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Ashes and Diamonds
(1958)
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Title: Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Zbigniew Cybulski | ... |
Maciek Chelmicki
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Ewa Krzyzewska | ... |
Krystyna
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Waclaw Zastrzezynski | ... |
Szczuka
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Adam Pawlikowski | ... |
Andrzej
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Bogumil Kobiela | ... |
Drewnowski
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Jan Ciecierski | ... |
Portier
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Stanislaw Milski | ... |
Pieniazek
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Artur Mlodnicki | ... |
Kotowicz
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Halina Kwiatkowska | ... |
Staniewiczowa
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Ignacy Machowski | ... |
Waga
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Zbigniew Skowronski | ... |
Slomka
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Barbara Krafftówna | ... |
Stefka
(as Barbara Kraftówna)
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Aleksander Sewruk | ... |
Swiecki
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Zofia Czerwinska | ... |
Barmaid Lili
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Wiktor Grotowicz | ... |
Franek Pawlicki
(as W. Grotowicz)
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Maciek, a young Resistance fighter, is ordered to kill Szczuka, a Communist district leader, on the last day of World War II. Though killing has been easy for him in the past, Szczuka was a fellow soldier, and Maciek must decide whether to follow his orders. Written by Kevin Dorner <mrkevvy@pathcom.com>
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Details
Country:
PolandLanguage:
PolishRelease Date:
29 May 1961 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Ashes and Diamonds See more »Company Credits
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company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (original: 108')Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1
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Maciek Chelmicki: ...Or will the ashes hold the glory of a starlike diamond... /The Morning Star of everlasting triumph.
See more »
(Red Poppies) (uncredited)
Music by Alfred Schütz and lyrics by Feliks Konarski
Performed by Grazyna Staniszewska
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Because of the film's nihilistic tone, the Polish authorities were not keen on it being exhibited outside of the country. Until a low-level official had a print shipped out to the Venice Film Festival where it played to great acclaim. See more »Goofs
In the scene where Maciek is running away from Drewnowski and then the Russian soldiers, a train above them passes by. In one shot it is going to the left of the screen. Then in the next shot it is going to the right, then to the left again. See more »Quotes
Krystyna: So often, are you as a blazing torch with flames/ of burning rags falling about you flaming, /you know not if flames bring freedom or death. /Consuming all that you must cherish /if ashes only will be left, and want Chaos and tempest...Maciek Chelmicki: ...Or will the ashes hold the glory of a starlike diamond... /The Morning Star of everlasting triumph.
See more »
Soundtracks
"Czerwone maki"(Red Poppies) (uncredited)
Music by Alfred Schütz and lyrics by Feliks Konarski
Performed by Grazyna Staniszewska
See more »
First, I've read a book by Jerzy Andrzejewski and then I've seen the movie. After that, I never went back to the book. It was not because it was bad, quite the contrary - it was very good. But the movie by Andrzej Wajda is definitely a masterpiece of Polish movie-making. The main plot of the movie revolves around Maciek Chelmicki, a young idealist who fought against the Germans and then turned to fight against the Communists. He is sent to kill Szczuka, one of The Party's middle rank administrators, by the Polish underground.That's the plot. The movie itself is about a lot of important things, common to all people (but I believe the Polish people will find a few of them more emotionally binding):
1. Nothing is black or white, everything is just a shade of gray
2. Is death, no matter how you try to justify it, senseless?
3. Is it better to live, while on your knees or die standing straight? Or maybe it's better to try to live standing straight?
4. That sometimes it's not war that is hell, it's living through war and trying to live a normal life that is a lot harder (thank God I do not know if it is so)
Wajda's movie doesn't give direct answers to any of these questions - each person may watch the movie from a different point of view and get to a totally different conclusion. But even if you're not into psychological movies about war, or noir-movies (and Popiol i Diament is definitely a sort of a noir-movie) it's worth watching for just one scene - the burning vodka glasses at the bar - Cybulski at his best.
And lastly - the motto of the movie (and of the book as well):
"Will ash and chaos be left in the end, that follows a storm into abyss Or may a diamond be found in the ash, a dawn of an everlasting victory"
Cyprian Kamil Norwid
PS: I hope Mr Norwid will not turn in his grave at the quality of my translation but that part of a poem by CK Norwid sums up the movie really well.