Starting this week, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) is presenting a collection of landmark Polish films curated by one of the most accomplished and respected directors of our time, Martin Scorsese. In Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema.
“There are many revelations in the ‘Masterpieces of Polish Cinema’ series and whether you’re familiar with some of these films or not, it’s an incredible opportunity to discover for yourself the great power of Polish cinema, on the big screen in brilliantly restored digital masters.” – Martin Scorsese
Following his 2011 visit to the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódž – the birthplace of the Polish Film School of the 1950s and 60s that put Polish cinema on the film map – Scorsese was compelled to bring the great masterpieces of Polish cinema to audiences.
Long drawn to the power of Polish cinema from his days as a film student in New York, Scorsese selected 21 seminal films that profoundly resonated with him.
Masterpieces of Polish Cinema includes works from luminaries such as Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Andrzej Munk, Jerzy Kawalerowicz and Wojciech Has.
ACMI is showcasing 13 of the 21 films featured in Masterpieces of Polish Cinema from Sunday 5 October to Sunday 26 October 2014.
Screening exclusively at ACMI in Australia, all 13 films have been digitally remastered and are newly subtitled with the assistance of Scorsese’s Film Foundation. This special season, which spans three decades between 1957 and 1987, captures and critiques Poland’s social and political upheaval of the time. For many critics and viewers, the films stand up to repeated viewings for their emotional and creative depth, as well as their sweeping, humanistic themes.
Commenting on Polish cinema, Scorsese said: “This is a cinema of personal vision, very strong social commitment and a poetic responsibility from which we’ve all learned, and which sets a very high standard, which as a filmmaker, I strive to achieve with every film.”
ACMI’s Head of Film Programs, Richard Sowada told V&F that he is immensely proud that ACMI will be able to share these cinematic masterpieces with Australian audiences.“This important series explores a range of themes and genres, from existentialism in Night Train, to eccentricity in Innocent Sorcerers, and absurdism in The Hourglass Sanatorium. It also includes Wajda’s iconic film set on the last day of World War II, Ashes and Diamonds, which Scorsese deems to be one of the finest films ever made. Audiences will have a unique opportunity to discover (and rediscover) these digitally restored masterpieces.”
Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema will screen exclusively at ACMI from Sunday 5 October to Sunday 26 October 2014.
For program and ticket information please visit acmi.net.au.
PROGRAM INFORMATION:
Eroica Unclassified 18+
Sun 5 Oct, 5.00pm
Tue 14 Oct, 7.00pm
Andrzej Munk’s two-part masterpiece explores the mythology of heroism.
Andrzej Munk, 85 mins, Poland, 1957, DCP New Digital Restoration (B&W). Polish and German with English subtitles. Source and
Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
Ashes and Diamonds (Popiol i Diament) M
Mon 6 Oct, 7.00pm
Sat 25 Oct, 6.00pm
Andrzej Wajda’s iconic film set on the last day of World War II.
Andrzej Wajda, 103 mins, Poland, 1958, DCP (Digital Restoration) (B&W). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS,
Poland
Night Train (Pociag) Unclassified 18+
Tue 7 Oct, 7.00pm
Thu 16 Oct, 7.00pm
Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s film is both a thriller and a psychological study.
Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 98 mins, Poland, 1959, DCP (Digital Restoration) (B&W). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all
DOTS, Poland
Innocent Sorcerers (Niewinni czarodzieje) Unclassified 18+
Wed 8 Oct, 7.00pm
Sun 26 Oct, 5.30pmA rarely seen tale of youth by Andrzej Wajda.
Andrzej Wajda, 88 mins, Poland, 1960, DCP (Digital Restoration) (B&W). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS,
Poland
Mother Joan of the Angels (Matka Joanna od aniolow) Unclassified 15+
Thu 9 Oct, 7.00pm
Fri 17 Oct, 7.00pm
Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s sophisticated film is a study of faith, sin and redemption.
Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 110 mins, Poland, 1960, DCP (Digital Restoration) (B&W). Polish and Latin with English subtitles. Source and
Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
The Saragossa Manuscript (Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie) Unclassified 15+
Fri 10 Oct, 7.00pm
Sun 19 Oct, 3.30pm
A multi-award-winning adaptation of one of the greatest works of literature.
Wojciech Has, 183 mins, Poland, 1964, DCP (Digital Restoration) (B&W). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS,
Poland
The Illumination (Illuminacja) Unclassified 18+
Sat 11 Oct, 3.30pm
Sun 19 Oct, 7.00pm
Krzysztof Zanussi‘s award-winning philosophical essay written with a camera.
Krzysztof Zanussi, 93 mins, Poland, 1972, DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
The Hourglass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydra) Unclassified 18+
Sat 11 Oct, 5.30pm
Mon 20 Oct, 7.00pm
A poetic reflection on the nature of time and the inevitability of death.
Wojciech Has, 124 mins, Poland, 1973, DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish, Yiddish, Hebrew and Latin with English subtitles. Source and
Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
The Promised Land (Ziemia Obiecana) M
Sat 11 Oct, 8.00pm
Sun 26 Oct, 7.30pm
A masterful adaptation of a novel by Nobel Prize winner Władysław Reymont.
Andrzej Wajda, 170 mins, Poland, 1974, , DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish, German, Yiddish and Russian with English subtitles. Source
and Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
Camouflage (Barwy ochronne) Unclassified 18+
Sun 12 Oct, 3.00pm
Tue 21 Oct, 7.00pmTwo academics engage in a battle of ideologies and wills.
Krzysztof Zanussi, 101 mins, Poland, 1976, DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
Blind Chance (Przypadek) MA15+
Sun 12 Oct, 5.15pm
Thu 23 Oct, 7.00pm
Kieślowski explores how chance, fate and personal choices determine one’s life.
Krzysztof Kieślowski, 123 mins, Poland, 1981, DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS,
Poland
Man of Iron (Czlowiek z zelaza) M
Sun 12 Oct, 8.00pm
Sat 25 Oct, 8.30pm
Andrzej Wadja’s film chronicling the birth of the Solidarity movement.
Andrzej Wadja, 153 mins, Poland, 1981, DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS, Poland
A Short Film About Killing (Krotki film o zabijaniu) MA15+
Mon 13 Oct, 7.00pm
Fri 24 Oct, 7.00pm
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s international breakthrough film.
Krzysztof Kieślowski, 82 mins, Poland, 1987, DCP (Digital Restoration). Polish with English subtitles. Source and Courtesy: all DOTS,
Poland
Excerpts from PR
