The Pianist Page #26

At the far end, at the T-junction with a main road, a tram

rumbles down the street and comes to a halt, disgorging

passengers on the far side and so out of sight.

The tram continues on its way, now revealing the few

passengers who alighted '97 women, an old man with a stick.

Last, three young Poles, carrying long objects wrapped in

newspaper.

One of the men looks at his watch, glances around, then

suddenly kneels and puts the package he's carrying to his

shoulder. The sound of rapid firing, which makes the

newspaper at the end of the packet glow to reveal the barrel

of a machine gun.

His two companions have also put their packages to their

shoulders and begin shooting, all aiming their fire at the

Schutzpolizei building.

The sentry is hit and falls in front of his box.

As if these young men have given a signal, now from all

over the city comes the sound of gunfire.

The pedestrians have scattered except for the old man,

gasping for breath, hobbling on his walking stick, who

eventually manages to disappear inside a building.

Rifle and machine-gun fire from the Schutzpolizei building.

The firing intense. The three young Poles manoeuvre to the

corner opposite the Schutzpolizei and toss grenades into

the building.

EXT. DOWN IN THE STREET - DAY

A battle raging.

The Germans firing from the hospital.

The three young Poles have been joined by other fighters

and they the Schutzpolizei building.

Grenades thrown, machine-gun fire exchanged.

The sentry box blows up, splinters of wood cascading. A

couple of Poles make a dash for it and enter a building

opposite to the Schutzpolizei.

EXT./INT. 2ND APARTMENT - SZPILMAN'S POV - DAY

Szpilman watching from his window, looks in the opposite

direction and sees smoke rising.

When he turns back to look towards the T-junction, he sees

a Panzerfaust anti-tank rocket firer poking out from a

window in the next-door building but on the floor below.

The Panzerfaust fires. The shell hits the hospital.

EXT. CITY SKYLINE - NIGHT

The city in flames.

Sound of firing becoming sporadic, less intense. Isolated

explosions.

INT. 2ND APARTMENT - NIGHT

Szpilman, lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

EXT. 2ND APARTMENT - SZPILMAN'S POV - DAY

The interior of the Schutzpolizei building burnt to cinders.

An ambulance is being loaded with patients from the

hospital.

A horse-drawn cab rounds a corner and clatters down the

street.

INT./EXT. 2ND APARTMENT - SZPILMAN'S POV - DAY

Szpilman at the window, watching.

The horse-drawn cab clatters out of his sight. He is about

to draw back when he sees, directly beneath him, a man and

woman walking with their hands in the air. Then, a German

soldier, pointing his rifle at their backs, appears.

Suddenly, the man and woman begin to run.

The man turns and disappears. The woman also turns, but

the German soldier drops to one knee and fires.

The woman clutches her stomach, drops slowly to her knees

and collapses on the street in an awkward kneeling position,

and that's how she remains.

Szpilman watches, aghast. Then, he hears voices outside

his door, shouts, footsteps, panic.

THE APARTMENT:

He runs to his front door and listens.

VOICES:

(confused)

Where? Where? Just get out!

Everywhere! Get out into the street!

More clatter of footsteps. Then:

A MAN'S VOICE

Get out now! The Germans have

surrounded the building! They're

going to blow us to pieces.

Footsteps descending stairs, more shouts, and:

THE MAN'S VOICE

(further off)

Everyone out, please! Leave your

flats at once, please!

Szpilman runs to the door, tries it but it's padlocked and

he can't open the door.

In panic, he runs back to the window.

His eyes grow wide with terror.

SZPILMAN'S POV:
AGAIN THE STREET.

A German tank bringing its gun to bear on the building

next to his.

The gun jerks back and there's a great roaring noise.

The whole building shakes. Szpilman reek back, falls, gets

to his feet and crawls back to the window.

He sees the tank turret swivelling slowly, bringing the

gun to bear directly on a lower floor of his building. The

roaring noise again.

A terrific explosion. His windows are shattered. Glass

everywhere. He is thrown back across the room. Smoke begins

to billow and fill the room.

INT. 2ND APARTMENT AND ADJOINING APARTMENT - DAY

Smoke filling the room. Szpilman gets to his knees, peers

through the smoke and sees that the wall separating his

apartment from the one next door has been partially

destroyed, with a large hole blasted in it. He stumbles

into the next-door apartment and out of the front door.

INT. 4TH AND 5TH FLOOR LANDINGS - DAY

Smoke everywhere. Szpilman staggers up to the fifth-floor

landing. There's a metal attic door.

Szpilman pushes open the door and steps into the attic.

INT. ATTIC - DAY

The roof space with laundry drying on lines. Szpilman enters

the attic, closes the door, leans on it.

GERMAN VOICE:

Fourth floor, Fischke!

He looks round, sees that the roof has been shattered,

leaving a large, jagged gap. He climbs through the gap, on

to the roof at the back of the building.

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