The Piano, which won three Oscars including Best Picture, will air on BBC Two at midnight tonight and is a must-watch for fans of period dramas
08:00, 18 Nov 2025Updated 08:29, 18 Nov 2025
The film won best picture in 1993(Image: -)
A “masterpiece” period drama featuring a standout performance from an unrecognisable Hollywood star is set to air on BBC Two at midnight tonight.
The Piano, a tale of pianist and mute Ada McGrath ( Holly Hunter ) who arrives in Colonial New Zealand after a lengthy journey from Scotland with her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin), is not one to miss. Left with their belongings, including Ada’s piano, on the foreign shore, the mother and daughter duo face new challenges. Ada has been wedded off to Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill), a man she doesn’t warm to, instead finding solace in Maori-friendly acquaintance, George Baines (Harvey Keitel).
With a whopping 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, this Jane Campion film has earned its masterpiece status. The Piano continues to be hailed as a masterpiece, largely due to Campion’s exceptional direction. Bianca Garner notes: “It is also worth mentioning Michael Nyman’s sweeping score, and Stuart Dryburgh’s gorgeous cinematography capturing the beauty and the awe of the New Zealand landscape.”
Holly Hunter play a mute Ada McGrath(Image: Miramax)
Dann Gire agrees, saying: “The Piano is Campion’s most accessible film, yet mainstream audiences spoon-fed on formula love stories will find themselves wondrously lost in its unpredictable turns of events and its explosive, spontaneous sensibilities. This three-time Oscar winning film, including Best Picture in 1993, has IMDb users enthusing over the romantic tale.
One user rated the film 9 out of 10, saying: “The Piano is a beautiful film in many different respects. In terms of cinematography, I’ve seen few like it. It is dark and beautiful and compelling. The story seems, on paper, as a torrid love story without much originality. But the sensuous portrayal of Harvey Keitel and Holly Hunter and the complex acting of a young Anna Paquin allow this story to ring true.
“I was skeptical upon viewing a film so lauded by critics and film snobs, but found myself both moved and connected to the film that holds strangely relevant themes for modern times. It is rare that I love both a film’s visual beauty and it’s script as well. This is that rare occasion,” reports the Express.
Another viewer praised the production, commenting: “This is one of my all-time favorite films. It combines masterful scripting, cinematography, performances, and musical score into a disturbing, erotic, and ultimately uplifting piece. The movie’s heroine, wonderfully portrayed by Holly Hunter, is mute (symbolic of the fact that she has no say in her own life), with her daughter (the astonishing Anna Paquin) and her piano as her personal obsessions.
“Her conscripted husband, coldly played by Sam Neill, is trying to win her heart and her desire in all the wrong ways, while his crude tribal neighbor, sensually played by Harvey Keitel, understands her needs and ultimately captures her … physically, intellectually, and romantically.”