Details by Film
A Generation
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Kanal
Streaming Options
Ashes and Diamonds
Streaming Options
A Generation
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.
Kanal
“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.
Ashes and Diamonds
On the last day of World War II in a small town somewhere in Poland, Polish exiles of war and the occupying Soviet forces confront the beginning of a new day and a new Poland. In this incendiary environment we find Home Army soldier Maciek Chelmicki, who has been ordered to assassinate an incoming commissar. But a mistake stalls his progress and leads him to Krystyna, a beautiful barmaid who gives him a glimpse of what his life could be. Gorgeously photographed and brilliantly performed, Ashes and Diamonds masterfully interweaves the fate of a nation with that of one man, resulting in one of the most important Polish films of all time.
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Andrzej Wajda: On Becoming a Filmmaker, an exclusive interview with the director and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
- Andrzej Wajda: On Kanal, a 27-minute exclusive new interview with the director, assistant director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
- Audio commentary by film scholar Annette Insdorf
- Ceramics from Ilza (Ceramika Ilzecka), Wajda’s 1951 film school short
- Jan Nowak-Jezioranski: Courier from Warsaw, a new 28-minute interview by Andrzej Wajda of a Warsaw Uprising insider
- Andrzej Wajda: On Ashes and Diamonds, a 35-minute exclusive new interview with the director, second director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
- Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, posters, and original artwork by the director
- Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, and posters
- Vintage newsreel footage on the making of Ashes and Diamonds
- Booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Ewa Mazierska
- Booklet featuring a new essay by film critic John Simon
- Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, and posters
- Booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Paul Coates
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Release Notes on Restoration
The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from 35mm optical track print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.
The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from 35mm optical track print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.
The soundtrack was mastered at 24-bit from 35mm optical track print, and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss, and crackle. The Dolby Digital 1.0 signal will be directed to the center channel on 5.1-channel sound systems, but some viewers may prefer to switch to two-channel playback for a wider dispersal of the mono sound.