The Conductor (1980)
"Dyrygent" (original title)

A violinist in a provincial Polish orchestra, whose husband is the director of the ensemble, on a visit to the US ties up with the world- renowned symphony conductor. As it turns out he was... See full summary »

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writer:

Andrzej Kijowski

Stars:

John Gielgud, Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Seweryn

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Gielgud	...	John Lasocki
Krystyna Janda	...	Marta
Andrzej Seweryn	...	Adam Pietryk
Jan Ciecierski	...	Marta's Father
Maria Seweryn	...	Marysia
Józef Fryzlewicz	...	Governor
Janusz Gajos	...	High Official
Mary Ann Krasinski	...	Marta's Friend
Anna Lopatowska	...	Anna
Mavis Walker	...	Lilian
Tadeusz Czechowski	...	Tadzio
Marek Dabrowski	...	Official
Stanislaw Górka	...	Bass Player
Jerzy Kleyn
Elzbieta Strzalkowska

Storyline

A violinist in a provincial Polish orchestra, whose husband is the director of the ensemble, on a visit to the US ties up with the world- renowned symphony conductor. As it turns out he was once in love with violinist's mother. The conductor, a slightly unstable hypochondriac, returns to Poland to lead the provincial orchestra. He also tries to revive old love affair using the violinist as a surrogate of her mother. Her husband is resentful of the conductor for both personal and professional reasons.

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Plot Keywords:

violinist | conductor | orchestra | marriage crisis | orchestra leader | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish English

Release Date:

24 March 1980 (Poland)

Also Known As:

The Conductor

Filming Locations:

Hotel Solec, Zagórna, Solec, Sródmiescie, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Polski, Polish Corporation for Film Production, Zespól Filmowy "X"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Orwocolor)

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Swedish master Ingmar Bergman was asked to name 11 films he had liked most, he mentioned this title as one of his all-time favorites.

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 5"
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conducted by Stanislaw Wislocki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach

User Reviews

A very good film, if somewhat flawed

Andrzej Wajda is one of those directors that has been working for ages and is highly respected but still manages to turn out films that seem occasionally amateurish. The only true masterpiece that he's ever made (that I've seen) was "Ashes and Diamonds" - the rest of his films certainly contain some great aspects, but in the end fall short of being great themselves. "The Conductor" is one of those. While it manages to make some interesting statements about the nature of musicianship and politics it nonetheless suffers from some glaring flaws: they couldn't have dubbed John Gielgud more poorly and the ending also leaves much to be desired. But I hope no one gets the feeling that I'm saying that this film should be avoided. On the contrary, if you can find it I highly recommend you see it. It is well acted and well shot, and is a very good (and even sporadically great) piece of cinema.