Wajda takes three young entrepreneurs and follows their greed and ambition to toxic capitalism’s logical conclusion in this queasily disturbing satire
Andrzej Wajda’s queasily compelling film from 1975, adapted by him from a novel by Wladysław Reymont, is an expressionist comic opera of toxic capitalism and bad faith, carried out by jittery entrepreneurs whose skills include insider trading, worker-exploitation and burning down failing businesses for the insurance. It is set in late 19th-century Łódź, a supposed promised land of free enterprise, whose night skies are shown by Wajda as more or less permanently red with factories set ablaze.
Our three gruesome heroes are Karol (Daniel Olbrychski) who is a Pole, Maks (Andrzej Seweryn) who is German, and Moryc (Wojciech Pszoniak) who is Jewish; this last being considered in these times effectively a separate nationality, and in fact the uneasy suspicion between these identities creates something a little like the mood in Danzig,...
Andrzej Wajda’s queasily compelling film from 1975, adapted by him from a novel by Wladysław Reymont, is an expressionist comic opera of toxic capitalism and bad faith, carried out by jittery entrepreneurs whose skills include insider trading, worker-exploitation and burning down failing businesses for the insurance. It is set in late 19th-century Łódź, a supposed promised land of free enterprise, whose night skies are shown by Wajda as more or less permanently red with factories set ablaze.
Our three gruesome heroes are Karol (Daniel Olbrychski) who is a Pole, Maks (Andrzej Seweryn) who is German, and Moryc (Wojciech Pszoniak) who is Jewish; this last being considered in these times effectively a separate nationality, and in fact the uneasy suspicion between these identities creates something a little like the mood in Danzig,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Andrzej Wajda Film School lecturer Volker Schlöndorff on the Return to Montauk set in New York Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In Volker Schlöndorff's tribute to Andrzej Wajda, who died on Sunday, October 9, 2016, he recalls the impact he had on him and the actors the legendary director worked with, including Hannah Schygulla, Gerard Depardieu, Krystyna Janda, Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak and Andrzej Chyra.
Andrzej Wajda on the set of Kanal
Volker has been teaching at the Andrzej Wajda Film School and in his remembrance he gives us an intimate portrait of a filmmaker who impressed him early on with Kanal, Ashes And Diamonds and The Promised Land, and even more later in life when he got to know the man behind the films.
Andrzej Wajda received an honorary Oscar in 2000 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
"It is going to be a heavy walk and a beautiful day...
In Volker Schlöndorff's tribute to Andrzej Wajda, who died on Sunday, October 9, 2016, he recalls the impact he had on him and the actors the legendary director worked with, including Hannah Schygulla, Gerard Depardieu, Krystyna Janda, Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak and Andrzej Chyra.
Andrzej Wajda on the set of Kanal
Volker has been teaching at the Andrzej Wajda Film School and in his remembrance he gives us an intimate portrait of a filmmaker who impressed him early on with Kanal, Ashes And Diamonds and The Promised Land, and even more later in life when he got to know the man behind the films.
Andrzej Wajda received an honorary Oscar in 2000 from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
"It is going to be a heavy walk and a beautiful day...
- 10/12/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze and Volker Schlöndorff
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Ratings (out of five): ***
Directed by Andrzej Wajda -- a four-time nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, as well as the maker of the masterpiece Ashes and Diamonds (1958) -- Korczak is a Holocaust picture and a biopic about a real-life Polish hero. Janusz Korczak (played by Wojciech Pszoniak) was a teacher, author, and doctor who took it upon himself to care for 200 orphans during the Nazi occupation of Poland in WWII. As far as I can tell, Korczak never received a release in the United States, other than possible festival dates. Now Kino has graced it with a new DVD and Blu-ray release.
Ratings (out of five): ***
Directed by Andrzej Wajda -- a four-time nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, as well as the maker of the masterpiece Ashes and Diamonds (1958) -- Korczak is a Holocaust picture and a biopic about a real-life Polish hero. Janusz Korczak (played by Wojciech Pszoniak) was a teacher, author, and doctor who took it upon himself to care for 200 orphans during the Nazi occupation of Poland in WWII. As far as I can tell, Korczak never received a release in the United States, other than possible festival dates. Now Kino has graced it with a new DVD and Blu-ray release.
- 8/21/2012
- by weezy
- GreenCine
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Aug. 14, 2012
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $34.95
Studio: Kino Lorber
Henryk Goldszmit is Polish icon Korczak.
Academy Award winning Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda (Katyn) directs the 1990 biographical film drama Korczak.
In the 1930s, Henryk Goldszmit became a Polish icon through his writings, teachings, and radio programs for children, which he created under the name of Janusz Korczak. In later years, when the Nazis invaded Poland, the Jewish Korczak and his orphans are moved into the newly formed Ghettos, where he scrounged for food and vainly tried to protect the children from the violence and famine outside their walls. When the kids from his Warsaw orphanage were deported to the gas chambers of Treblinka, Korczak refused to abandon them, and with them he died in the Holocaust.
Written by Agnieszka Holland (In Darkness) and shot in stunning black-and-white by Robby Muller (Dead Man), Korczak stars Wojciech Pszoniak as the kind and fiercely committed Pole.
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $34.95
Studio: Kino Lorber
Henryk Goldszmit is Polish icon Korczak.
Academy Award winning Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda (Katyn) directs the 1990 biographical film drama Korczak.
In the 1930s, Henryk Goldszmit became a Polish icon through his writings, teachings, and radio programs for children, which he created under the name of Janusz Korczak. In later years, when the Nazis invaded Poland, the Jewish Korczak and his orphans are moved into the newly formed Ghettos, where he scrounged for food and vainly tried to protect the children from the violence and famine outside their walls. When the kids from his Warsaw orphanage were deported to the gas chambers of Treblinka, Korczak refused to abandon them, and with them he died in the Holocaust.
Written by Agnieszka Holland (In Darkness) and shot in stunning black-and-white by Robby Muller (Dead Man), Korczak stars Wojciech Pszoniak as the kind and fiercely committed Pole.
- 7/26/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0 Chicago – The Criterion Collection expanded by two titles recently and fans of Andrzej Wajda and Roberto Rossellini will be happy to see two of their films in slots #463 and #464 in the most acclaimed series of DVDs in the history of the format. Rossellini’s “Il Generale Della Rovere” and Wajda’s “Danton” might not be as high-profile films as some recent Criterion releases, but they have been given the typically spectacular treatment that this company has been known for over the years.
Rossellini’s “Il Generale Della Rovere” is a transition film from one of the fathers of neorealism’s more human films of the ’40s and ’50s to his historically-based work of the ’60s and ’70s. The director is still most known for that early period with “Rome, Open City” being required viewing for anyone with the guts to call themselves a film historian.
Danton was released...
Rossellini’s “Il Generale Della Rovere” is a transition film from one of the fathers of neorealism’s more human films of the ’40s and ’50s to his historically-based work of the ’60s and ’70s. The director is still most known for that early period with “Rome, Open City” being required viewing for anyone with the guts to call themselves a film historian.
Danton was released...
- 4/13/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
DVD Playhouse—April 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Milk (Universal) Sean Penn deservedly captured his second Best Actor Oscar (and Dustin Lance Black a statuette for his original screenplay) in director Gus Van Sant’s portrait of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office in the U.S. Alternately heartbreaking, infuriating and very funny, a film that both captures a bygone era and is still very timely. Fine support from Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, James Franco and Emile Hirsch. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Three featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
Slumdog Millionaire (20th Century Fox) The Best Picture of 2008 is a kinetic, clever audience-pleaser about a determined lad (Dev Patel) from the slums of Mumbai, who has his chance at literal and financial redemption as a contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Best Director Danny Boyle dazzles...
By
Allen Gardner
Milk (Universal) Sean Penn deservedly captured his second Best Actor Oscar (and Dustin Lance Black a statuette for his original screenplay) in director Gus Van Sant’s portrait of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to hold public office in the U.S. Alternately heartbreaking, infuriating and very funny, a film that both captures a bygone era and is still very timely. Fine support from Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, James Franco and Emile Hirsch. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Three featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS 5.1 surround.
Slumdog Millionaire (20th Century Fox) The Best Picture of 2008 is a kinetic, clever audience-pleaser about a determined lad (Dev Patel) from the slums of Mumbai, who has his chance at literal and financial redemption as a contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Best Director Danny Boyle dazzles...
- 4/11/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
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