Description:
In 1999, Polish director Andrzej Wajda received an Honorary Academy Award® for his body of work—more than thirty-five feature films, beginning with A Generation in 1955. Wajda's second film, Kanal, the first ever made about the Warsaw uprising, secured him the Special Jury Prize at Cannes and started him on the path to international acclaim, secured with the releases of his masterpiece, Ashes and Diamonds in 1958. These three groundbreaking films ushered in the "Polish School" movement and later became known as the "War Trilogy." But each boldly stands on its own—a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the struggle for personal and national freedom, and Wajda's unique contribution to homeland and world cinema. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this director-approved edition, with new transfer of all three films and extensive interviews with the director and his colleagues.
Special Features:
- New, restored high-definition digital transfers
- Audio commentary by film scholar Annette Insdorf on Ashes and Diamonds
- Exclusive new interviews on each film with Andrzej Wajda, assistant director Janusz Morgenstern, and film critic Jerzy Plazewski
- Vintage newsreel on the making of Ashes and Diamonds
- Ceramics from Ilza (Ceramika Ilzecka), Wajda's 1951 film school short
- Rare behind-the-scenes production photos, publicity stills, and posters for all three films
- A gallery of Andrzej Wajda's original drawings and paintings
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Plus: New essays by film scholars and critics Ewa Mazierska, John Simon, and Paul Coates