Smierc prezydenta (1977)

Set at the historic moment of rebirth of Poland after World War I. The newly organized National Assembly elected Gabriel Narutowicz, a professor returning home from Switzerland to enter ... See full summary »

Director:

Jerzy Kawalerowicz

Writers:

Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Boleslaw Michalek

Stars:

Zdzislaw Mrozewski, Marek Walczewski, Henryk Bista

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zdzislaw Mrozewski	...	Gabriel Narutowicz
Marek Walczewski	...	Eligiusz Niewiadomski
Henryk Bista	...	Priest Nowakowski
Czeslaw Byszewski	...	Prime Minister Julian Nowak
Jerzy Duszynski	...	Józef Pilsudski
Edmund Fetting	...	General Józef Haller
Kazimierz Iwor	...	Herman Lieberman
Julian Jabczynski	...	Stefan Przezdziecki
Erwin Kohlund	...	Prof. Isseling
Zbigniew Krynski	...	Stanislaw Józef Thugutt
Leszek Kubanek	...	Norbert Barlicki
Wlodzimierz Saar	...	Stanislaw Stronski
Jerzy Sagan	...	Wincenty Witos
Janusz Sykutera	...	Stanislaw Car
Tomasz Zaliwski	...	Maciej Rataj

Storyline

Set at the historic moment of rebirth of Poland after World War I. The newly organized National Assembly elected Gabriel Narutowicz, a professor returning home from Switzerland to enter public life, as the first President in the history of Polish Republic. The film shows the turmoil leading to Narutowicz's election by a National Assembly divided between Polish Nationalists and the minorities, comprising one third of the population. A few days after the election the President was assasinated by a fanatic Nationalist while opening an art exhibit.

---

Plot Keywords:

president | election | poland | riot | minister | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History

---

Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

10 October 1977 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Death of a President

Filming Locations:

Belweder Palace, Aleje Ujazdowskie, Sródmiescie, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Polski, Zespól Filmowy "Kadr"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Propaganda movie

I saw the movie at a theater. I went out with friends and mistakingly bought tickets for it. It was excruciating. If the pace had been any slower, it would have played in reverse. I had seen plenty of German and French movies; suddenly they all seemed like Hollywood action blockbusters. The piling of stereotype upon stereotype, of political clichés and populist propaganda was suffocating. This will sound sarcastic, but the absolutely best part of the film was the funeral procession; almost the whole of Chopin's Funeral March was played. The change of pace made me almost dizzy. It was the final proof that States should never merge art and political agendas. In retrospective, we had fun: it's been more than two decades and we still cheer "We did it for Poland!" at friends reunions.