50th Anniversary of the Polish Film School vol. 4 (5-DVD)

1. Baza ludzi umarlych (The Depot of the Dead), directed by Czeslaw Petelski, 1959
2. Jak byc kochana (How to Be Loved), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1963
3. Kwiecien (April), directed by Witold Lesiewicz, 1961
4. Matka Joanna od aniolów (Joan of the Angels), directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961
5. Petla (The Noose ), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1958

50th Anniversary of the Polish Film School
vol. 4 (5-DVD box-set)

Studio: Best Film Co
Number of disks: 5
Condition: Brand New, Sealed, Mint
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: 16:9 / 4:3
Total time:  405 minutes
Language version: Polish
Subtitles: English
Region: 0 (PAL). European or multi-system DVD player is required to see this DVD.

In celebration of 50th Anniversary of the Polish Film School, Best Film Co. with great support from the Polish Film Institute, released a special collection of 20 films from the history of the Polish Film School, selected specially for this occasion. The collection consists of four volumes, with each volume containing five movies on five separate DVDs. Each volume of the collection was issued as a luxury box with five DVD's and esseys written by film critics exploring in deep each film from the collection.  Both films as well as esseys are in Polish and English language versions (English subtitles for the movies).  The artwork for the DVDs uses original movie posters from particular films. This is the fourth in a series of four special editions of the most important movies in the history of the Polish Film School and includes following five movies:

1. Baza ludzi umarlych (The Depot of the Dead), directed by Czeslaw Petelski, 1959
2. Jak byc kochana (How to Be Loved), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1963
3. Kwiecien (April), directed by Witold Lesiewicz, 1961
4. Matka Joanna od aniolów (Joan of the Angels), directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961
5. Petla (The Noose ), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1958

The interactive companion to DVD collections is website http://www.polskaszkolafilmowa.pl with many details about the movies, directors as well with film clips from each movie from the series.

DVD 1

Baza ludzi umarlych (The Depot of the Dead), directed by Czeslaw Petelski, 1959

Plot: Desperate struggle for survival by a group of truck drivers locked in a remote mountain base.  Story based Marek Hlasko cult short novel.

Cast:  Zygmunt Kestowicz, Leon Niemczyk, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Roman Klosowski

DVD 2

Jak byc kochana (How to Be Loved), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Hass, 1963

Plot: An actress travels from Warsaw to Paris and during the trip reflects on the last few years of her life. It goes back to the German occupation and her hiding of a fellow actor who has supposedly killed a collaborator. He is weak and a bit cowardly, but suffers most from not having any audience for his vanity, ego and supposed bravery. After the war he leaves her but finds out that he has been accused of cowardice. He finally commits suicide and she clears herself of a collaboration charge and eventually becomes a popular actress.

Cast: Barbara Krafftówna, Zbigniew Cybulski, Wienczyslaw Glinski, Wieslaw Golas

DVD 3

Kwiecien (April), directed by Witold Lesiewicz, 1961

Plot: Set at the end of the war. A hot-headed colonel tries to force his men on to heroics although the war is almost over. A war-weary lieutenant tries to muffle his efforts but he keeps on with his men and is killed fighting in the front lines, all his men decide to get his body.

Cast: Henryk Bak, Maria Ciesielska, Leszek Herdegen, Jan Kobuszewski

DVD 4

Matka Joanna od aniolów (Joan of the Angels), directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961

Plot: Set in the 17th century. A convent in a small town is being visited by high-ranking Catholic official trying to exorcise the nun supposedly posessed by demons. A local priest have been burnt for creating this condition by sexual temptation of the nuns, especially the Mother superior who bring on the collective hysteria of the group. There is another young priest who is to help with the exorcism. His first meeting with the convent head, Mother Joanne of the Angels, has her seemingly posessed by Satan - she yells blasphemies and incites the priest. She begs the priest to save her and to help her to be a saint. To help her, he kills two innocent people to be forever a prey of the devil and thus allow her freedom.

Cast: Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska, Maria Chwalibóg

DVD 5

Petla (The Noose ), directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, 1958

Plot: Dark and truthful about alcohol addiction. Dark streets of Krakow, dark moments. 24 hours in the life of a man ready to quit drinking...but will he make it? Some ready to help him, some ready to drag him down. Even the walls seem to play a part in the suspense. The same oppressiveness as in Bergman's Silence with the same intelligence in manipulating time sequences: a factual, step-by-step narrative becomes slowly warped, elliptic... Fine black-and-white photography, sharp dialogs. Sterling proof of Wojciech Has's talent and yet another example of how good Polish cinema was.

Cast: Gustaw Holoubek, Aleksandra Slaska, Tadeusz Fijewski, Stanislaw Milski