviews:
Photos and Videos
Cast
| Isabelle Huppert | ... |
Erika Kohut
|
|
| Annie Girardot | ... |
The Mother
|
|
| Benoît Magimel | ... |
Walter Klemmer
|
|
| Susanne Lothar | ... |
Mrs. Schober
|
|
| Udo Samel | ... |
Dr. George Blonskij
|
|
| Anna Sigalevitch | ... |
Anna Schober
|
|
| Cornelia Köndgen | ... |
Mme Gerda Blonskij
|
|
 |
Thomas Weinhappel | ... |
Baritone
|
| Georg Friedrich | ... |
Man in drive-in
|
|
|
|
Philipp Heiss | ... |
Naprawnik
|
|
|
William Mang | ... |
Teacher
|
|
|
Rudolf Melichar | ... |
Director
|
|
|
Michael Schottenberg | ... |
Teacher
|
|
|
Gabriele Schuchter | ... |
Margot
|
| Dieter Berner | ... |
Singing teacher
|
|
|
|
Volker Waldegg | ... |
Teacher
|
|
|
Martina Resetarits | ... |
Teacher
|
|
|
Annemarie Schleinzer | ... |
Teacher
|
|
|
Karoline Zeisler | ... |
Teacher
|
|
|
Liliana Nelska | ... |
Secretary
|
|
|
Luz Leskowitz | ... |
Violinist
|
|
|
Viktor Teuflmayr | ... |
Pianist
|
|
|
Viviane Bartsch | ... |
Woman in drive-in
(as Vivian Bartsch)
|
|
|
Florian Koban | ... |
Pupil
|
|
|
Thomas Auner | ... |
Haydn pianist
|
|
|
Andreas Donat | ... |
Chopin Pianist
|
|
|
Gerti Drassl |
|
|
|
|
Klaus Händl |
|
|
|
|
Erika Kollmann-Till | ... |
(as Erika Kollmann)
|
|
|
Nina Kripas |
|
|
|
|
Esther Pils |
|
|
|
|
Petra Reichel |
|
|
|
|
Arbesi Sufi |
|
|
|
|
Marcus Zeuner |
|
|
| Rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Eva Green | ... |
La petite amie de Walter (uncredited)
|
|
|
|
Hans-Christian Haas | ... |
Man Listening to Concert (uncredited)
|
|
|
Noam Morgensztern | ... |
The first pupil (uncredited) (voice)
|
|
|
Lisa Olah | ... |
Sex shop girl (uncredited)
|
| Nick Stellate | ... |
Kissing Couple (uncredited)
|
|
| Vitus Wieser | ... |
Klemmer's Friend (uncredited)
|
|
Directed by
| Michael Haneke | ||
Written by
| Michael Haneke | ... | () |
| Elfriede Jelinek | ... | (novel) |
Produced by
| Yvon Crenn | ... | executive producer |
| Christine Gozlan | ... | executive producer |
| Veit Heiduschka | ... | producer |
| Michael Katz | ... | executive producer |
Cinematography by
| Christian Berger | ||
Editing by
| Nadine Muse | ||
| Monika Willi | ||
Editorial Department
| Yannick Coutheron | ... | assistant editor |
| Alexander Gruber | ... | digital cinema mastering |
| Alarich Lenz | ... | assistant editor |
| Monica Parisini | ... | assistant editor |
| Franz Rabl | ... | color timer |
| Gabriele Sikuta | ... | negative cutter |
Casting By
| Kris Portier de Bellair | ||
| Markus Schleinzer | ||
Production Design by
| Christoph Kanter | ||
Set Decoration by
| Hans Wagner | ||
Costume Design by
| Annette Beaufays | ||
Makeup Department
| Françoise Andrejka | ... | makeup artist |
| Fabienne Bressan | ... | hair stylist |
| Ellen Just-Hofmann | ... | makeup artist (as Ellen Just) |
| Thi-Loan Nguyen | ... | key makeup artist |
| Michaela Payer | ... | special makeup effects artist (as Michaela Oppl) |
| Waldemar Pokromski | ... | special makeup effects artist |
Production Management
| Roman Haschberger | ... | unit production manager |
| Michael Katz | ... | production manager |
| Nathalie Kreuther | ... | executive in charge of production |
| Gebhard Zupan | ... | production manager |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
| Katharina Biró | ... | assistant director |
| Fritz Noltmann | ... | assistant director |
| Hanus Polak Jr. | ... | first assistant director |
Art Department
| Gerhard Dohr | ... | construction crew |
| Peter Dörflinger | ... | construction crew |
| Peter Ecker | ... | props |
| Katrin Huber | ... | property master |
| Fritz Martan | ... | construction coordinator |
| Hannes Salat | ... | props |
| Peter Wenhardt | ... | scenic artist |
Sound Department
| Pascal Chauvin | ... | foley artist |
| Pascal Dedeye | ... | assistant foley artist |
| Othmar Eichinger | ... | sound playback operator |
| Dominique Eyraud | ... | boom operator |
| René Kornfeld | ... | additional sound recording |
| Jean-Pierre Laforce | ... | sound mixer |
| Pedro Marques | ... | synchronisation sound engineer |
| Nadine Muse | ... | sound editor |
| Guillaume Sciama | ... | sound |
Special Effects by
| László Kovács | ... | special effects coordinator |
| Hans Wagner | ... | special effects |
Visual Effects by
| Geoffrey Kleindorfer | ... | visual effects |
Camera and Electrical Department
| Rainer Barta | ... | electrician |
| Stefan Biebl | ... | steadicam operator (as Stefan Bibl) |
| Petro Domenigg | ... | still photographer |
| Peter Drittenpreis | ... | assistant steadicam operator |
| Katharina Frank | ... | second assistant camera |
| Gerald Helf | ... | first assistant camera |
| Regina Höllbacher | ... | second assistant camera |
| Bernhard Pötscher | ... | first assistant camera |
| Harald Staudach | ... | assistant steadicam operator |
| Reinhard Vince | ... | electrician |
| Wolfgang Vince | ... | gaffer |
| Jörg Widmer | ... | steadicam operator |
| Oliver Schneider | ... | remote head operator (uncredited) |
Casting Department
| Carmen Loley | ... | casting |
Costume and Wardrobe Department
| Brigitta Fink | ... | costumer (as Brigitte Fink) |
| Tongi Liu | ... | wardrobe |
Location Management
| Roman Haschberger | ... | location manager |
Transportation Department
| Thomas Messer | ... | property driver |
Additional Crew
| Eva Jürgens | ... | production trainee |
| Andreas Kispert | ... | set manager |
| Ulrike Lässer | ... | production coordinator |
Production Companies
- Wega Film
- MK2 Productions
- Les Films Alain Sarde
- ARTE (participation)
- Arte France Cinéma
- Bavaria Film International (participation)
- Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) (participation)
- Canal+ (participation)
- Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC) (participation)
- Eurimages (participation)
- Filmfonds Wien (participation)
- Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF)
- Österreichisches Filminstitut (participation)
Distributors
- MK2 Diffusion (2001) (France) (theatrical)
- Kino International (2002) (United States) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (2001) (Canada) (theatrical)
- Alta Classics S.L. Unipersonal (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
- ArtCam (2001) (Czechia) (theatrical) (subtitled)
- Artificial Eye (2001) (United Kingdom) (theatrical) (subtitles)
- CinemaFilm (2001) (Argentina) (theatrical)
- Cinemien (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
- Concorde Filmverleih (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
- Europafilm AS (2001) (Norway) (theatrical)
- Eye Film Instituut (2019) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Intercinema Art Agency (2001) (Russia) (theatrical)
- Kamras Film Group (2001) (Finland) (theatrical)
- New Star (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Odeon (2013) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
- Rosebud (2001) (Greece) (theatrical)
- ETV 2 (2020) (Estonia) (tv)
- EuroVideo (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
- Future Film (2003) (Finland) (DVD)
- Future Film (2013) (Finland) (DVD) (11-disc Michael Haneke Collection)
- Homescreen (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
- Madman Entertainment (2002) (New Zealand) (DVD)
- Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
- Nelonen (2008) (Finland) (tv)
- Odeon (Greece) (VHS)
- The Criterion Channel (2019) (United States) (tv) (digital)
- The Criterion Collection (2017) (United States) (Blu-ray)
- The Criterion Collection (2017) (United States) (DVD)
Special Effects
- LISTO MediaServices Cine + TV Postproduction (visual effects)
Other Companies
- Cannes Film Festival (festival)
- LISTO MediaServices Cine + TV Postproduction (post-production)
- Les Audis de Boulogne (post-production)
- Moviecam (camera equipment provided by)
- Toronto International Film Festival (festival)
Storyline
| Plot Summary |
Erika Kohut is a pianist, teaching music. Schubert and Schumann are her forte, but she's not quite at concert level. She's approaching middle age, living with her mother who is domineering then submissive; Erika is a victim then combative. With her students she is severe. She visits a sex shop to watch DVDs; she walks a drive-in theater to stare at couples having sex. Walter is a self-assured student with some musical talent; he auditions for her class and is forthright in his attraction to her. She responds coldly then demands he let her lead. Next she changes the game with a letter, inviting him into her fantasies. How will he respond; how does sex have power over our other faculties?
Written by |
| Plot Keywords | |
| Taglines | Perversion at its wicked best! See more » |
| Genres | |
| Parents Guide | View content advisory » |
| Certification |
|
Additional Details
| Also Known As |
|
| Runtime |
|
| Country | |
| Language | |
| Color | |
| Aspect Ratio |
|
| Sound Mix | |
| Filming Locations |
Box Office
| Budget | ATS70,000,000 (estimated) |
| Opening Weekend France | $1,236,319, 07 Sep 2001 |
Did You Know?
| Trivia | Isabelle Huppert really played the piano in the film. She had studied piano for 12 years. As preparation for her role as a piano teacher, she resumed practicing a year before the film was started. See more » |
| Goofs | When Walter starts his piano audition; in the background, there are various teachers sitting in certain chairs. However in the following shot which is a medium-long shot of Kohut while Walter is performing; one of the female teachers is sitting in a different chair and a male teacher that was closest to Kohut is no longer sitting there but his belongings are on the chair. Then in the following shot after that, after Walter finishes his audition; the missing male teacher is back in his seat. See more » |
| Movie Connections | Featured in The 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards (2003). See more » |
| Soundtracks | Piano Sonata in A Major, D.959 See more » |
| Quotes |
Erika Kohut:
After all, love is built on banal things. See more » |