Daniel Olbrychski: Face to Face with a Legend

How much Polish athletics lost because of this decision is unknown. But we do know how much Polish cinema gained – something that will be made clear in the retrospective of Daniel Olbrychski’s films, presented as part of this year’s Timeless Film Festival Warsaw. This special retrospective coincides with the actor’s 80th birthday.

Daniel Olbrychski’s career is inseparable from the history of Polish cinema. He made his screen debut in 1963 as Corporal Koral in Janusz Nasfeter’s war drama Wounded in the Forest, but his first major role came as Rafał Olbromski in Andrzej Wajda’s The Ashes. It was Jan Kreczmar, rector of the State Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw, who recommended him to Wajda, reportedly saying, “There is only one boy here who fits the role. Don’t look for anyone else.” Wajda was captivated by Olbrychski’s youthful energy, and the collaboration between them lasted for decades. Olbrychski appeared in numerous Wajda films, including the Oscar-nominated The Promised Land and The Maids of Wilko.

But Olbrychski was not only Wajda’s actor. He played tormented characters in Polish moral anxiety films (The Structure of Crystal, Family Life by Krzysztof Zanussi), was part of Kazimierz Kutz’s renowned Silesian triptych (Salt of the Black Earth), and worked with directors like Janusz Morgenstern, Piotr Szulkin, Jerzy Antczak, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Lech Majewski, and Agnieszka Holland. He starred in all three parts of the film adaptations of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy, with his portrayal of Kmicic in The Deluge causing national hysteria; Olbrychski recalled years later that people would insult him, threaten to beat him up, and even leave trams at the sight of him – so strong was their opposition to him playing Sienkiewicz’s hero.

Unlike most Polish actors, Olbrychski also had a thriving international career. He appeared in The Tin Drum by Volker Schlöndorff, The Ones and the Others by Claude Lelouch, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Philip Kaufman, and even Salt by Philip Noyce, where he shared thescreen with Angelina Jolie. His versatility is unmatched – whether playing a literary hero, a disillusioned young man searching for love in communist Poland, a boxer, a 19th-century factory owner, or a modern-day Russian agent, Olbrychski has always been convincing. His presence in Polish cinema spans generations – after all, he made his debut 62 years ago!

For this retrospective, Daniel Olbrychski personally selected 19 feature films and 5 television theater productions. 8 of these will be screened at the Timeless Film Festival Warsaw, while the remaining 12 films and 5 TV productions will be shown at Kino Iluzjon after the festival. Olbrychski and filmmakers associated with the presented films will meet with the audience.

As part of the retrospective Daniel Olbrychski: Face to Face with a Legend, the following films will be screened:

• The Ashes (Popioły, dir. Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1965)
• Marriage of Convenience (Małżeństwo z rozsądku, dir. Stanisław Bareja, Poland, 1966)
• Jowita (dir. Janusz Morgenstern, Poland, 1967)
• Everything for Sale (Wszystko na sprzedaż, dir. Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1968)
• Landscape After Battle (Krajobraz po bitwie, dir. Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1970)
• Agnus Dei (Égi bárány, dir. Miklós Jancsó, Hungary, 1970)
• The Ones and the Others (Les Uns et les Autres, dir. Claude Lelouch, France, 1981)
• The Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel, dir. Volker Schlöndorff, France, Yugoslavia, Poland, West Germany, 1979)
• The Fall of Italy (Pad Italije, dir. Lordan Zafranović, Yugoslavia, 1981)
• Pilate and Others (Pilatus und andere – Ein Film für Karfreitag, dir. Andrzej Wajda, West Germany, 1972)
• Family Life (Życie rodzinne, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi, Poland, 1970)
• Rosa Luxemburg (Rosa Luxemburg, dir. Margarethe von Trotta, West Germany, Czechoslovakia, 1986)
• The Knight (Rycerz, dir. Lech Majewski, Poland, 1980)
• Local Vision 1901 (Wizja lokalna 1901, dir. Filip Bajon, Poland, 1980)
• Ga, Ga: Glory to the Heroes (Ga, Ga. Chwała bohaterom, dir. Piotr Szulkin, Poland, 1985)
• The Boxer (Bokser, dir. Julian Dziedzina, Poland, 1967)
• Kung Fu (dir. Janusz Kijowski, Poland, 1979)
• Dekalog: Three (Dekalog III, dir. Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1988)
• The Pip (Pestka, dir. Krystyna Janda, Poland, 1995)

Television Theater Productions:

• Othello (Otello, dir. Andrzej Chrzanowski)
• Crime and Punishment (Zbrodnia i kara, dir. Andrzej Łapicki)
• Macbeth (Makbet, dir. Krzysztof Nazar)
• The Silver Dream of Salome (Sen srebrny Salomei, dir. Krzysztof Nazar)
• Father Marek (Ksiądz Marek, dir. Krzysztof Nazar)

The main partner of the retrospective is the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute.