Campion never underestimates the power physical obsession exerts over human souls, and, for once, a modern film treats erotic passion honestly.
Comment
06/24/06
The Piano (1993)
89
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:45
Fresh:40
Rotten:5
Average Rating:8/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This controversially erotic film from New Zealand established screenwriter-director Jane Campion as a universally recognized talent. Holly Hunter stars as Ada, a mute 19th-century woman sent to New... [More]
Starring: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin
Director: Jane Campion
Reviews for The Piano
Top CriticThe Piano deserves its place as a classic.
11/03/05
Top CriticCampion's pet themes and ideas never came together with more physical clarity and emotional resonance than they did with her 1993 masterpiece.
06/14/04
[A] good film to watch, but only if we can stop thinking that it should have been much better.
01/01/00
The wonder of The Piano is that such an outwardly simple story could emerge into such a complex swirl of lingering memories.
01/01/00
The Piano is a solid motion picture with a universal message and occasional splashes of genius, but it is remarkable only as Holly Hunter's performance is concerned.
01/01/00
A stunning mood piece and a haunting adult fairy tale.
08/18/09
The Piano is the most sense-luscious film to reach the screen in years. It shows how soul is realized through a fusion of body, desire and passion.
07/12/03
The Piano is the most sense-luscious film to reach the screen in years. It shows how soul is realized through a fusion of body, desire and passion.
07/12/03
Ms. Campion somehow suggests states of mind you've never before recognized on the screen.
05/20/03
Top CriticThe Piano is as peculiar and haunting as any film I've seen.
01/01/00
Top Critic[An] evocative, powerful, extraordinarily beautiful film from the Australian director Jane Campion.
01/01/00
I fully expect that there will be many who disagree, but Harvey Keitel and the Emperor are dressed just alike.
01/01/00
What linger in memory are the fable's surreal imagery and attention to detail, capturing a place and time--New Zealand outpost in 19th century--in which one mute person (the brilliant Holly Hunter) finds the true meaning of womanhood against all odds.
06/10/07
Forbidden romance on a deserted, cold, and rainy island? Sign me up.
01/01/00
One of the most haunting films of the year.
01/01/00
This is a dark and depressing show about the evils of life. Depressing shows can be quite rewarding as this film proves.
01/01/00
It's often incorrectly reduced to a feminist fable, but the scope of Jane Campion's achievement is broader. If anything The Piano is a masterwork of humanism.
05/15/08
Sweetie and An Angel at My Table have taught us to expect startling as well as beautiful things from Jane Campion, and this assured and provocative third feature (1993) offers yet another lush parable.
05/10/07
The film is brought slowly together by Jane Campion's masterful direction...
01/01/00
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