Sekret Enigmy (1979)

Three Polish mathematicians are the first to crack the sophisticated Enigma code used by the Germans just before the Second World War. They build replicas of the Enigma machines and manage ... See full summary »

Director:

Roman Wionczek

Writers:

Stanislaw Strumph-Wojtkiewicz, Roman Wionczek

Stars:

Tadeusz Borowski, Piotr Fronczewski, Piotr Garlicki

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tadeusz Borowski	...	Marian Rejewski
Piotr Fronczewski	...	Jerzy Rózycki
Piotr Garlicki	...	Henryk Zygalski
Tadeusz Plucinski	...	Engineer Antoni Palluth
Janusz Zakrzenski	...	Col. Gwido Langer
Andrzej Szczepkowski	...	Col. Gustave Bertrand
Wojciech Duryasz	...	Mechanic Edward Fokczynski
Andrzej Lajborek	...	Heinz Hoger
Jerzy Kamas	...	Commodore Alistair Denniston
Ewa Borowik	...	Irena Olanska
Halina Golanko	...	German spy
Grazyna Marzec	...	Irena Rejewska
Jolanta Wollejko	...	Jadwiga Palluth
Ewa Zukowska	...	Barbara Rózycka
Wieslawa Niemyska	...	Bertrand's wife

Storyline

Three Polish mathematicians are the first to crack the sophisticated Enigma code used by the Germans just before the Second World War. They build replicas of the Enigma machines and manage to get two of the machines to the British and French code-breakers before the German invasion of Poland in 1939; they ask that recognition be given to their work at the end of the war. After the invasion, the Polish cipher bureau escapes and continues their decoding in Algeria and unoccupied France. Despite being tortured, they refuse to divulge their knowledge of the Enigma to the Nazis.

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Plot Keywords:

code | enigma machine | mathematician | code breaking | world war two

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

1 September 1979 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Secret of Enigma

Company Credits

Production Co:

P.P. Film Polski

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Titina"
Music by Léo Daniderff
Lyrics by Julian Tuwim
Performed by Andrzej Mirecki

User Reviews

Pre-Solidarity TVP docudrama + Hitler po Polsku!

Actually not bad for a very late Soviet era Polish, made for TV-Polonia historical drama. The sub-titles seem a little inadequate at points, so Polish could be a plus. Also several months or years often disappear between scenes, so that folks who were slogging it out escaping from Poland to Romania, reappear in Paris Hotels. It does help to know a bit of WWII Abwehr, Vichy, Bletchley history so that you can pick out Adm. Canaris or have some idea what Churchill is on about (HMS Rawlpindhi, eg). The history is pretty accurate, and actually much more accurate than the Anglo-American Enigma (2001) or U-571 (2000). The depiction of the machine use is a bit dramatized, but no worse that American TV. Considering this is a Warsaw Pact production, it's nearly devoid of pro-Russian spin. Their Paris restaurant does look like a Soviet era east European French restaurant, say in Warsaw. My favorite part has to be the Hitler diatribe in Polish, which has real Mel-Brooksesque humor. (A true victory for Poland, if we can make Hitler speak Polish). The story could actually be a real cliff-hanger considering all the real life near misses, but this is more of a tribute to Rejewski, Zagalski, Rozycki, and Langer.