TELEVISION FILMS

Television films: translation

Although the first experimental television studio opened in Warsaw in 1952, and the first films were produced there in 1954, television became more popular in the 1960s. The number of television sets grew from approximately five hundred thousand in 1960 (when the first television production company was formed), to more than three million in 1968 and more than five million in 1972.

In 1965 Polish viewers watched the first locally made television series,Barbara and Jan(Barbara i Jan, seven episodes), directed by Hieronim Przybył and Jerzy Ziarnik, followed byStanisław Bareja's crime seriesCaptain Sowa Investigates(eight episodes, 1965), starringWiesław Gołas. The most popular 1965 television series, however, wasCivil War(Wojna domowa, fifteen episodes), directed by Jerzy Gruza. In 1967Janusz Majewskidirected the first television film,Avatar, or the Exchange of Souls, part of a popular series of films calledStrange Stories(Opowieści niesamowite, thirteen episodes, 1967-1968). The late 1960s were dominated by the two most popular Polish television series ever made,Four Tankmen and a Dog(Czterej pancerni i pies, twenty-one episodes, 1966-1967), directed by Konrad Nałęcki, andMore Than Life at Stake(eighteen episodes, 1967-1968), directed byJanusz Morgensternand Andrzej Konic. The former, based on Janusz Przymanowski's novel (he was also the coscriptwriter of the film) and featuring future stars of Polish cinema includingJanusz Gajos, Roman Wilhelmi, andFranciszek Pieczka, was an adventure war film featuring the tankRudyand its crew on their road to Poland from the Soviet Union. The latter, also set during the war, offered an equally cartoonish, simplified, and stereotypical version of history. The film narrated the story of Hans Kloss (Stanisław Mikulski), a Polish superspy dressed in a German uniform.The popularity of these two television series prompted their makers to release theatrical versions. Subsequent television series, for examplePeasants(1973) byJan Rybkowski, were frequently made with eventual theatrical release in mind. This practice was first started byJerzy Antczak, the maker of the historical filmCountess Cosel(1968). Antczak later produced several distinguished television productions, such asNights and Days(thirteen episodes, 1977), and became known for numerous television plays.

In the late 1960s, television films were produced by established filmmakers and recent graduates from theŁódź Film School. Television became a training ground for a number of young filmmakers who often started their careers by producing medium-length television films. For example,Krzysztof Zanussiattracted international attention withDeath of a Provincial(1966) and two television films made in 1968,Face to FaceandPass Mark. In 1971 he producedNext Door, one of the finest Polish television films starringMaja KomorowskaandZbigniew Zapasiewicz. Other notable directors, such asAgnieszka Holland, Janusz Zaorski, andEdward Żebrowski, also took that route. Furthermore, a number of established filmmakers, includingAndrzej Wajda, occasionally made television films, some of them with a theatrical release in mind, as was the case with Wajda's television filmBirchwood(1970). Often two versions of one film were produced (television and big screen), sometimes made by two different directors. For example, the theatrical version ofPan Michael(akaPan Wołodyjowski, 1969) was directed byJerzy Hoffman, and the television series, titledThe Adventures of Mr. Michael(Przygody pana Michała, 1969), by Paweł Komorowski. The 1970s also marked the production of other distinguished television films, such as those directed byJanusz Kondratiuk(Marriageable Girls, 1972),Andrzej Kondratiuk(TheAscended, 1973), andKrzysztof Kieślowski(TheCalm(1976/1980).

In the 1970s, television series often dealt with the realm of the managerial class and Communist politics. They ranged from the reflective pictures of factory managers presented in the very well-received seriesDirectors(six episodes, 1975, Zbigniew Chmielewski), to the popular humorous depiction of life during the Edward Gierek period inThe Forty-Year-Old(Czterdziestolatek, twenty-one episodes, 1974-1976, Jerzy Gruza). Other television films also dealt with similar issues, for exampleThe Most Important Day of LifeNajważniejszy dzień życia, nine episodes, 1974, Andrzej Konic, Sylwester Szyszko, and Ryszard Ber),Identification Marks(Znaki szczególne, six episodes, 1976, Roman Załuski), andThe Sign on Earth(Ślad na ziemi, seven episodes, 1978, Chmielewski). Popular among audiences were attempts to uncover the past such asColumbuses(five episodes, 1970) andThe Polish Ways(ten parts, 1976), both directed by Morgenstern, dealing with the Warsaw Uprising and the fate of the Home Army (AK) members.Adaptationsof the Polish literary canon also proved to be popular, for exampleJan Rybkowski'sPeasants(thirteen episodes, 1972) and Ryszard Ber'sThe Doll(Lalka, nine episodes, 1977), as well as historical films such as Wojciech Solarz'sBalzak's Great Love(Wielka miłość Balzaka, seven episodes, 1973).

In 1980 Rybkowski produced the popular television seriesThe Career of Nikodem Dyzma, starringRoman Wilhelmi. Also in 1980,Jan Łomnickistarted his acclaimed seriesThe House(seven episodes), dealing with the fates of inhabitants of a Warsaw apartment building from 1945 to the 1960s. He added five more episodes in 1982 and 1987. In 1981 Jerzy Sztwiertnia directed a historical series,The Longest War of Modern Europe(Najdłuzsza wojna nowoczesnej Europy, thirteen episodes, 1981), and another director,Radosław Piwowarski, completed the popular, unusual melodrama titledJohn Heart(ten episodes, 1982). After the introduction of martial law in December 1981, some directors tried in a thinly veiled manner to poke fun at the absurdities of the Polish People's Republic, for exampleStanisław BarejainAlternatywy 4(Alternative Street, No. 4, nine episodes, 1983, premiere in 1986/1987). Krzysztof Szmagier's crime series07 Report! (07 zgłoś się! twenty-one episodes, 1976-1988) was also very popular. The most important event, however, was Kieslowski's ten-partDecalogue(1988), loosely inspired by the Ten Commandments. Arguably, one of the best television films produced in the 1980s wasMagdalenaŁazarkiewicz'sThe Touch(1986).

In the 1990s, with the decline of existingfilm studios, Polish Television also became the leading producer of theatrical films. For example, in 1995, state-run television participated in the production of almost all feature films in Poland and acted as the sole producer of four. Three films were produced by the private television network Canal+. Certain acclaimed filmmakers, such asAndrzej BarańskiandJan Jakub Kolski, made all their films with the help of state television. The first Polish television soap opera,In the Labirynth(W labiryncie, 1988-1990), was produced by Paweł Karpiński. Zanussi'sWeekend Stories(seven episodes, 1995-1996), close in spirit toDecalogue, proved to be popular among audiences. Perhaps the most popular crime series at that time wasThe Extradition(1995-1996, 1998), directed byWojciech Wójcik, withMarek Kondratstarring as Warsaw police inspector Halski. Perhaps the most artistically important television project in recent years is a series of loosely linked films designed by screenwriter Grzegorz Łoszewski and grouped under the titlePolish Holidays(Polskie święta). Prior to 2006, twelve fine television films were produced (usually lasting more than an hour), directed by some established and new directors, including Janusz Kondratiuk (The Night of Santa Claus, 2000), Janusz Morgenstern (Yellow Scarf, 2000), Radosław Piwowarski (TheQueen of Clouds, 2003), andSylwester Chęciński(TheUhlans Have Arrived, 2005).