* AwardSnub: Some felt this way when ''Film/{{Chicago}}'' won Best Picture over this at the Oscars.
* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: Yes, even a grim and depressing movie like this has a chuckle-worthy moment.
-->'''Szpilman''': (''wearing Hosenfeld's coat'') Don't shoot, don't shoot! I am Polish!
-->'''Polish Soldier 1''': Yes, he's Polish.
-->'''Polish Soldier 2''': Why the fucking coat?
--> (beat)
-->'''Szpilman''': I'm cold...
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Wilm Hosenfeld. The German officer who is moved by Szpilmans performance and works to hide him.
** Szpilman's brother Henryk is well-liked, paticularly for his suggestions in the scene where the family argues about where to hide their possesions.
** The old man taking care of a bunch of local children who [[RefugeInAudacity gets away with mocking the Nazis by not acting serious]].
**RebelLeader Majorek
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Japan was the film's highest grossing foreign market. In fact, the film made almost as much money in Japan as it did in North America.
* {{Narm}}:
** Many people actually admit ''laughing'' when an old Jewish man in a wheelchair is [[DestinationDefenestration thrown to his death in the ghetto street from a balcony]] by German soldiers while it's no laughing matter at all. The scene's timing makes it involuntarily comedic, not to mention the absurd demand of the German officer to the man (ordering him to stand up while he physically can't), and the weird scream heard while the old man is falling produces some VocalDissonance.
*** Of course, it becomes far less funny when you know a thing or two about the life in occupied Poland and are thus aware that expecting a crippled man to stand up (and killing him when he doesn't) would ''definitely not'' be the most sick way of toying with their victims that Nazis came up with during their "stay" -- things like that (or even worse and even more grotesque) ''actually happened''. And when you notice that "weird scream" is actually produced by Mrs Szpilman, before she's silenced by one of her daughters. There's nothing weird about screaming when you witness a man getting brutally murdered ''for fun''.
** This is a relatively mild one, but -- "I wish I knew you better". It's true, you can always learn something knew about people you think you know well enough, but still, it's kinda weird thing to tell your own sister, with whom you've spent most of your life.
** The scene where a starving Szpilman tries to open a can of pickles plays more like a Looney Tunes skit than what has up to this point been a seriously depressing wartime drama. Whole cinemas were literally in tears of laughter watching it, only to [[MoodWhiplash nearly choke on it]] when Hosenfeld entered the picture and before it was established he was a [[TokenGoodTeammate token good Nazi.]]
* NightmareFuel: This movie is about one of the worst crimes against humanity ever. This is a given.
** There is that poor old man tossed from the balcony by the Germans because he was too feeble to stand up.
** The numerous times Szpilman barely escapes from death: surviving being deported with his family, escaping from the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, nearly being exposed by one particularly loudmouthed woman, nearly being killed when the city is leveled during the Warsaw Uprising, and finally barely escaping shot when a group of Soviet soldiers mistake him for a German soldier.
* OneSceneWonder: The woman who nearly exposes Szpilman (played by Polish actress Katarzyna Figura) is memorable for being incredibly loud and vile.
* OvershadowedByControversy: The debate about whether or not Creator/RomanPolanski should have been awarded the Best Director Oscar for this film can sometimes overshadow the film itself. On the one hand there's those who simply agree that yes, Polanski was a fully deserving winner. Others see his award as either a ConsolationAward for his even more highly-regarded works earlier in his career, or a DarkHorseVictory resulting from two of the other Best Director candidates (most likely Creator/MartinScorsese and Creator/RobMarshall) splitting the vote. And then there's those who feel that due to his controversial past, Polanski should not be considered for an Oscar or any other award.
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