THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

The Teutonic Knights: translation

(Krzyżacy, 1960)

Historical epic film directed byAleksander Ford, a faithfuladaptationofHenryk Sienkiewicz's novel of the same title, published for the first time in 1900. The film, scripted by Ford andJerzy Stefan Stawiński, deals with the 1410 defeat of the Order of the Teutonic Knights, led by Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen (who fell on the battlefield), by the Polish-Lithuanian forces, led by King Władysław Jagiełło. The Battle of Grunwald (aka Tannenberg), one of the biggest medieval armed encounters, marked the decline of the powerful order, which never recovered from the defeat. Ford's widescreen film in Eastmancolor, the first of its kind in Poland (cinematography byMieczysław Jahoda), was released exactly on the 550th anniversary of the battle. It combined a melodramatic love story with dynamic action sequences, set against the backdrop of the military and political conflict. Featuring popular actors such as Urszula Modrzyńska (Jagienka), Mieczysław Kalenik (Zbyszko), Grażyna Staniszewska (Danusia), and Andrzej Szalawski (Jurand), the film had fourteen million viewers in the first four years of its release and was exported to forty-six countries. According to figures from 2000,The Teutonic Knightsremains the most popular film ever screened in Poland, with 33.3 million viewers.