IMDb RATING
7.4/10
21K
YOUR RATING
A pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.A pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.A pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Richard Kanayan
- Fido Saroyan
- (as Le jeune Richard Kanayan)
Laure Paillette
- La mère
- (uncredited)
Alice Sapritch
- Concierge
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBecause no funding was available from any of the studios, François Truffaut and his crew shot the film on the fly on the streets of Paris, often making up the script as they went along. The ending was decided on the basis of who was available at the time of shooting.
- GoofsWhen Lena and Charlie walk home after work, the shadow of the camera can be seen on their coats.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Sunday Night: Don't Shoot the Composer (1966)
Featured review
Hit and miss
I read mixed reviews about this film - some interesting elements but it doesn't work completely as a whole. Having seen it recently, I would tend to agree with these comments. Shoot the Piano Player is about a famous piano player who falls in love with and loses two women who care for him. After the death of the first, his wife, he changes his name and becomes a piano player in an obscure bar where he meets the second love of his life, a waitress. There are some sub-plots regarding his criminal brothers, the kidnapping of his son and the bar-owner also falling for the same waitress.
There are very interesting individual scenes - interesting, not brilliant. On the whole, the film is a mish-mash of ideas and plots, all told very confusingly. Even if the narration had been more coherent, another problem is the visual look. There are noir themes in the narrative, but the visual style is in no way reminiscent of those films. It is more rooted in realism but has the visual look of a TV film.
I don't know! I'm still confused by this film...
There are very interesting individual scenes - interesting, not brilliant. On the whole, the film is a mish-mash of ideas and plots, all told very confusingly. Even if the narration had been more coherent, another problem is the visual look. There are noir themes in the narrative, but the visual style is in no way reminiscent of those films. It is more rooted in realism but has the visual look of a TV film.
I don't know! I'm still confused by this film...
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Schießen Sie auf den Pianisten
- Filming locations
- Garage du Dauphiné, 53 route de Lyon, Grenoble, Isère, France(Ernest and Momo push the broken down car to a gas station, now disused)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- FRF 890,063 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $21,124
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $11,206
- Apr 25, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $21,124
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Shoot the Piano Player (1960) officially released in India in English?
Answer