Katyn Aka Post mortem [Region 2]
by Andrzej Wajda
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DVD details
Actor: Andrzej Chyra, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka, Maja OstaszewskaDirector: Andrzej Wajda
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: Polish (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Import, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: TiM Film Studio
DVD Reviews of Katyn Aka Post mortem [Region 2]
DVD Review: A Soviet Atrocity Exposed
Summary: 5 Stars
I read about this Soviet atrocity a few years ago in "Katyn: Stalin's Massacre and the Seeds of Polish Resurrection" by Allen Paul, but watching the film really made it hit home. I wish it would be released in the U.S. The movie has English subtitles, however the extra features unfortunately do not (this review covers the single-DVD release, not the 2-DVD one, so I don't know about the extra features on the second disk in that set or if there are any subtitles available).
The film deals with not just the atrocity itself, but the refusal among some Poles to accept the Soviet lies about it (the Reds claimed the Nazis were responsible). To me, the film does what I believe it's intended to do; illustrate the tragedy of Katyn, as well as the beginning of Soviet domination of Poland. As mentioned in an earlier review, the executions are graphic - the filmmakers don't pull any punches here, and they shouldn't.
Note: This movie is in PAL (not NTSC) format, so you'll need a PAL-NTSC converter along with a Region-free DVD player to watch it.
DVD Review: Numbing and Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a powerful film that leaves one with a great sense of loss. Wajda always wanted to make this film (his father was one of the many Polish officers murdered at Katyn) and I believe that in time it will be acknowledged as one of his masterpieces ranking alongside "Kanal" and "Ashes and Diamonds" (amongst others). The film doesn't just deal with the murder of the officers by the Soviets in 1940, but also with the experiences of the wives and children, themselves pursued or living in a limbo of uncertainty, and then the discovery (and exploitation) of the atrocity by the Nazis. The irony and injustice is piled on after "liberation" - when history is rewritten by the Communists. There are some poignant moments, the brutal butchery, like in a slaughterhouse, or the events around Christmas. This is a moving film that I cannot recommend highly enough.DVD Review: A tragic story that was not allowed to be told earlier because of suppressed truth and political pressure
Summary: 5 Stars
If the Poles didn't have it bad enough by having by having nearly the entire German army blitzkrieg it's Western border on September 1, 1939, the Soviet army then invaded from the East sixteen days later. Katyn presents a history lesson that most people never heard about: the mass murder of tens of thousands of Polish officers by the Russians in 1940. While watching this film you may wonder if the Russians mistreated Poland worse than the Germans did during World War II (which is a debate in itself).
The Germans found the massacre site in 1943 and announced it to the Poles, hoping to use it for propaganda against Russia. The Russians denied the accusation and then staged it to appear the Germans were behind the butchery. Katyn doesn't tell the story in a chronological way, but we see it unfold slowly; we see both the men at war and the women at home who love them. The wives, mothers and daughters of the Polish officers spend so much time waiting and wondering what happened to them. Even when the war ends the problems of the war do not - they spill into the decades that follow.
Andrzej Wajda is Poland's best-known director and has been making films for over fifty years. I think it is great Wajda is still making films because his recent work is opening the door to younger audiences who primarily watch contemporary movies. He has long ago established himself as being a brilliant director and Katyn reflects his years of experience and talent.
Katyn is a story that is strongly based on history and is the first film about the Soviet massacre of nearly 22,000 Polish officers. I viewed Katyn with someone who lived through this time and he confirmed that even the smallest details were right on and the way it is presented is how it was. It is a tragic story that was not allowed to be told earlier because of suppressed truth and political pressure. This movie is not just for people that like historical dramas but is one that may be of interest to everyone.
DVD Review: An Outstanding Movie is Finally Widely Available
Summary: 5 Stars
Andrzej Wajda's masterpiece, KATYN, was recently nominated for the Oscar. It is a very moving, educational, and thought-provoking film.
The movie begins with the German-Soviet conquest of Poland in 1939. The viewer senses the actions of the aggressors through the eyes of the civilians.
But this is only the beginning of Poland's sufferings. Both enemies of Poland begin their genocide of Poles with the cream of Polish society. The Germans invite some professors to the university, only to promptly arrest them (for shooting, or slow deaths in concentration camps). The Soviets hold the captured officers and intellectuals at places such as Kozielsk, where the prisoners sing Christmas carols in December 1939. It will be their last Christmas. By spring 1940, the Soviets decide to shoot nearly all of the captive Polish officers.
The movie also shows the life of relatives of the Soviet-held men. First there are the letters, and hope for a speedy reunion. Then...silence. Finally, the Germans break the news of their discovery of the Katyn mass graves, and exploit it for propaganda purposes--hoping to divide the Allies. The relatives face the fact that their men will never return.
After the war, the suffering of the Katyn relatives continues. Information about the exact fate of the missing men is skimpy. The Soviet puppet state, using the Communist terror police (the UB), tries to force the grieving relatives to sign a statement blaming the Germans for the crime. The relatives also face pressure from others to "accept reality" that Poland will never again be free, and must align itself with Soviet dictates. They refuse. Then they have problems sending their son to the university because they won't bow to the Soviet lie about Katyn.
Polish movies tell it like it was, and often don't have a happy ending. WARNING: This movie has graphic scenes of the Polish officers being shot and blood being spilled. This may upset sensitive viewers. These scenes come near the end of the movie, as the victims are trucked to the sites of death, and, one-by-one, shot point-blank in the back of the head. The beginnings of the "Our Father" are the last words on their lips.
A superb movie! I only wish that it was translated into English, and widely used in history classes throughout the English-speaking world.
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