Krzyzacy/Knights of the Cross (Poland 1960) (1 Viewer)

[JeffO]

I was wondering if anyone has seen Krzyzacy/Knights of the Cross (Poland 1960) in any of its forms, and has any comments. Amazon.com is going to release it for Region One on October 27.

I've read the novel, and it looks to be a dark themed, realistic medieval knights movie.

Thanks

 

[Matt Czyz]

I haven't, but I sure like the title

I'm definitely going to check this out though; it sounds great.

 

[Bob Graham]

The film itself is a masterpiece and is considered a national classic in Poland. Lech Waleza (hope I spelled that right) said it was his favorite film of all time and it features some of the most incredible widescreen vistas and battle scenes you will ever see.

In the early sixties, it was recut and distributed in the US as KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK CROSS. This is the version that I saw (at an art museum in Koeln, Germany). The recut version didn't make much sense, but it was incredible to look at.

The version being sold by Amazon has been available in the States for some time, primarily through Polish language bookstores. It has the original cut of the film in Polish with optional English sub-titles. The bad news is that it doesn't come near to doing the film justice. The transfer is anamorphic but has been re-sized to 1:85 from what was a 2:35 (I believe) ratio. This kills all of the widescreen set-ups. Picture quality is soft, roughly comparable to a decent PD version, but no where near the quality I've come to expect from American studios.

The film is still worth seeing, even though it's not OAR. I'm glad I have it, but if someone were to release a restored and remastered version in the original aspect ratio, I buy it in a heartbeat.

 

[JeffO]

Thanks Jonathan and Bob - I'm going to buy it and I'll let you know my thoughts.