The Dancing Hawk Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

The Dancing Hawk Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 20, 2026

There may be no Rosebud and/or Xanadu, but the love writer and director Grzegorz Królikiewicz felt for Citizen Kane (as reported on a supplement on this disc) pervades virtually every frame of The Dancing Hawk. The Orson Welles film looms so large in cinematic history that its impact has been felt in any number of ways, including narrative techniques, stylized framings and a kind of pre-Rashomon emphasis on different perspectives providing different takes on the "same" material. Some of those aspects frankly don't inform The Dancing Hawk in the slightest, but this is a tale of a Polish peasant who rises to the heights of (perceived) power, only to discover that "the center will not hold", so to speak. As such, those general outlines of course mirror the ascent and descent of one Charles Foster Kane, but Królikiewicz ups the comparison ante from a stylistic standpoint by offering an onslaught of vertiginous framings that might have impressed even Gregg Toland.

Michał Toporny (Franciszek Trzeciak, bearing a perhaps aptly hangdog resemblance to Jim Parsons at times) is the focal character here, shown basically from birth to death and everything in between, albeit in an often disjunctive, askew way that keeps the viewer guessing as to context and a narrative through line. If Citizen Kane deconstructs capitalism almost as an afterthought, the socioeconomic context of post World War II Poland is definitely at play throughout this film, with Michał slowly but surely climbing the Socialist / Communist ranks of his country, which in more than one way appears to be in shambles. Much as with Kane, Michał achieves considerable success, albeit perhaps at the expense of his own humanity. The overall "arc" of Michał's trajectory in the film in fact mirrors Kane's rather closely, but it may be the film's presentational excesses that remind many of Welles' masterpiece just as much.

The Dancing Hawk Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Dancing Hawk is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Radiance's insert booklet provides the following (appreciated due to its completeness) information:

The Dancing Hawk underwent digitization and digital restoration at the national Film Archive - Audiovisual Institute (FINA). The process included 4K film scanning, conforming, digital image and sound restoration, color grading and mastering. The work was carried out by FINA's Digitization and Restoration Team under the artistic supervision of Zbieniew Wichłacz and with substantive consultation by Zbigniew Rybczyński. Sound restoration was completed by the Moovi studio. The film was delivered to Radiance Films as a digital master and is presented in its original aspect ratio.

The digitization and digital restoration were co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the Digital Poland Programme with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

While it's perhaps just slightly odd that the actual source element isn't identified, this is a really ravishing looking presentation for the most part, though detail levels in particular can vary pretty widely simply because framings and lighting conditions are so patently odd at times. The glut of extreme close-ups helps to boost fine detail on everything from facial features to fabrics on costumes and sets. A lot of the interstitial "natural" photography could have come from a Nature special and offers some really beautiful moments. The palette is very healthy looking, though on occasion has a just slightly blue-green undertone that almost gives it a "medicinal" or hospital like feel. Grain resolves without any issues.

The Dancing Hawk Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dancing Hawk features an LPCM Mono track in the original Polish, though the film is arguably more awash in sound design elements than long stretches of dialogue. Some passing sound effects, like some storm rumbles at the very beginning of the film, can sound slightly boxy, but that actually seems to be part of the intent, as evidenced by really reverberant footsteps that then echo a few seconds later. Once some string drenched music and the opening voiceover begin, though, the track reveals its full depth and sounds great. All spoken material is delivered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Dancing Hawk Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Carmen Gray (HD; 16:23) offers an appealing overview of the film and its director within the context of post World War II Poland.


• Short Films by Cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczyński

Soup (HD; 8:38) is a really fun animated look at some of the "rituals" of a marriage.




Oh! I Can't Stop! (HD; 10:10) offers a madcap "marauding camera" chasing after whatever's in the frame.

Additionally, Radiance provides a nicely appointed insert booklet with an essay by Piotr Kletowski which overtly compares the film to Citizen Kane. The keepcase features a reversible sleeve and packaging features an Obi strip.

The Dancing Hawk Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Dancing Hawk may frankly not have the narrative scope and genius of Orson Welles' enduring masterpiece, but it has its own rather distinct and distinctive pleasures. Zbigniew Rybczyński won an Oscar for Best Animated Short in 1983, and he has a host of hugely variant and really interesting credits to his name, and his cinematography here in its own way is as impressive as Gregg Toland's for Citizen Kane, and I certainly mean that as a compliment of the very highest order. That presentational whirlwind may help the film elide some arguable deficits in the screenplay, but The Dancing Hawk is a very memorable film in its own right. Technical merits are first rate, and the supplements enjoyable. Highly recommended.