Product Description

The first major Polish film epic, KRZYZACY is based on the classic novel by Nobel laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz (Quo Vadis ) and directed by master filmmaker Aleksander Ford (Border Street). An international sensation at the time of release, the film topped the Polish box office for weeks and later became essential patriotic and educational viewing.

Set in 15th century Poland during the time of the Teutonic invasion, the film tells the story of Danusia, whose mother is killed by the invaders. When her beloved Zbyszko is captured by the Teutonic hordes, Danusia sets out to find him but is captured along with her father. Zbyszko escapes his tormentors and begins a long odyssey to rescue her.

With its theme of Slavic unity in the face of Germanic invasion, KRZYZACY was a cinematic blockbuster in Poland, cementing a nation still stirred by the echoes of WWII.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32664 in DVD
• Brand: FACETS HOME VIDEO
• Published on: 2005
• Released on: 2007-10-23
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen, Import
• Original language: Polish
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 166 minutes

Features

• Certainly one of the highest achievements of 1960s Polish cinema, and a stirring nationalist epic. Based on theic novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Krzyzacy is a vivid portrayal of customs and life in medieval Poland, brilliantly directed with a epic sweep by Aleksander Ford. Features a cast of thousands, including Andrzej Szalawski and Grazyna Staniszewska. "The scale would put DeMille to shame

Customer Reviews

In Days of Old.
"Order of Teutonic Knights" was released in 1960 to international acclaim, and it remains a landmark film for Polish cinema. I'm sure that, when it first came out, it was quite a spectacular experience at the local theatre. Clocking in at just under three hours, it tells the tale of the rising conflict between Polish nobility in the Middle Ages and the very powerful multi-national order of titular knights who may be devout Christians, but are also ruthless in their determination to expand their power throughout Europe.

There are some excellent performances in the film, and a number of memorable scenes. It has a very authentic "look", quite a contrast to some of Hollywood's medieval epics. Special kudos to the prolonged final battle scene--there were no computer-generated effects in those days--you really are looking at thousands of extras in this spectacular finale. This must have been a very expensive movie for the Polish film industry.

Unfortunately there are some technical problems with the DVD which prevented me from giving "Knights" a higher rating. The dialogue is naturally in the original Polish with English subtitles--subtitles which far too often seem to be out of synch with the person who is speaking. The widescreen, colour image is not as crisp as it should be. There also appears to have been some "cropping"--for example, there is a scene early in the film where our young heroine is singing a song, and most of her head is "cut off". Unfortunately there are numerous other examples throughout the disc where heads, sometimes whole characters, seem to be missing from the scene. I also suspect that the film might not be the original, uncut version--there seem to be "jumps" in the storyline that cause the viewer to scratch his/her head a little !

Bottom line--it would seem that we have a very fine film here that has not been presented on DVD with the technical quality that it deserves. Then again, the problem may originate with the source material--older films sadly do not always remain in pristine condition. So--recommended with caution.

Krzyzacy "Knights of the Teutonic Order"
Enjoyed this movie greatly. Tremendous story and factual history. Movies like this are seldom seen on the big screen today. If I could see more of this type of movies in the theater I would spend more time there instead of attending a theater only once in every five years.

Knights of The Teutonic Order
A good color film of the period seen thru Polish eyes. It gives a good insight into Polish history as well as that of the little known Teutonic Order, that originally did its crusading in the Holy Land. Its good to remember that from its lands the Duchy of Prussia was created.