The Conductor (1980)

A violinist in a provincial Polish orchestra, whose husband is the director of the ensemble, on a visit to the U.S., ties up with the world-renowned symphony conductor. As it turns out, he ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writer:

Andrzej Kijowski

Stars:

John Gielgud, Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Seweryn

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Gielgud	...	John Lasocki
Krystyna Janda	...	Marta
Andrzej Seweryn	...	Adam Pietrzyk
Jan Ciecierski	...	Marta's Father
Maria Seweryn	...	Marysia
Józef Fryzlewicz	...	Governor
Janusz Gajos	...	High Official
Mary Ann Krasinski	...	Marta's Friend
Anna Lopatowska	...	Anna
Mavis Walker	...	Lilian
Tadeusz Czechowski	...	Tadzio
Marek Dabrowski	...	Official
Stanislaw Górka	...	Bass Player
Jerzy Kleyn
Elzbieta Strzalkowska

Storyline

A violinist in a provincial Polish orchestra, whose husband is the director of the ensemble, on a visit to the U.S., ties up with the world-renowned symphony conductor. As it turns out, he was once in love with the violinist's mother. The conductor, a slightly unstable hypochondriac, returns to Poland to lead the provincial orchestra. He also tries to revive an old love affair using the violinist as a surrogate of her mother. Her husband is resentful of the conductor for personal and professional reasons.

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Plot Keywords:

conductor | polish american | artistic creation | violinist | orchestra | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Did You Know?

Trivia

When Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman was asked to name eleven movies he had liked the most, he mentioned this movie as one of his all-time favorites.

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Quotes

Adam Pietrzyk: [Rehearsing Beethoven's 5th Symphony with his orchestra] No, listen... It's like this - fate knocks at the door, it opens... And what does the conductor do? The conductor walks out because he's had enough. Some parts are still not right. It's not Beethoven. It must have drive, vitality! In this situation it's better to play it like a match: men against women.

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Connections

Referenced in Searching for Ingmar Bergman (2018)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 5
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Conducted by Stanislaw Wislocki
Performed by Narodowa Orkiestra Symfoniczna Polskiego Radia w Katowicach

User Reviews

Exploration of a musician's psyche

I usually don't write a lot of reviews. In fact, it's only my second one. But when i saw that such a brilliant masterpiece didn't have any reviews, i felt that i had to write one. On a superficial level, the movie deals with the perennial battle of new versus old, both in love life as well as professional life. But deep down, the movie is an attempt to differentiate between career & vocation. Everyone's born with some talent. It's what we do with that talent that makes all the difference. I found myself pondering on these extremely important issues upon watching the film. It takes an artistic genius like Andrzej Wajda to understand the world of another artist, a musician in this case. That said, some people may actually find the movie a bit dull and slow. But that's exactly the point, it's not everyone's cup of tea! Needless to say that the music is excellent. A great movie for all music lovers & by extension for all the artists out there! Highly recommended!

Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish English

Release Date:

24 March 1980 (Poland)

Also Known As:

The Conductor

Filming Locations:

Tykocinska, Targówek, Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Polski, Polish Corporation for Film Production, Zespól Filmowy "X"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (Orwocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1