Fresh
Only Wajda, though, could muster such a mood, with everyone feeding on smoke and booze, and the assembled company, at the end, dancing to a cracked polonaise.
Anthony Lane, New Yorker
Ashes and Diamonds
Touched with the fire and rebellion of a new generation of Polish film makers
1958 · 1h 43m · Not Rated
Drama, Romance, War
Directed by
Andrzej Wajda
Free account saves your watchlist and ratings.
Ashes and Diamonds
Overview
A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.
Director and cast
- Andrzej Wajda Director
- Zbigniew Cybulski as Maciek Chelmicki
- Ewa Krzyżewska as Krystyna
- Wacław Zastrzeżynski as Szczuka
- Adam Pawlikowski as Andrzej
- Bogumił Kobiela as Drewnowski
- Jan Ciecierski as portier hotelowy
- Stanisław Milski Cast
- Artur Młodnicki Cast
- Halina Kwiatkowska Cast
- Ignacy Machowski Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
96%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Taut thriller about immediate postwar Poland also has a heavier theme of the futility of killing and violence. Its technical knowhow, fine acting and directorial prowess make this an above average drama.
Variety Staff, Variety
Fresh
Zbigniew Cybulski as the hero is sensitive, attractive and alert -- a lad with humor and compassion. One is strongly drawn to him.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Fresh
Wajda tends toward harsh and overstated imagery, but he achieves a fascinating psychological rapport with his lead actor, Zbigniew Cybulski.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Honest, brutally powerful and often shocking.
TIME Magazine
More films
Warsaw 44 (2014)
Drama · History · War · N/A
City of Warsaw, Poland, August 1st, 1944. Citizens have experienced inhuman acts of terror and violence during five long years of Nazi occupation. As the Soviet Army relentlessly approaches, the youngest and bravest among them rise up as one and face tyranny fighting street by street, but the price to pay will be high and hard the way ...
- Runtime
- 2h 7m
- Director
- Jan Komasa
- Cast
- Józef Pawłowski, Zofia Wichłacz, Anna Próchniak
IMDb
6.7
Katyn (2007)
Drama · History · War · Not Rated
On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years ...
- Runtime
- 2h 2m
- Director
- Andrzej Wajda
- Cast
- Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Żmijewski
IMDb
7.0
Rotten Tomatoes
91%
Metacritic
81
With Fire and Sword (1999)
Drama · Romance · War · N/A
In the mid-17th century, Poland was the largest, most democratic, and most tolerant country in Europe. However, a tragic civil war brought about the gradual decline of the once glorious republic... An epic story about the Cossack rebellion against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- Runtime
- 2h 55m
- Director
- Jerzy Hoffman
- Cast
- Izabella Scorupco, Alexandr Domogarov, Michał Żebrowski
IMDb
7.1
Hurricane (2018)
Action · Drama · War · Not Rated
Polish pilots overcome prejudice to fight against the Luftwaffe with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in the hope of protecting both Great Britain and their own Poland from the German advance.
- Runtime
- 1h 47m
- Cast
- Iwan Rheon, Milo Gibson, Stefanie Martini
IMDb
5.9
Rotten Tomatoes
83%
Filip (2023)
Drama · History · War · N/A
During World War II, a Polish food server at a luxury German hotel tempts fate as he romances local women while hiding his Jewish identity.
- Runtime
- 1h 59m
- Director
- Michał Kwieciński
- Cast
- Eryk Kulm, Victor Meutelet, Caroline Hartig
IMDb
6.9
The Four Robinsons (1939)
Comedy · N/A
Four friends pretend a cruise to escape their wives and go clubbing, but they are forced to go through face-saving shipwreck, becoming castaways.
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Director
- Eduardo García Maroto
- Cast
- Antonio Vico, Mary Santpere, Fernando Rey
IMDb
5.8
La mantilla de Beatriz (1946)
Drama · Romance · N/A
In XVII century Portugal two friends change identities so one of them can escape an unwanted marriage to Beatriz.
- Runtime
- 1h 27m
- Director
- Eduardo García Maroto
- Cast
- Virgílio Teixeira, Margarita Andrey, María Isbert
Comments
Talk about the film with other members