The Piano Teacher (2001)

[spanky87]

Academy Award–winning Austrian director Michael Haneke shifted his focus from the social to the psychological for this riveting study of female sexuality and the dynamics of control, an adaptation of a controversial 1983 novel by Elfriede Jelinek. Haneke finds his match in Isabelle Huppert, who delivers an icy but quietly seething performance as Erika, a middle-aged piano professor at a Viennese conservatory who lives with her mother, in a claustrophobically codependent relationship. Severely repressed, she satisfies her masochistic urges only voyeuristically until she meets Walter (Benoît Magimel), a young student whose desire for Erika leads to a destructive infatuation that upsets the careful equilibrium of her life. A critical breakthrough for Haneke, The Piano Teacher—which won the Grand Prix as well as dual acting awards for its stars at Cannes—is a formalist masterwork that remains a shocking sensation.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

New, restored 2K digital transfer, supervised by director Michael Haneke, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
New interview with Haneke
New interview with actor Isabelle Huppert
Selected-scene commentary from 2002 featuring Huppert
Behind-the-scenes footage of a postsync session for the film featuring Haneke and Huppert
Trailer
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by scholar Moira Weigel

https://www.criterion.com/films/28739-the-piano-teacher

[Blu_Beard]

Be still my heart.

[spanky87]

Oh my god. Finally a blu ray release with English subtitles of this legendary performance!

Sorry, Scottie, I got too excited.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Oh my god. Finally a blu ray release with English subtitles of this legendary performance!

Sorry, Scottie, I got too excited.

You're fine, my dude. I just fixed some formatting.

[Hoke Moseley]

As I said in the Criterion thread, Huppert gives one of the best performances ever here.

Very excited for the release.

[ingmog]

Absolutely love this movie. Hoping this opens the door to more of Haneke's earlier films.

[Abdrewes]

Absolutely great news. Huppert's performance in this is my pick for the greatest ever.

[The Great Owl]

Excellent news.

[javi92]

I was just thinking about this title the other day and how I needed a blu release. Nice coincidence.

[dissention]

Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

Don't f*ck up the compression, Criterion.

[anthonyls]

This movie is so dark and so good... both at the same time. So glad we are finally getting a BD of this after so many years of a poor quality DVD from Kino.

[Dick Deckard]

Awesome movie. I have a huge crush on Huppert's character in this movie.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

So is this like an erotic drama?

[dissention]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

So is this like an erotic drama?

No, it's a grim drama, there's nothing erotic about it.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by dissention

No, it's a grim drama, there's nothing erotic about it.

Sounds pretty good

[Canada]

I really liked it, so did Roger Ebert *** 1/2 .

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

I actually became a Michael Haneke fan with both TPT & Code Unknown; I saw them both in a local art house theater back in 2002.

TPT is an extremely disturbing film. This is one of the few movies I've seen in the theater that had a lot of walk-outs.

[Blu_Beard]

I had the fortune of listening to Michael Haneke give an excellent Q&A after a screening of Amour in 2012. At the time, I think the only film of his I had seen was The White Ribbon. Well, that changed in a hurry. The Piano Teacher was next, and I've never been the same. I always feel like I'm going a million miles a minute when I watch a Haneke film. He's a director that cuts right to the core of you, mercilessly.

[lolwut]

I still haven't seen this or Code Unknown. Blind buy for me. Love the original Funny Games. Seventh Continent, Cache, and Benny's Video are interesting. Didn't like White Ribbon.

[TheBoss062]

Is this anything like all the other piano movies like The Pianist or The Piano?