Production
Casting the role of Ada was a difficult process. Sigourney Weaver was Campion's first choice, but she turned down the role because she was taking a break from film at the time. Jennifer Jason Leigh was also considered but she couldn't meet with Campion to read the script because she was committed to shooting the film Rush. Isabelle Huppert met with Jane Campion and had vintage period-style photographs taken of her as Ada, and later said she regretted not fighting for the role as Hunter did.
The casting for Flora occurred after Hunter had been selected for the part. They did a series of open auditions for girls age 9 to 13, focusing on girls who were small enough to be believable as Ada's daughter (as Holly Hunter is a rather short actress at 5' 2").
Alistair Fox has argued that The Piano was significantly influenced by Jane Mander's The Story of a New Zealand River. The movie also serves as a retelling of the fairytale Bluebeard, which is hinted at further in the inclusion of Bluebeard as a piece of the Christmas pageant.
Read more about this topic: The Piano
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“Perestroika basically is creating material incentives for the individual. Some of the comrades deny that, but I can’t see it any other way. In that sense human nature kinda goes backwards. It’s a step backwards. You have to realize the people weren’t quite ready for a socialist production system.”
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—John Dewey (1859–1952)