Czlowiek z zelaza (1981)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writer:

Aleksander Scibor-Rylski (scenario)

Release Date:

27 July 1981 (Poland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A worker becomes a "man of iron" forged by experience, a son comes to terms with his father, a couple fall in love...

Plot Keywords:

1970s | Protest | Worker | Iron | Reporter

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins

Cast

Jerzy Radziwilowicz	...	Maciej Tomczyk / Mateusz Birkut
Krystyna Janda	...	Agnieszka
Marian Opania	...	Winkel
Irena Byrska	...	Matka Hulrwicz
Wieslawa Kosmalska	...	Wieslawa Hulewicz
Boguslaw Linda	...	Dzidek
Franciszek Trzeciak	...	Badecki
Janusz Gajos	...	Z-Ca Szefa
Andrzej Seweryn	...	Kapt. Wirski
Marek Kondrat	...	Grzenda
Jan Tesarz	...	Szef
Jerzy Trela	...	Antoniak
Krzysztof Janczar	...	Kryska
Krystyna Zachwatowicz	...	Hanka Tomczyk (as Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda)
Boguslaw Sobczuk	...	Redaktor TV

Also Known As:

Man of Iron (USA)

Runtime:

153 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Gdansk, Poland

Company:

Film Polski

Trivia:

Lech Walesa has an acting role in the movie, as a guest at the wedding of Agnieska and Maciej, making him the only Nobel Prize winner to have an acting part in a film that won the Golden Palm.

Quotes:

[To Maciek and Agnieszka at their wedding.]
Lech Walesa: I trust you will be a democratic couple, so let me share these flowers democratically.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A lengyel film (#1.13)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Ballada o Janku Wisniewskim

One of the most important films from arguably the most important film movement in cinema history - the "Films of Moral Anxiety".

This film movement, while in no way the most important film movement artistically, considerably helped morally support and unite the Poles into a decade long, almost nation-wide rebellion against the Communist party which bloomed into the freeing of the Polish state from Soviet rule. This was a catalyst for the break-up of Communism in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, the end of the cold war, and a new stability in Europe, and indeed the world. Only taking this into account can one watch "Czlowiek z Zelaza" and truly appreciate how powerful this film is.