The Ashes

+ intro by writer Michael Brooke

Popioły

Andrzej Wajda’s huge historical epic, unfolding across a large canvas, is an account of Poland’s participation in the Napoleonic wars.

  • Director

    Andrzej Wajda

  • With

    Daniel Olbrychski, Piotr Wysocki, Beata Tyszkiewicz

  • Poland 1965. 237min + 10-minute intermission (total running time 247min)

  • Digital (restoration)

  • English subtitles

This epic tale of the Napoleonic wars and Poles’ participation in them provides Wajda with an opportunity to consider thorny questions around heroism and patriotism. A young nobleman partakes in the conflict, fighting for Poland’s freedom while searching for his own self. Wajda worked with a higher budget and on a much larger scale to create this visually dazzling CinemaScope drama, which examines nationhood and national identity.

Restored by Fixafilm.

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