The Decalogue (1988– )
"Dekalog" (original title)

Ten television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.

Stars:

Artur Barcis, Olaf Lubaszenko, Piotr Machalica

9 wins.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Artur Barcis	...	Young Man (9 episodes, 1989-1990)

Storyline

This is a series of ten shorts created for Polish Television, with plots loosely based upon the Ten Commandments, directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Two of these, Dekalog 5 and 6, are shorter cuts from the feature-length films--Krotki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing) and Krotki film o milosci (A Short Film About Love), respectively. They deal with the emotional turmoil suffered by humanity, when instinctual acts and societal morality conflict.

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Plot Keywords:

ten commandments | polish | morality | poland | christianity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

10 December 1989 (Poland)

Also Known As:

The Decalogue

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$16,807 (USA) (23 June 2000)

Gross:

$447,093 (USA) (24 November 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sender Freies Berlin (SFB), Telewizja Polska (TVP), Zespol Filmowy "Tor"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min 55 min (10 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Stanley Kubrick described 'Dekalog' as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime.

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Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #13.2 (2000)

User Reviews

A truly magnificent project; perfect example of an actor's director, a poet & a master

Krzysztof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue" is one of the most powerful cinematic experiences you'll ever have, and probably the best ensemble cast I've ever seen (if you consider them a single film, like I do). I used to think Mike Nichols, Ingmar Bergman and Robert Altman were the supreme actor's directors, but I might consider Kieslowski (1941-1996) my #1 for this project alone. It helps that all the actors are unknown to most of us and not famous Hollywood stars, and that makes the experience even more real, but that wouldn't be much if they couldn't act. I had seen Kieslowski's "Three Colors" (which happens to be my all-time favourite trilogy), but I didn't think of him as a particular actor's director because Juliette Binoche or Julie Delpy don't necessarily need a great director to deliver a great performance (I'm not sure about Irène Jacob, though; I haven't seen "The Double Life of Veronique", in which she's supposed to be brilliant, and I do like her in "Red", but she never impressed me in any movie not directed by Kieslowski). Adrianna Bierdzynska (who looks like a cross between Jennifer Jason Leigh and Hilary Swank) and Olaf Lubaszenko, from segments 4 and 6, respectively, stand out; they're more Oscar-worthy than 90% of the nominees of the past decade; but every member of the cast did a terrific job. Stanley Kubrick described "The Decalogue" as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime - if that doesn't make you curious to watch this poignant, unique experience, then you're not a film lover. 10 out of 10 in my books.