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Ashes and Diamonds
Directed by Andrzej Wajda, 1958
Script by Andrzej Wajda and Jerzy Andrzejewski

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Spring 2001
Film Festival

Tuesday, February 27

Ashes and Diamonds Directed by Andrzej Wajda , 1958

From you, as from burning chips of resin Fiery fragments circle far and near: Ablaze, you don't know if you are to be free, Or if all that is yours will disappear. Will only ashes and confusion remain, Leading into the abyss?--or will there be In the depths of the ash a star-like diamond, The dawning of eternal victory!   --From Cyprian Norwid, "Prolog," Tragedia fantastyczna (Epigraph to Andrzejewski's novel)

 

Below you will find a number of questions and information about Ashes and Diamonds. Please consider these as an outline for Wednesday's discussion.

Links:

Biography of Jerzy Andrzejewski: http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/andrzeje.htm
Film review of Ashes and Diamonds: http://film.guardian.co.uk/Century_Of_Films/Story/0,4135,47809,00.html
Essay on Ashes and Diamondshttp://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~birkhh/ashes.htm
.Awesome Wajda official site (see his autobiographical notes): http://www.wajda.pl/en/filmy.html
Film reviews from the Wajda site: http://www.wajda.pl/en/filmy/film03.html

Discussion Questions:

1. An obvious question: how does the film interpret the novel? Try to find ways in which the camera tries to achieve similar things as the novel, and ways in which the film transforms the literary text.

2. Who is the hero in the film--and the novel? Is there more than one?

3. Describe the Polonnaise scene

4. How is the title played out in the cinematography of this film? Think of the interplay of light and dark, of images of ashes (or fire) and diamonds (or light). What might be the "diamond" that emerges from the" ashes" of war?

The information found on this page has been in large part compiled by Richele Brafford '01. The site is maintained by Richele and Todd Armstrong. All materials are intended solely for academic purposes.

Last modified: February 12, 2001.

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