Kanal (1957)

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writers:

Jerzy Stefan Stawinski (screenplay)
Jerzy Stefan Stawinski (story)

Release Date:

20 April 1957 (Poland)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A symbolic depiction of hell on Earth, set in the last days of the Warsaw uprising in 1944. Lieutenant...

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Sewer | WWII | Canal | Downtown

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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'

Also Known As:

Canal (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Kanał (Poland)
Kanal (USA)
They Loved Life

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Dluga Street, Warsaw, Poland

Company:

Zespól Filmowy "Kadr"

Trivia:

A lot of the film's crew members took part in the 1944 Warsaw uprising (e.g. cinematographer Jerzy Lipman or actor Tadeusz Janczar). Screenwriter Jerzy Stefan Stawinski used the sewers during the uprising in order to get from the southern district of Mokotów to the city center. As he said in an interview, each character in the film has at least one equivalent of a real-life insurgent he was acquainted with.

Quotes:

Narrator: These are the tragic heroes: watch them closely in the remaining hours of their lives.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Andrzej Wajda: On Kanal (2005) (V)

It is relentless

"Kanal" (Polish, 1957): This is the second of Andrzej Wajda's trilogy about WWII in Poland. I love the photography – the light, the angles, the flowing camera movements. "Kanal" is about a group of resistance fighters and civilians who, out of necessity, band together to fight (what appears to be a losing battle) against the oncoming Nazis. First set in an incredibly bleak ruin of Warsaw, the story and acting only intensify as they begrudgingly try to escape through the underground sewer system. This one will take it out of you. It is relentless. It is relentless. It is relentless. It is relentless. Relentless. Relentless. Relentless. Relentless. Relentless. Relentless.