Polish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
by kingwilson | created - 30 May 2011 | updated - 30 May 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Kanal (1957)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, War
In 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, Polish Lieutenant Zadra and his resistance fighters use Warsaw's sewer system to escape the German encirclement.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Teresa Izewska, Tadeusz Janczar, Wienczyslaw Glinski, Tadeusz Gwiazdowski
Votes: 8,035
2. Szatan z siódmej klasy (1960)
109 min | Adventure, Family, Mystery
During summer holidays spent in an old palace, an inquisitive teenager is looking for a treasure, which was hidden by a Napoleonic soldier. What he's unaware of is that a bunch of criminals is also looking for the same thing.
Director: Maria Kaniewska | Stars: Józef Skwark, Stanislaw Milski, Pola Raksa, Krystyna Karkowska
Votes: 395
3. Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)
166 min | Adventure, Drama, History
In the 15th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is facing a hard struggle against the neighboring Teutonic Order.Frequent clashes between the two powers finally culminate in 1410 with the Battle of Grunwald.
Director: Aleksander Ford | Stars: Urszula Modrzynska, Grazyna Staniszewska, Andrzej Szalawski, Henryk Borowski
Votes: 2,183
4. Knife in the Water (1962)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Thriller
A couple pick up a hitchhiker on the way to their yacht. The husband invites the young man to come along for their day's sailing. As the voyage progresses, the antagonism between the two men grows. A violent confrontation is inevitable.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Anna Ciepielewska
Votes: 23,583
5. Passenger (1963)
62 min | Drama, War
While aboard a transatlantic passenger ship, a German woman, Liza, notices someone who looks like Marta, a former inmate at Auschwitz, where Liza used to be a guard.
Directors: Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz | Stars: Aleksandra Slaska, Anna Ciepielewska, Jan Kreczmar, Marek Walczewski
Votes: 2,128
6. Pharaoh (1966)
180 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Young Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with Egypt's clergy over influence on the affairs of the state and its coffers.
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Stars: Jerzy Zelnik, Wieslawa Mazurkiewicz, Barbara Brylska, Krystyna Mikolajewska
Votes: 2,301
7. Zywot Mateusza (1968)
80 min | Drama
Mateusz is a weird man living a peaceful life in a remote country house by the lake. When a stranger is attracted to his beloved sister, his life starts falling apart.
Director: Witold Leszczynski | Stars: Franciszek Pieczka, Anna Milewska, Wirgiliusz Gryn, Aleksander Fogiel
Votes: 494
8. Everything for Sale (1969)
105 min | Drama
The disappearance of the leading actor from the film's set worries its director Andrzej. He embarks on a journey to look out for the actor with a young actor and missing actor's wife and mistress.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Beata Tyszkiewicz, Elzbieta Czyzewska, Andrzej Lapicki, Daniel Olbrychski
Votes: 862
9. Salt of the Black Earth (1970)
99 min | Drama, War
During the 1920 Silesian uprising, seven brothers take part in the struggle with the Germans to keep the region in the Polish hands.
Director: Kazimierz Kutz | Stars: Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Jan Englert, Jerzy Binczycki, Jerzy Cnota
Votes: 333
10. Family Life (1971)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
A family is shattered over the daughter's forced abortion. As she rebels against her family and their traditional, authoritarian, typical-of-the-time norms, she is hospitalized and otherwise mistreated.
Director: Ken Loach | Stars: Sandy Ratcliff, Bill Dean, Grace Cave, Malcolm Tierney
Votes: 2,077
11. Perla w koronie (1972)
111 min | Drama
Film set during the Silesian Uprising in the 1920's. The German owners of a mine decide that it is unprofitable and want to close it by flooding it. The miners go on strike.
Director: Kazimierz Kutz | Stars: Lucja Kowolik, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Jan Englert, Franciszek Pieczka
Votes: 339
12. Kopernik (1973)
128 min | Biography, Drama, History
Directors: Ewa Petelska, Czeslaw Petelski | Stars: Andrzej Kopiczynski, Barbara Wrzesinska, Czeslaw Wollejko, Andrzej Antkowiak
Votes: 58
13. The Deluge (1974)
287 min | Adventure, History, Romance
During the 1655 war between Protestant Sweden and Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth some Polish-Lithuanian nobles side with Swedish king Charles X Gustav while others side with the Polish king Jan Kazimierz.
Director: Jerzy Hoffman | Stars: Daniel Olbrychski, Malgorzata Braunek, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Kazimierz Wichniarz
Votes: 3,181
14. The Promised Land (1975)
Not Rated | 170 min | Drama
Three friends hope to build a factory but their plans are quickly jeopardized by local politics and one of the partner's dangerous love affair.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak, Andrzej Seweryn, Anna Nehrebecka
Votes: 4,026
15. Nights and Days (1975)
245 min | Drama, Romance, War
An epic saga of the Niechcic family, told from a woman's perspective. In 1914 in the war-torn Kaliniec, Barbara Niechcic remembers her youthful love, marriage hardships, family life in the countryside and finally her husband's death.
Director: Jerzy Antczak | Stars: Jadwiga Baranska, Jerzy Binczycki, Emir Buczacki, Stanislawa Celinska
Votes: 562
16. Camouflage (1977)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of students are spending the summer vacation at a university camp studying the science of linguistics. One of the camp directors, Jaroslaw, is a young professor who prefers the ... See full summary »
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi | Stars: Piotr Garlicki, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Christine Paul, Mariusz Dmochowski
Votes: 1,730
17. Death of a President (1977)
144 min | Drama, History
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 | Stars: Zdzislaw Mrozewski, Marek Walczewski, Henryk Bista, Czeslaw Byszewski
Votes: 274
18. The Maids of Wilko (1979)
118 min | Drama, Romance
Set in the late '20s. A thirtyish young man, who heads a small factory, faints at the funeral of a close friend. He decides to go home to his aunt and uncle for a while, but gets involved ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Daniel Olbrychski, Anna Seniuk, Maja Komorowska, Stanislawa Celinska
Votes: 1,454
19. Olimpiada 40 (1980)
96 min | Drama, War
Clandestine Olympics are to be held in a German POW camp during World War II which houses many Poles, but also French and British. A spit and polish German lieutenant is added to the staff ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Kotkowski | Stars: Mariusz Benoit, Jerzy Bonczak, Tadeusz Galia, Krzysztof Janczar
Votes: 56
20. Man of Iron (1981)
PG | 156 min | Drama, History
A few years after the events of Man of Marble (1977), a journalist investigates Mateusz Birkut's son Maciek Tomczyk, now an activist leading a shipyard strike.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Krystyna Janda, Marian Opania, Wieslawa Kosmalska
Votes: 3,794
21. Yesterday (1985)
87 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
The growing up of four teenagers is connected with the songs of the Beatles.
Director: Radoslaw Piwowarski | Stars: Piotr Siwkiewicz, Anna Kazmierczak, Andrzej Zielinski, Krzysztof Majchrzak
Votes: 248
22. Axiliad (1986)
82 min | Drama
A young, idealistic poet turns his back on civilization and goes to a small, backwoods village, rents a bed in the house of an old woman, and decides to make his living as a lumberjack. He ... See full summary »
Director: Witold Leszczynski | Stars: Edward Zentara, Ludwik Pak, Daniel Olbrychski, Ludwik Benoit
Votes: 512
23. Bohater roku (1987)
115 min | Drama
Follow up of the "Top Dog" (Wodzirej). Jerzy Stuhr reappears as Ludwik Danielak, smooth-talking hustler with a spreading waistline. He got sacked from his tv job in 1981 and now he is ready... See full summary »
Director: Feliks Falk | Stars: Jerzy Stuhr, Mieczyslaw Franaszek, Katarzyna Kozak, Piotr Machalica
Votes: 115
24. A Short Film About Love (1988)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Romance
A naive inexperienced young man spies on a woman who lives across the courtyard, and falls in love with her. He starts using tricks which he hopes will lead to them meeting.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko, Stefania Iwinska, Piotr Machalica
Votes: 26,062
25. Kornblumenblau (1989)
88 min | Drama, Music
A young musician uses his talent as an accordion player to fight for dignity and survival in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Director: Leszek Wosiewicz | Stars: Adam Kamien, Marcin Tronski, Piotr Skiba, Krzysztof Kolberger
Votes: 141
26. Korczak (1990)
Unrated | 118 min | Biography, Drama, War
The last days of life of the legendary Polish pedagogue Dr. Janusz Korczak and his heroic dedication to protecting Jewish orphans in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Wojciech Pszoniak, Ewa Dalkowska, Teresa Budzisz-Krzyzanowska, Marzena Trybala
Votes: 1,595
27. The Double Life of Véronique (1991)
R | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
Two parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik
Votes: 52,931 | Gross: $2.00M
28. Wszystko, co najwazniejsze... (1992)
98 min | Biography, Drama, War
When the war breaks out, renowned Polish-Jewish poet Aleksander Wat leaves German-occupied Warsaw with his wife Ola and their son. In Lviv, however, they are arrested by the Soviets and separated. Ola and her son are sent to Siberia.
Director: Robert Glinski | Stars: Ewa Skibinska, Krzysztof Globisz, Adam Siemion, Grazyna Barszczewska
Votes: 82
29. Szwadron (1992)
100 min | Drama, History, Romance
A young Russian aristocrat, Baron Fyodor Jeremin, volunteers to serve with a Dragon squadron to impress the girl who rejected his love. Just at this time the 1863 insurrection explodes in ... See full summary »
Director: Juliusz Machulski | Stars: Aleksander Bednarz, Grzegorz Damiecki, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Janusz Gajos
Votes: 242
30. Three Colors: White (1994)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After his wife divorces him, a Polish immigrant plots to get even with her.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr
Votes: 79,573 | Gross: $1.46M
31. Crows (1994)
66 min | Drama
A thin child of about 10, nicknamed "Crow" because she mimics the bird, has no friends and rejects a teacher's hug. At home, she is left on her own, her mom locks her out while entertaining... See full summary »
Director: Dorota Kedzierzawska | Stars: Karolina Ostrozna, Katarzyna Szczepanik, Malgorzata Hajewska, Anna Prucnal
Votes: 699
32. Cwal (1996)
104 min | Comedy, Drama, History
In the early 1950s, a 10-year-old boy moves to Warsaw to stay with his bourgeois aunt. In spite of harsh Stalinist times, they are both fascinated by horses.
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi | Stars: Maja Komorowska, Bartosz Obuchowicz, Karolina Wajda, Piotr Adamczyk
Votes: 357
33. Love Stories (1997)
87 min | Romance, Comedy
Four stories of love: yearned-for, betrayed, found. In the confessional, a priest is confronted for the first time by his eleven-year-old daughter (and seeks advice from his mother); a ... See full summary »
Director: Jerzy Stuhr | Stars: Jerzy Stuhr, Dominika Ostalowska, Irina Alfyorova, Karolina Ostrozna
Votes: 561
34. Pan Tadeusz (1999)
Not Rated | 147 min | Drama, History, Romance
In the early 1810s, Poles, part of Russia's client state of Lithuania, think independence will come if they join forces with Napoleon when he invades Russia. This unity of purpose, in one ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Boguslaw Linda, Daniel Olbrychski, Grazyna Szapolowska, Andrzej Seweryn
Votes: 3,711
35. Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease (2000)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama
A cynical doctor, who is dying of cancer, would like to know the meaning of his life. He has to fight for it or just get ready for death.
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi | Stars: Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Krystyna Janda, Tadeusz Bradecki, Monika Krzywkowska
Votes: 1,432
36. Quo vadis (2001)
165 min | Drama, History, Romance
Marcus Vinicius meets Lygia in Rome and falls in love. But she is Christian and doesn't want anything to do with him. Marcus decides to kidnap her but Ursus, her bodyguard, catches Marcus. ... See full summary »
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Stars: Pavel Delong, Magdalena Mielcarz, Boguslaw Linda, Michal Bajor
Votes: 2,286
37. Edi (2002)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama
The film tells a story of two scrap pickers - the title hero Edi and his friend Jureczek. Edi is wrongly accused of having raped the girl whose brothers have got the control over one of the... See full summary »
Director: Piotr Trzaskalski | Stars: Henryk Golebiewski, Jacek Braciak, Jacek Lenartowicz, Grzegorz Stelmaszewski
Votes: 2,197
38. Pornografia (2003)
Not Rated | 117 min | Drama, Romance, War
Two intellectuals, a writer and a director, begin to play a mysterious psychological game in a peaceful countryside manor house during the German occupation.
Director: Jan Jakub Kolski | Stars: Krzysztof Majchrzak, Adam Ferency, Krzysztof Globisz, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska
Votes: 1,006
39. The Welts (2004)
91 min | Drama
Wiktor, who was mistreated by his father as a child, is now a tormented grown-up. He meets beautiful Tania and wants to settle down but it's not easy to get rid of childhood traumas.
Director: Magdalena Piekorz | Stars: Michal Zebrowski, Jan Frycz, Agnieszka Grochowska, Waclaw Adamczyk
Votes: 1,341
40. Z odzysku (2006)
103 min | Drama
19 year old Wojtek lives in a poverty stricken Polish town. He is in love with an older woman, an illegal emigrant from Ukraine. He boxes in illegal matches to get money and is spotted by a... See full summary »
Director: Slawomir Fabicki | Stars: Antoni Pawlicki, Nataliya Vdovina, Jacek Braciak, Dimitri Melnichuk
Votes: 390
41. Katyn (2007)
Not Rated | 121 min | Drama, History, War
An examination of the Soviet slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka
Votes: 17,405 | Gross: $0.12M
42. Komornik (2005)
94 min | Drama
Lucjan Bohme is a ruthless debt collector working in a post-industrial Silesian town. In the land of unemployment and misery, he's got a lot of work and no mercy at all. Until something happens.
Director: Feliks Falk | Stars: Andrzej Chyra, Malgorzata Kozuchowska, Kinga Preis, Grzegorz Wojdon
Votes: 2,125
43. Sztuczki (2007)
95 min | Comedy, Drama
Six-year-old Stefek challenges fate. He believes that setting a chain of events in motion will help him get closer to his father who left his mother. His sister helps him bribe fate with ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Jakimowski | Stars: Damian Ul, Ewelina Walendziak, Tomasz Sapryk, Rafal Guzniczak
Votes: 2,157
44. The Reverse (2009)
99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A story about women, set in the present and in 1950s Warsaw. The main character is Sabina, a quiet, shy woman who has just turned thirty. Clearly, she lacks a man in her life. Her mother ... See full summary »
Director: Borys Lankosz | Stars: Agata Buzek, Krystyna Janda, Anna Polony, Marcin Dorocinski
Votes: 2,305
45. Wszystko, co kocham (2009)
95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Follows four friends in their quest to form a punk band. As workers protests sweep across the country, Janek and Staszek, the sons of a navy man, the rebellious Kazik, and the affluent ... See full summary »
Director: Jacek Borcuch | Stars: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Olga Frycz, Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Chyra
Votes: 1,876
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