Man of Iron (1981)

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

Writer:

Aleksander Scibor-Rylski (scenario)

Stars:

Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Krystyna Janda, Marian Opania

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerzy Radziwilowicz	...	Maciek Tomczyk / Mateusz Birkut
Krystyna Janda	...	Agnieszka
Marian Opania	...	Winkel
Wieslawa Kosmalska	...	Wieslawa Hulewicz
Irena Byrska	...	Matka Hulewicz
Boguslaw Linda	...	Dzidek
Lech Walesa	...	Lech Walesa
Anna Walentynowicz	...	Anna Walentynowicz
Jerzy Borowczak	...	Stanislaw J. Borowczak (as Stanislaw J. Borowczak)
Zbigniew Lis	...	Zbigniew Lis
Teodor Kudla	...	Teodor Kudla
Franciszek Trzeciak	...	Badecki
Janusz Gajos	...	Z-Ca Szefa
Andrzej Seweryn	...	Kapt. Wirski
Marek Kondrat	...	Grzenda

Storyline

A worker becomes a "man of iron" forged by experience, a son comes to terms with his father, a couple fall in love, a reporter searches for courage, and a nation undergoes historic change. In Warsaw in 1980, the Party sends Winkel, a weak, alcoholic TV hack, to Gdansk to dig up dirt on the shipyard strikers, particularly on Maciek Tomczyk, an articulate worker whose father was killed in the December 1970 protests. Posing as sympathetic, Winkel interviews people who know Tomczyk, including his detained wife, Agnieszka. Their narrations become flashbacks using actual news footage of 1968 and 1970 protests and of the later birth of free unions and Solidarity.

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Plot Keywords:

worker | shipyard | 1970s | solidarity | protest | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Sneak Previews: Time Bandits, The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, The Woman Next Door, Man of Iron (1981)

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Soundtracks

Piosenka dla Corki
Lyrics by Krzysztof Kasprzyk
Music by Maciej Pietrzyk

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

27 July 1981 (Poland)

Also Known As:

Man of Iron

Filming Locations:

Zespol Filmowy X Studio, Poland

Box Office

Gross USA:

$492,035

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$492,035

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film Polski, Zespól Filmowy "X"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

156 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1