Netflix to Remove Oscar-Winning Film Next Month

The Oscar-winning Holocaust drama The Pianist is leaving Netflix on Thursday, Sept. 30. It is part of a big group of films leaving the streaming platform that day, including Boogie Nights, Air Force One, and the three Austin Powers movies. The Pianist hit theaters in 2002 and is known for featuring Adrien Brody's Oscar-winning performance as the Polish-Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman.

The Pianist was directed by Roman Polanski, who received the Best Director Oscar for the film, despite his legal controversy. Polanski could not accept the award in person because he is still considered a fugitive by the U.S. justice system. He left the U.S. in 1978 when he was still waiting sentencing for unlawful intercourse with a minor. In May 2018, Polanski was removed from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences during the Me Too movement. Polanski's attempts to rejoin AMPAS have been denied. Despite this scandal, he continues to make movies. In April, Variety reported that Italian broadcaster RAI's film studio agreed to back Polanksi's latest project, The Palace.

Brody also won an Oscar for his performance as Szpilman. He was only 29 at the time and still holds the record for the youngest Best Actor Oscar winner. The Pianist's cast also included Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, and Jessica Kate Meyer. Ronald Harwood won the film's third Oscar, thanks to his screenplay, adapted from Szpilman's memoir. The Pianist was also nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Picture. It lost Best Picture to Chicago.

The Pianist is not the only Oscar-winning movie leaving Netflix at the end of September. Stephen Frears' The Queen is leaving on Sept. 30 as well. The movie serves as a fine companion to The Crown though, as it was also written by Peter Morgan. Helen Mirren won the 2006 Best Actress Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth II in the movie, which centers on her response to Princess Diana's death. Michael Sheen also stars as Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Other movies leaving on Sept. 30 are Air Force One, Austin Powers in Goldmember, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Boogie Nights, Cradle 2 the Grave, Fools Rush In, Insidious, the two Kung Fu Panda movies, No Strings Attached, Prom Night, and Why Do Fools Fall in Love. The three Karate Kid movies are leaving as well, which is strange since Netflix is the home of the sequel series, Kobra Kai.