In no particular order, I give you 5 of my favorite movies featuring pianos: 1. The Legend of 1900: Tim Roth has always been a favorite of mine and in this French-directed parable he steals the show. Born on a ship in the year 1900, he manages to become quite the famous pianist and all without ever getting off the ship. The piano duel with Jelly Roll Mortenson (played by Clarence Williams III) is one one my favorite scenes in any movie, ever.

2. The Pianist: This Roman Polanski directed "piece" takes a different approach to the WWII genocide and concentrates on one man's survival. Played marvelously by Adrien Brody, the pianist manages to survive by scavenging and ultimately wins favor from a Nazi commander by performing for him.

3. Amadeus: It is, as expected, the story of possibly the greatest composer in history. Quite interesting and I found it very educational not having known a great deal about Mozart going in. True stories are always doubly inspiring.

4. Shine: If you've recently seen The King's Speech, then you know Geoffrey Rush is fantastic. If you see this movie, you will realize he's always been fantastic. Chronicling the true life story of David Helfgott who Rush portrays appropriately cooky, charismatic and completely engaging through the whole film. Again, hard to beat true life.

5. Casablanca: One might ask why put this in a piano list, but underneath the perfect casting, perfect script and perfect delivery is a soundtrack brought to our attention by the scene-stealing piano player, Sam. (played by Dooley Wilson) He forever burned "As Time Goes By" into our memory and made us all say, "Play it again Sam." This is, by a far margin, my favorite movie.