Jerzy Kawalerowicz

[MichaelB]

Following the recent announcement of an English-friendly Kawalerowicz box set, I thought it was probably time to produce a complete DVD/BD filmography.

So...

• The Village Mill/Gromada (1952)
• Cellulose/Celuloza (1953)
• Under the Phrygian Star/Pod gwiazdą frygijską (1954)
• Shadow/Cień (1956)
• The Real End of the Great War/Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny (1957)
• Night Train/Pociąg (1959)
• Mother Joan of the Angels/Matka Joanna od Aniołów (1961)
• Pharaoh/Faraon (1966)
• The Game/Gra (1969)
• Maddalena (1971)
• Death of a President/Śmierć prezydenta (1978)
• Encounter on the Atlantic/Spotkanie na Atlantyku (1980)
• Austeria/The Inn (1983)
• The Hostage of Europe/Jeniec Europy (1989)
• Bronstein's Children/Bronsteins Kinder (1991)
• Quo Vadis? (2001)

Comments

I don't know of any video releases anywhere of The Village Mill, The Game, Maddalena, Encounter on the Atlantic or Bronstein's Children.

The Polart DVDs of the four 1953-57 film (Cellulose, Under the Phrygian Star, Shadow, The Real End of the Great War) are much of a muchness: clearly sourced from ancient PAL analogue masters and converted to NTSC. They all look pretty hideous, but they're the only English-friendly options that I'm aware of.

Night Train is available in several editions. Avoid the Polart and older Polish releases (including the one in the 50 Years of the Polish Film School box), as the transfer is much too dark, to the point where you can barely see a thing during the pivotal scene when the passengers swarm off the train in search of the killer. English-friendly versions of the recent HD restoration by Studio Kadr include the Pro-Motion BD (a clear first choice for quality), the Second Run DVD (best for extras) and the Telewizja Kinopolska DVD box.

Mother Joan of the Angels is also available in several editions, and the same points apply. Avoid anything released prior to 2011, very much including Second Run's 2005 first effort (now OOP). In this case the restoration isn't out on Blu-ray, so the English-friendly choice is between Second Run's 2012 DVD reissue (best for extras) and the Telewizja Kinopolska DVD box.

Pharaoh also exists in several editions, but to the best of my knowledge the only English-friendly version of the recent restoration is in the Telewizja Kinopolska DVD box. Avoid anything released before 2011.

Death of a President is another Polart release - nothing to write home about, but it's the only English-friendly version that I'm aware of. I'm pretty sure the Polish DVD doesn't have subtitles.

Austeria is out on multiple Polish DVDs, though the best edition is Pro-Motion's English-friendly Blu-ray. It's also included in the Telewizja Kinopolska DVD box. Polart also releases it, but I strongly doubt that it provides any competition. Again, avoid anything released before 2010, as it won't be the HD restoration.

The Hostage of Europe is only out in Poland, and the DVD doesn't appear to have subtitles.

I haven't checked out the various versions of Quo Vadis - the TiM Film Studio DVD doesn't appear to have subtitles, which makes Polart the winner by default. However, the running time suggests that this is the extended TV version... and the trailer suggests that it's in 4:3. In other words, approach with caution. There are French and German DVDs from FIP and Euro Video that might be a better bet for the film, but they're not English-friendly.

Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland) and Malavida (France) have each put out a number of Kawalerowicz titles, but they're not English-friendly - and the Malavida releases aren't based on the recent HD restorations.

I haven't personally vetted the Telewizja Kinopolska DVD box Jerzy Kawalerowicz, but precedent suggests that all the video material (including the documentary) will have English subtitles, but the booklet will be in Polish only. It includes Night Train, Mother Joan of the Angels, Pharaoh and Austeria, plus Kacper Lisowski's 2012 documentary Whisky with Milk (Whisky z mlekiem).

[Kauno]

Can anyone say why there are "gaps" in his filmography. So few films in the 60s and 70s. I admit that I don't know the dude very well, but do like his works.

[MichaelB]

He was very heavily involved with film-industry politics, running the prestigious Kadr film unit for nearly half a century, and he was also the Chairman of the Polish Filmmakers Association from 1966-78. So he had plenty to occupy himself with besides making his own films!

Explanations for specific gaps:

Early 1960s: Unlike any of his previous productions, Pharaoh took several years to make.

Late 1960s: He intended to shoot Austeria after completing Pharaoh, but couldn't get it greenlit in a background of increasing officially-sanctioned anti-Semitism (this was the period when Polish President Władysław Gomułka expelled numerous Jews from the country).

1970s: Unhappy with how The Game and Maddalena turned out, he seems to have thrown his energies into his administrative activities instead.

Mid-1980s: He was ostracised by many in the Polish film industry after condemning pro-Solidarity filmmakers, although at least this was after he managed to get Austeria made (one of his most personal projects, and allegedly his last really important film, though I haven't personally seen the later ones).

1990s: The Polish film industry was in dire financial straits following the collapse of Communism, so it was very hard for anyone, however distinguished their track record, to get projects off the ground unless they had a good relationship with a foreign backer (for instance Kieślowski).

Does that help?

[Kauno]

Dzięki za Polski i Angielski tekst.

[knives]

The US disc of Quo Vadis is perfectly good if not great.