Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Ashes and Diamonds Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 19, 2021

Andrzej Wajda's "Ashes and Diamonds" (1958) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival audio commentary by critic Annette Insdorf; archival interviews with Andrzej Wajda, second director Janusz Morgenstern, and critic Jerzy Plazewski; behind the scenes newsreel; and more. In Polish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The assassin

It is May 8, 1945. Germany has capitulated and the war has ended. In Poland, there are plenty of happy people. There are also plenty of people making plans about the future, thinking about careers, trying to figure out exactly whom they can trust.

Maciek Chelmicki (Zybigniew Cybulski) is convinced that he cannot trust the country's new leaders, which is why he has joined an underground resistance movement. His latest assignment is to kill an influential communist district leader (Waclaw Zastrzeyzinski), who is expected to attend a large political banquet in a rundown hotel.

Maciek and another member (Adam Pawlikowski) of the resistance movement arrive in the hotel shortly after their target does. They check in and then head straight to the bar, where the beautiful barmaid Krystyna (Ewa Krzyzewska) serves them drinks. Maciek flirts with her and she flirts back. Before he leaves, he casually invites her to come visit him in his room.

A few hours later, much to Maciek's surprise Krystyna knocks on his door. He quickly hides the gun he has been cleaning and lets her in. The two make love. Then they talk about the war, the present and the future. Eventually, Maciek realizes that he has misjudged Krystyna -- she is exactly the type of woman he has been dreaming about while fighting the Nazis. Krystyna also realizes that Maciek isnï't like the rest of the guys who come to the bar, interested only in her body and not her thoughts. Maciek is the type of man she would love to have a serious relationship with, perhaps even marry.

Maciek and Krystyna talk some more. Then they head to the lobby and dance. Eventually, they take a walk around the city, almost completely destroyed and full of fresh corpses. It is the strangest romantic walk ever, but the best the two have ever had. Suddenly, Maciek kisses Krystyna and then pushes her away. She has made him weak, a normal man wanting a normal life. But he cannot afford to be weak, not now. Tonight he must be strong, because tonight he must kill.

Based on Jerzy Andrzejewski's popular novel, Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds is a brilliant, incredibly bold film. It takes place over the course of a single night during which Poland is liberated and then immediately occupied again, while the strong (the ambitious communists and Soviet lackeys) establish themselves and the dreamers (the true patriots) are defeated.

The focus of attention, however, is on the short but intense relationship between a young patriot-turned-assassin and a beautiful but disillusioned barmaid. After they meet, for a short period of time both become detached from the strange vacuum that has emerged in their country. They begin fantasizing about normal lives but then quickly realize that their dreams aren't normal.

Of course, what the assassin and the barmaid want is perfectly normal, it is their country that isn't. And the film shows why, by repeatedly turning the absurd into normal, and the normal back into absurd, which is precisely how bizarre life was in all of the countries the Soviets occupied after the end of WW2.

Ultimately, however, what makes the film so fascinating to behold is how on one hand it favors the communists, portraying them as heroes and patriots, while on the other hand it shows them as opportunists and careerists more interested in serving their 'liberators' than their country. Conversely, the resistance fighters are clearly the enemy, yet strangely enough they are also portrayed as patriots whose reasons to confront the communists make plenty of sense.

Clearly, this constant blurring of the good and bad as well as the normal and absurd must have been enormously perplexing to the Polish censors, because with the exception of the politically correct finale the film openly suggests that in 1945 Poland's red leaders simply replaced one oppressor with another and the country lost its freedom again. It is remarkable that they misinterpreted its message and did not destroy it.

Ashes and Diamonds Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ashes and Diamonds arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

A decade ago, we reviewed this European release of Ashes and Diamond which was sourced from a 2K restoration. This upcoming release is sourced from a recent 4K restoration of the film.

I viewed the new restoration earlier tonight and my impression is that it offers an all-around superior presentation of the film. On the previous release, there were obvious traces of filtering corrections that made certain parts of the film look a tad too smooth. The new restoration handles these areas a lot better and as a result many of the light/dark nuances look far more convincing. Virtually all close-ups have dramatically stronger organic qualities as well. However, the existing elements reveal obvious limitations as well, which is likely the main reason why the previous restoration reveals traces of filtering. Indeed, it appears that on the previous restoration someone was trying to rebalance the visuals as best as possible, but the adjustments proved too strong because there is content with unique ageing and other inherited limitations. In other words, on the new restoration the grain is much better exposed and distributed, but softer areas with inherited limitations remain. The grayscale is lovely. The blacks look solid yet very natural while the ranges of grays and whites are nicely balanced. Image stability is very good, but some transitions could be a tad shaky. (See the opening). The film looks healthy. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Ashes and Diamonds Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Polish LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clear and stable. Some minor fluctuations in terms of dynamic balance can be heard, but they usually appear whenever the audio becomes a tad 'thin' as well. I think that virtually all of them are inherited limitations though, so more than likely there is very little room for additional optimizations. I think that the overall quality of the audio is very strong.

Ashes and Diamonds Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Andrzej Wajda on Ashes and Diamonds - presented here are interviews with Andrzej Wajda, second director Janusz Morgenstern, and critic Jerzy Plazewski. The bulk of the comments address the production history of Ashes & Diamonds, the book that inspired it and the changes that were introduced during its adaption, as well film's history with the Polish censors. The interviews were recorded for Criterion in 2003.
  
  1. Adaptations
  2. A Spanish past
  3. Casting the lead
  4. Cybulski
  5. Ewa
  6. Visuals
  7. Influences
  8. Cinema and censorship
  9. International acclaim
  10. Myths

• Behind the Scenes Newsreel - this short newsreel appeared in Polish cinemas in 1958, to announce the coming of director Andrzej Wajda's third film, Ashes and Diamonds. In Polish, with optional English subtitles. (2 min).

• Video Essay - presented here is a new video essay by critic Annette Insdorf. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by Annette Insdorf in 2004. It was also included on Criterion's DVD release of Ashes and Diamonds.

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by film scholar Paul Coates as well as technical credits.

Ashes and Diamonds Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A classic of Polish cinema, Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds is a remarkably bold film that offers a glimpse at the unusual socio-political vacuum that developed immediately after the end of WW2 and shortly before the country's occupation by the Soviets. This upcoming release is sourced from a very nice recent 4K restoration and features the best technical presentation of the film that I have seen to date. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.