Few names are as synonymous with Polish cinema as that of Krzysztof Kieślowski, the renowned auteur responsible for the Dekalog and Three Colours trilogy. Prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall and his subsequent creative and critical success in France, Kieślowski plied his trade within the confines of the Eastern Bloc, capturing the realities of everyday life under Soviet rule. This collection gathers his four earliest narrative feature films, encapsulating the years 1976–1984.

In 1976’s The Scar, a well-intentioned Party loyalist is charged with overseeing the construction of a new chemical plant in the face of fierce resistance and is forced to confront the conflict between his good intentions and local opposition. In 1979’s Camera Buff, a family man and amateur filmmaker experiences a dramatic change in fortunes when his newfound hobby opens up new horizons but also results in deep marital and philosophical conflicts. Blind Chance, completed in 1981 and denied a release in its native Poland until 1987, presents three possible outcomes to a single, seemingly banal event – a young medical student running to catch a train – and, in the process, explores the relationship between chance and choice. Finally, in 1984’s No End, a recently bereaved translator juggles the conflicting demands of her work, caring for her son and her continued visions of her late husband, all against the backdrop of a Poland under the grip of martial law.

As socially conscious as Kieślowski’s earlier documentary shorts, this quartet of films covers a tumultuous period in Polish and Eastern European history, shot with unflinching realism by a filmmaker of distinction.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Limited Edition collection (2000 copies)
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all four films
• Original lossless mono audio for all films
• Optional English subtitles for all films
• Brand new audio commentary on Camera Buff by critic Annette Insdorf
• Brand new audio commentary on Blind Chance by film historian Michael Brooke
• Ghost of a Chance, a brand new visual essay on No End by Adrian Martin and Cristina Alvarez Lopez
• Moral and Martial Anxieties, a brand new discussion with Michael Brooke, exploring the brief and remarkable Polish film renaissance of the turn of the 1980s
• Brand new introductions by scholar and critic Michał Oleszczyk to all films
• Michał Oleszczyk looks through archive materials for each film
• Archival interviews with filmmakers Agnieska Holland and Krzysztof Zanussi, cinematographers Slawomir Idziak and Jacek Petrycki, actress Grazyna Szapoloska, sound designer Michal Zarnecki, critic Annette Insdorf and Kieślowski collaborator Irena Strazakowska
• Three short films by Kieślowski: Talking Heads (1980), Concert of Requests (1995) and The Office (1995)
• Workshop Exercises, a 1987 short film by Marcel Lonzinski
• Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Corey Brickley
• Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the films by scholars and authors Ewa Mazierska, Marek Hatlof, Dina Iordanova and Joseph G. Kickasola, and original writing by Kieślowski

Details

Director: Krzysztof Kieślowski
Cast: Franciszek Pieczka, Jerzy Stuhr, Boguslaw Linda, Grazyna Szapolowska
RRP: £64.99
Region: B
Rating: 15
Genre: Drama
Duration: 450 mins
Language: Polish
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 / 1.33:1
Audio: Mono 1.0
Colour
Discs: 4
Blu-ray discs

BD Cat No: FCD1997
BD Barcode: 5027035021669