• Poland
  • 1955
  • 87 minutes
  • Black and White
  • 1.33:1
  • Polish
  •  
  • Spine #283

Stach is a wayward teen living in squalor on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Guided by an avuncular Communist organizer, he is introduced to the underground resistance—and to the beautiful Dorota. Soon he is engaged in dangerous efforts to fight oppression and indignity, maturing as he assumes responsibility for others’ lives. A coming-of-age story of survival and shattering loss, A Generation delivers a brutal portrait of the human cost of war.

Credits

DirectorAndrzej Wajda
ScreenplayBohdan Czeszko
Based on the novel byBohdan Czeszko
CinematographyJerzy Lipman
CameraStefan Matyjaszkiewicz
Second directorKonrad Nalecki
Assistant directorKazimierz Kutz
Production designRoman Mann
Production managerIgnacy Taub
SoundJozef Koprowicz
EditingCzeslaw Raniszewski
MusicAndrzej Markowski
Artistic supervisorAleksander Ford

Disc Features

  • New, restored high-definition digital transfer
  • Andrzej Wajda: On Becoming a Filmmaker, an exclusive interview with the director and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
  • Ceramics from Ilza (Ceramika Ilzecka), Wajda’s 1951 film school short
  • Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, posters, and original artwork by the director
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Plus: A new essay by film scholar Ewa Mazierska

Film Essays

A Generation: Wajda on War

By Ewa MazierskaApril 25, 2005

Andrzej Wajda’s first feature film, A Generation, made in 1954, marks the beginning of the . . . Read more »

Film Essays

A Generation: Wajda on War

By Ewa MazierskaApril 25, 2005

Andrzej Wajda’s first feature film, A Generation, made in 1954, marks the beginning of the . . . Read more »