Synopsis
“Watch them closely, for these are the last hours of their lives,” announces a narrator, foretelling the tragedy that unfolds as a war-ravaged company of Home Army resistance fighters tries to escape the Nazi onslaught through the sewers of Warsaw. Determined to survive, the men and women slog through the hellish labyrinth, piercing the darkness with the strength of their individual spirits. Based on true events, Kanal was the first film ever made about the Warsaw Uprising and brought director Andrzej Wajda to the attention of international audiences, earning the Special Jury Prize in Cannes in 1957.
Cast
| Stokrotka (Daisy) | Teresa Izewska |
| Korab/Jacek | Tadeusz Janczar |
| Zadra | Wienczyslaw Glinski |
| Kula (Bullet) | Tadeusz Gwiazdowski |
| Smukly (Slim) | Stanislaw Mikulski |
| Madry (Wise) | Emil Karewicz |
| The composer/Michal | Wladyslaw Sheybal |
| Halinka | Teresa Berezowska |
Credits
| Director | Andrzej Wajda |
| Screenplay | Jerzy Stefan Stawinski |
| From the short story by | Jerzy Stefan Stawinski |
| Cinematography | Jerzy Lipman |
| Camera | Jerzy Wojcik |
| Second director | Kazimierz Kutz |
| Assistant directors | Anna Janeczkowa, Janusz Morgenstern, Maria Starzenska and Roman Mann |
| Production manager | Stanislaw Adler |
| Sound | Jozef Bartczak |
| Editing | Halina Nawrocka |
| Music | Jan Krenz |
Disc Features
- New, restored high-definition digital transfer
- Andrzej Wajda: On Kanal, a 27-minute exclusive new interview with the director, assistant director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
- Jan Nowak-Jezioranski: Courier from Warsaw, a new 28-minute interview by Wajda of a Warsaw Uprising insider
- Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, and posters
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A new essay by film critic John Simon
From the Current
Kanal
by Apr 25, 2005There was also, let it not be forgotten, a Polish New Wave, even if not so labeled. One of its big billows for our imagination to surf on was Andrzej Wajda’s Kanal, made in 1956 and released in 1957. It was the centerpiece of the so-called war trilogy, though not too much need be made . . .
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