Deluge (film)
Deluge is a Polish historical film from 1974. Directed by Jerzy Hoffman , who also worked on the script . It was the second part of a trilogy basedon the novels Henryk Sienkiewicz ', which Hoffman began in 1969 with Mr. Wołodyjowski and concluded in 1999 with With Fire and Sword . The plot is set in the Second Northern War , which is known in Poland under the name Swedish Flood, which istaken up in the film title. It is one of the most important and successful Polish films.
action
In the years 1655 to 1660, Protestant Sweden invaded Catholic Poland-Lithuania under Charles X Gustav . The cadet officer Andrzej Kmicic, who was engaged to Oleńka Billewiczówna, joined the Radziwiłł family , which had allied themselves with the Swedes. Therefore, he is viewed as a traitor by his fiancée and other nobles. He realizes too late that the Radziwiłłs are not interested in the welfare of their fatherland, but in their own interests, including taking over the Polish throne. Kmicic therefore takes Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł prisoner in order to hand him over to King John II Casimir of Poland and so exonerate himself. However, Bogusław Radziwiłł Kmicic managed to seriously injure and flee. This ends the first part of the film.
In the second part of the story, Andrzej Kmicic, who has recovered, sets off for Częstochowa with Soroka and Kiemlicz under the code name Babinicz . There he took part in the defense of the besieged Jasna Góra monastery . He is captured but escapes and reaches Silesia , where the Polish king has found refuge. After he defends the king in a battle fought in a narrow valley and almost dies in the process, he confesses his past and his actual identity to the king and is rehabilitated. John II Casimir appointed Kmicic as commander of the royal troops. In this role he takes part in various battles against the Swedes. In the Battle of Prostki he duels with Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł and takes him prisoner. In one of the following battles he is badly injured and wishes to die in familiar surroundings. However, his fiancée Oleńka gave him the strength to survive. At the end of the film, the young woman found out that she loves a hero and not a traitor.
background
Hoffman's film Deluge was the third film adaptation of Sienkiewicz's novel after two silent films from 1912 and 1915. The director worked with Adam Kersten and Wojciech Żukrowski on the script, for which historians were also consulted. Most of the shooting took place in the Soviet Union : many sets were set up in the region around Minsk , the battle scenes were shot in the Dnieper basin near Kiev . Other parts of the film were filmed in historical locations, such as the Jasna Góra Monastery. A Panavision camera was used for the film . The cameraman was Jerzy Wójcik , who previously worked for outstanding films such as Asche und Diamant and Eroica . The cast consisted of prominent Polish actors. With a total of 400 leading and supporting roles and thousands of extras, it was one of the largest Polish film productions.
The production of Deluge was the most expensive in the history of Polish film at 105 million zloty . It was the only film produced by the Zespoły Filmowe company. The five-hour film premiered in Poland on September 2, 1974, and became a huge hit with audiences. With 25 million tickets sold, it is the third most successful Polish film. In 1975, Deluge was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film , but ultimately lost to Federico Fellini's Amarcord . Deluge developed into a classic that was re-evaluated in the cinema for the tenth anniversary and is part of the traditional television program. In a vote by Polityka magazine at the end of the 20th century, the audience voted Deluge among the five most important Polish films.
After Hoffman had completed the Sienkiewicz trilogy with Fire and Sword in 1999 , he returned to the film Deluge a few years later . The Polish Film Institute sponsored the digitization and restoration of the film. Together with the film editor Marcin Bastkowski , Hoffman then created a much shorter version in order to make the film accessible to a new generation of cinema-goers. The version, shortened by over two hours, was released on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the film under the title Potop Redivivus ( Deluge: The Return ) and received approval from both critics and the public.
Web links
- Flood in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Konrad J. Zarębski, The Deluge today: time to go back to cinemas , on repozytorium.fn.org.pl.
- "Deluge Redivivus" - "Deluge Revived" , on repozytorium.fn.org.pl.
- Vladimir Gromov, Potop Redivivus: How Jerzy Hoffman Adapted Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy for the Screen , on culture.pl, February 1, 2016.
- Article on the newly edited anniversary version on artsandculture.google.com.
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Deluge Redivivus" - "Deluge Revived" , on repozytorium.fn.org.pl, accessed on March 27, 2018.
- ↑ a b Vladimir Gromov, Potop Redivivus: How Jerzy Hoffman Adapted Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy for the Screen , on culture.pl, February 1, 2016, accessed March 27, 2018.
- ↑ Information on the film at info-poland.icm.edu.pl, accessed on March 27, 2018.
- ↑ a b Konrad J. Zarębski, The Deluge today: time to go back to cinemas , on repozytorium.fn.org.pl, accessed on March 27, 2018.