Andrzej Wajda

Ashes and Diamonds

Ashes and Diamonds

A milestone of Polish cinema, this electrifying international sensation by Andrzej Wajda—the final film in his celebrated war trilogy—entwines the story of one man’s moral crisis with the fate of a nation. In a small Polish town on the final day of World War II, Maciek (the coolly charismatic Zbigniew Cybulski), a fighter in the underground anti-Communist resistance movement, has orders to assassinate an incoming commissar. But when he meets and falls for a young barmaid (Ewa Krzyżewska), he begins to question his commitment to a cause that requires him to risk his life. Ashes and Diamonds’ lustrous monochrome cinematography—wreathed in shadows, smoke, and fog—and spectacularly choreographed set pieces lend a breathtaking visual dynamism to this urgent, incendiary vision of a country at a crossroads in its struggle for self-determination.

Film Info

  • Poland
  • 1958
  • 103 minutes
  • Black & White
  • 1.66:1
  • Polish
  • Spine #285

Special Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Audio commentary from 2004 featuring film scholar Annette Insdorf
  • New video essay by Insdorf on the film’s legacy
  • Andrzej Wajda: On “Ashes and Diamonds,” a 2005 program featuring director Andrzej Wajda, second director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
  • Archival newsreel footage on the making of the film
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Paul Coates

    New cover illustrated by Danijel Zezelj, with lettering by Jillian Adel

Purchase Options

Collector's Sets

Collector's Set

Andrzej Wajda: Three War Films

Andrzej Wajda: Three War Films

DVD Box Set

3 Discs

$63.96

Collector's Set

Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films

Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films

DVD Box Set

50 Discs

$650.00

Out Of Print

Special Features

  • New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
  • Audio commentary from 2004 featuring film scholar Annette Insdorf
  • New video essay by Insdorf on the film’s legacy
  • Andrzej Wajda: On “Ashes and Diamonds,” a 2005 program featuring director Andrzej Wajda, second director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
  • Archival newsreel footage on the making of the film
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by film scholar Paul Coates

    New cover illustrated by Danijel Zezelj, with lettering by Jillian Adel
Ashes and Diamonds
Cast
Zbigniew Cybulski
Maciek Chelmicki
Ewa Krzyzewska
Krystyna
Waclaw Zastrzezynski
Szczuka
Adam Pawlikowski
Andrzej
Bogumil Kobiela
Drewnowski
Jan Ciecierski
Porter
Stanislaw Milski
Pieniazek
Artur Mlodnicki
Kotowicz
Halina Kwiatkowska
Mrs. Staniewicz
Ignacy Machowski
Major Florian
Zbigniew Skowronski
Slomka
Barbara Krafftowna
Stefka
Aleksander Sewruk
Święcki
Adolf Chronicki
Franek
Credits
Director
Andrzej Wajda
Screenplay
Andrzej Wajda
Screenplay
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Director of photography
Jerzy Wojcik
Editing
Halina Nawrocka
Based on the novel by
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Sound
Bogdan Bienkowski
Music conducted by
Filip Nowak
Production design
Roman Mann
Camera
Krzsztof Winiewicz
Camera
Bogdan Myslinski
Camera
Jerzy Szurowski
Camera
Zygmunt Krusznicki
Camera
Wieslaw Zdort

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