IMDb > Kanal (1957)

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Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   1,949 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Contact:
View company contact information for Kanal on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 April 1957 (Poland) more
Genre:
Plot:
A symbolic depiction of hell on Earth, set in the last days of the Warsaw uprising in 1944. Lieutenant... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
War Costs: Andrzej Wajda’s “Katyn”
 (From indieWIRE. 18 February 2009, 4:01 AM, PST)

On DVD: Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy, "Shadow"
 (From IFC. 23 September 2008, 11:36 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A Few Additional Notes more (14 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Teresa Izewska ... Stokrotka
Tadeusz Janczar ... Ens. Jacek 'Korab'
Wienczyslaw Glinski ... Lt. 'Zadra'
Tadeusz Gwiazdowski ... Sgt. 'Kula'
Stanislaw Mikulski ... Smukly
Emil Karewicz ... Lt. 'Madry'
Vladek Sheybal ... Michal 'Ogromny', the composer (as Wladyslaw Sheybal)
Teresa Berezowska ... Halinka
Zofia Lindorf ... Old woman looking for her daughter
Janina Jablonowska ... Woman
Maria Kretz ... Wounded Woman
Jan Englert ... Zefir
Kazimierz Dejunowicz ... Capt. 'Zabawa'
Zdzislaw Lesniak ... Maly
Maciej Maciejewski ... Lt. 'Gustaw'
more
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Canal (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Kanał (Poland)
Kanal (USA)
They Loved Life
more
Runtime:
91 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director Andrzej Wajda was himself a fighter in the Polish resistance movement against the Nazis in World War II and several scenes in the film were based on his experiences. more
Quotes:
Narrator: These are the tragic heroes: watch them closely in the remaining hours of their lives. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Andrzej Wajda: On Kanal (2005) (V) more

FAQ

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful.
A Few Additional Notes, 19 January 2007
Author: warsawer from X

I think everyone who saw this film knows that it's a masterpiece, but maybe not everyone knows how authentic the film is. The writer of the screenplay - Jerzy Stefan Stawinski - is in fact the Lieutenant Zadra responsible for his platoon. Stawinski wrote down his own war experiences here with impressing honesty.

Another thing that may be interesting in this film is the main female character - Daisy. She isn't supposed to be a superwoman as some suggested. In fact there were several thousands of women fighting in this uprising. All of them that survived it were given the status of soldiers by Germans. It was the first time in the world's history when women received such a status. During the uprising many of them were carrying mail via sewers, so Daisy is rather a typical character in this role. It would be more surprising if the guide was a man.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Kanal (1957)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
A Story That Screams To Be Heard. WillyHill
composer bumpernumberone
Avoid the Polart DVD gregfoley
Footage under credits rmoba13
again in Cannes 2007 Pure-Form
A sad story of sacrafice... monster-b
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