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Ashes and Diamonds

Original title: Popiól i diament
  • 1958
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 43m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
13K
YOUR RATING
Zbigniew Cybulski and Ewa Krzyzewska in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
DramaRomanceWar

As WWII and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Russian forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.As WWII and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Russian forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.As WWII and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Russian forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.

  • Director
    • Andrzej Wajda
  • Writers
    • Jerzy Andrzejewski
    • Andrzej Wajda
  • Stars
    • Zbigniew Cybulski
    • Ewa Krzyzewska
    • Waclaw Zastrzezynski
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    13K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Andrzej Wajda
    • Writers
      • Jerzy Andrzejewski
      • Andrzej Wajda
    • Stars
      • Zbigniew Cybulski
      • Ewa Krzyzewska
      • Waclaw Zastrzezynski
    • 58User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 3 wins & 3 nominations total

    Photos143

    Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Zbigniew Cybulski and Ewa Krzyzewska in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Zbigniew Cybulski in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Zbigniew Cybulski in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Jan Ciecierski in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Zbigniew Cybulski in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
    Zbigniew Cybulski in Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Zbigniew Cybulski
    Zbigniew Cybulski
    • Maciek Chelmicki
    Ewa Krzyzewska
    Ewa Krzyzewska
    • Krystyna
    Waclaw Zastrzezynski
    Waclaw Zastrzezynski
    • Szczuka
    Adam Pawlikowski
    Adam Pawlikowski
    • Andrzej
    Bogumil Kobiela
    Bogumil Kobiela
    • Drewnowski
    Jan Ciecierski
    Jan Ciecierski
    • Portier
    Stanislaw Milski
    Stanislaw Milski
    • Pieniazek
    Artur Mlodnicki
    Artur Mlodnicki
    • Kotowicz
    Halina Kwiatkowska
    Halina Kwiatkowska
    • Staniewiczowa
    Ignacy Machowski
    Ignacy Machowski
    • Waga
    Zbigniew Skowronski
    Zbigniew Skowronski
    • Slomka
    Barbara Krafftówna
    Barbara Krafftówna
    • Stefka
    • (as Barbara Kraftówna)
    Aleksander Sewruk
    Aleksander Sewruk
    • Swiecki
    Zofia Czerwinska
    Zofia Czerwinska
    • Barmaid Lili
    • (as Z. Czerwinska)
    Wiktor Grotowicz
    Wiktor Grotowicz
    • Franek Pawlicki
    • (as W. Grotowicz)
    Irena Orzecka
    Irena Orzecka
    • Jurgieluszka
    • (as I. Orzewska)
    Mieczyslaw Loza
    Mieczyslaw Loza
    • Smolarski
    • (as M. Loza)
    Halina Siekierko
    • Puciatycka
    • (as H. Siekierko)
    • Director
      • Andrzej Wajda
    • Writers
      • Jerzy Andrzejewski
      • Andrzej Wajda
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Citizen Kane (1941) - and Gregg Toland's cinematography in particular - was a huge influence on Andrzej Wajda at the time. Like Toland, the first thing the film's cinematographer Jerzy Wójcik did was convince production designer Roman Mann to include ceilings in all the sets.
    • Goofs
      Glasses of vodka are set alight which burn for an unnaturally long length of time and with a bigger flame than expected, suggesting a purer fuel was used in the film, such as petrol. Moreover, when the final flame dies (c.41 minutes) no liquid remains in the glass. Only the alcohol content is flammable in any glass of spirit and a residue of water would be left behind with even the very strongest of Polish vodkas.
    • Quotes

      Krystyna: Look. An old crypt. An inscription. "So often are you as a blazing torch with flames of burning hemp falling about you flaming, you know not if the flames bring freedom or death, consuming all that you most cherish. Will only ashes remain, and chaos whirling into the void." The letters are blurred. I can't read it.

      Maciek Chelmicki: It's by Norwid. "Or will the ashes hold the glory of a starlike diamond, the Morning Star of everlasting triumph."

      Krystyna: That's beautiful. "Or will the ashes hold the glory of a starlike diamond..." And what are we?

      Maciek Chelmicki: You - are definitely a diamond.

    • Connections
      Edited into CzechMate: In Search of Jirí Menzel (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Czerwone maki
      (Red Poppies) (uncredited)

      Music by Alfred Schütz and lyrics by Feliks Konarski

      Performed by Grazyna Staniszewska

    User reviews58

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Electric
    I've seen this movie only twice, stumbling across it the first time in a theater in Skopje, Yugoslavia, and I left the theater almost in shock. I'd never seen such a combination of direction, editing, cinematography, and acting. (That business about Cybulski being "the Polish James Dean" is disregardable nonsense; like saying that Chopin was the Polish John Phillip Souza.) Wajda's other films didn't seem so impressive, but "Ashes and Diamonds" was simply superb. The images linger in the mind, even now, when artiness has become commonplace. The shattered crucifix hanging upside down; the final chase through the drying laundry; and Cybulski on his side, kicking himself around in circles atop a heap of garbage! It wasn't simply thought provoking, it was shocking. I can only remember one other time I felt stunned into silence on leaving a theater, and that was in LA after the first Bergman film I saw, which happened to be "The Seventh Seal." Don't miss it.
    helpful•48
    14
    • rmax304823
    • Sep 6, 2002

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 29, 1961 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Poland
    • Language
      • Polish
    • Also known as
      • Pepel in diamant
    • Filming locations
      • Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland
    • Production company
      • Studio Filmowe Kadr
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • PLN 6,070,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 43 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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