New on Blu-ray: ASHES AND DIAMONDS / POPIOL I DIAMENT (1958) - Criterion

ashes-and-diamonds-1958-new-on-bluray-criterion

Product Description: Andrzej Wajda’s masterpiece of Polish cinema is a thrilling depiction of ordinary people being swept up in a violently transformative historical moment

A milestone of Polish cinema, this electrifying international sensation by Andrzej Wajda—the final film in his celebrated war trilogy—entwines the story of one man’s moral crisis with the fate of a nation. In a small Polish town on the final day of World War II, Maciek (the coolly charismatic Zbigniew Cybulski), a fighter in the underground anti-Communist resistance movement, has orders to assassinate an incoming commissar. But when he meets and falls for a young barmaid (Ewa Krzyzewska), he begins to question his commitment to a cause that requires him to risk his life. Ashes and Diamonds’ lustrous monochrome cinematography—wreathed in shadows, smoke, and fog—and spectacularly choreographed set pieces lend a breathtaking visual dynamism to this urgent, incendiary vision of a country at a crossroads in its struggle for self-determination.

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Movie Details

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MOVIE DETAILS

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Director: Andrzej Wajda

Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyzewska, Waclaw Zastrzezynski

Genre: Drama, Romance, War

Runtime: 103 min

Rating: Not Rated

Language: Polish

Studio: Criterion

Home Video Release Date: August 24, 2021

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Blu-ray - Criterion Collection

VIDEO

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Blu-ray

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 1.67:1
Region: Region A/1

AUDIO

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Dubbed:

Blu-ray: None

Audio Formats:

Blu-ray: LPCM Mono

SUBTITLES

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Blu-ray: English

SPECIAL FEATURES & EXTRAS

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Audio commentary from 2004 featuring film scholar Annette Insdorf
New video essay by Insdorf on the film's legacy
Andrzej Wajda: On "Ashes and Diamonds," a 2005 program featuring director Andrzej Wajda, second director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
Archival newsreel footage on the making of the film
Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, and posters (DVD only)
New English subtitle translation
PLUS: An essay by film scholar Paul Coates