Films and TV series were an important form of entertainment for generations in Poland. For grandparents in the 1950s-60s, cinemas and limited TV programming featured mostly Polish films. By the 1970s, parents had access to more foreign films from the US and Soviet Union. Now, modern Polish families like ours can choose from a vast array of films on TV, DVDs, and online, with popular choices including the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Avengers franchises.
2. OUR GRANDPARENTS
In the 50s and 60s there were not many tv
sets and the number of tv programmes was
low that is why people more often went to
the cinema. Most of the films were Polish
for example:
3. MR ANATOL’S HAT (KAPELUSZ
PANA ANATOLA)
Feature film
Production year: 1957
Genre: Comedy
„Mr Anatol’s Hat” is a mistake comedy
with some criminal elements. Its main
character, a nice office worker from
Warsaw buys a new hat. This event
begins a series of unusual events.
Thanks to the hat Mr Anatol is thought to
be a boss of the gang…
5. THE KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS
(KRZYŻACY)
Feature film
Production year: 1960
Genre: Historical film
A historical film based on the novel by the
Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz (a noble
laureate).
The plot is situated in the14th and 15th
century Poland and focuses on the Polish–
Teutonic War and the final Battle of
Grunwald. The film attracted to the cinema
millions of viewers and is one of the most
attended films in Polish history. It was a
Polish submission to the Best Foreign Film
Oscar in 1960.
7. CIVIL WAR (WOJNA DOMOWA)
TV series
Production year: 1965-66
Genres: drama, comedy film
It is a satirical story of the two
families living in the same block of
flats. They deal with the problems of
their teenage children. Anula and
Paweł are typical young people of the
60s who dream of freedom and being
adults.
9. FOUR TANK-MEN AND A DOG
(CZTEREJ PANCERNI I PIES)
Feature film
Production year: 1966
Genres: War film, Andventure film
A story of a team of a tank named "Rudy" and of a
dog named Szarik, which was in the past very
popular among cinema visitors and TV watchers.
At those times almost each child played at „the
tank-men”, the name Szarik was given to almost
each dog and girls were having plaits like Marusia
– a female character from the film. 7 million people
went to the cinema to watch the film. In 1995 it
won the competition for the most popular Polish TV
series.
12. ALL FRIENDS HERE (SAMI SWOI)
Feature film
Production year: 1967
Genre: Comedy
It is the first part of a Polish comedy trilogy. The
movie is the story of the two quarreling families,
who after the end of the Second World War were
resettled to the Regained Territories. It was one of
the most popular Polish comedies of its times and
is still an old favorite. There is a museum
dedicated to the movies, and Toruń has a statue
of the two main characters, Kargul and Pawlak.
15. HOW I UNLEASHED WORLD WAR II (JAK
ROZPĘTAŁEM DRUGĄ WOJNĘ ŚWIATOWĄ)
Feature film
Production year: 1969
Genre: Comedy
The comedy tells the story of a Polish soldier
Franciszek Dolas, who - as a result of comical
coincidences - is sure that he started the
Second World War. Trying to redeem himself
at all costs, he gets into new trouble all the
time. In doing so, he finds himself on different
war fronts (Yugoslavia, Mediterranean
Sea, Near East, Italy) and finally returns to
Poland.
17. COLONEL WOLODYJOWSKI (PAN
WOŁODYJOWSKI)
Feature film
Production year: 1969
Genre: historical drama film
It is a Polish historical drama film
directed by Jerzy Hoffman. The film is based
on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was
shown during the 6th Moscow International
Film Festival where Tadeusz Łomnicki won
the award for the Best Actor.
The story of the film is set during
the Ottoman Empire's invasion of Poland in
the 17th century.
19. THE CRUISE (REJS)
Feature film
Production year: 1970
Genre: Comedy
Rejs is considered as a
masterpiece and the cult film in Polish
cinema. It is shot in a para-documentary
style, with only two or three professional
actors. The absurd plot parodies life in
the People's Republic of Poland, reducing
a weekend river cruise to a funny
parody of the communist system.
21. FOREIGN FILMS ON POLISH TV
Our grandparents could also see films from abroad.
Fridays were devoted to Soviet films. The most popular were:
• The Cranes Are Flying
• Seventeen Moments Of Spring
• War And Peace
On Thursdays they could watch American criminals such as:
• The Streets of San Francisco
• Kojak
• Charlie’s Angels
• Columbo
Saturdays were reserved for American westerns:
• Rio Bravo
• The Magnificent Seven
• High Noon
• Mackenna’s Gold
22. OUR PARENTS
It is hard to put a boarder between films
watched by our grandparents and parents as
there are a lot of films which were seen by
both, especially the films of the 70s. Here are
some examples:
23. IN DESERT AND WILDERNESS
(W PUSTYNI I W PUSZCZY)
Feature film
Production year: 1973
Genre: Adventure film
A Polish film adapted from the novel
by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It tells the
story of two kids, Staś Tarkowski
and Nel Rawlison, kidnapped by the
rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in
Sudan. The film was filmed in
Egypt, Sudan and Bulgaria, with an
international cast and crew.
24. JANOSIK
TV series
Production year: 1973
Genres: Adventure film, Costume film
The script for the TV series was written on the
basis of a legend about a robber living in the
Tatra Mountains. In the film there are a lot of
humour and funny scenes. There are also
amazing battles and even a fall off a rock. The
series shows adventures of the band of robbers
whose leader is Janosik.
27. I AM COUNTING ON TOLEK
BANAN
TV series
Production year: 1973
Genres: a film for children (teenagers)
This tv series tells a story of a group of difficult teenagers who don’t
follow social norms of behaviour. The film points out that teenagers
need authorities, ideals and patterns of behaviour. One day the
group meets a romantic character of Tolek Banan. Soon we can
observe a process of changing in the behaviour of those four
teenagers. Thanks to Tolek they learn to be friends and be honest, in
the name of a rule „One for all, all for one”.
28. THE DELUGE (POTOP)
Feature film
Production year: 1974
Genre: Historical and costume film
It is a Polish-Soviet historical
drama film based on the novel by Henryk
Sienkiewicz. It was nominated for the
Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1974.
The film is set in the 17th
century during the Swedish invasion of
Poland in the years 1655 to 1657, known
as The Deluge.
30. BEING FORTY (40-LATEK)
TV series
Production year: 1974-1977
Genre: Comedy
It was a Polish television comedy
series. The first season enjoyed so much
popularity that it has successfully continued
and led to the release of a feature film I'm a
Butterfly, a 40-year-old Love Affair.
The series is about a Warsaw family
and deals with the topics of midlife crisis, such
as love affairs, attempts to quit
smoking, obsession with hair loss, efforts to be
fit, pride in professional life.
32. THE HOUSE (DOM)
TV series
Production year: 1980-2000
Genre: drama
A Polish drama TV series telling a
story of citizens living in a house by
25 Golden Street in Warsaw from
1945 to 1980. The series recalled
the memories of the Second World
War, communism and everyday life
of that time. For the young people it
is a marvelous lesson of history.
34. TEDDY BEAR (MIŚ)
Feature film
Production year: 1980
Genre: Comedy
Teddy Bear is a cult Polish film. It
shows a story of Rysiek, a cunning manager
of a sports club who has to get to London
before his ex-wife Irena. He needs to collect a
huge sum of money from a savings account
the two used to share in happier days. In the
film we can see corruption, absurd
bureaucracy, bribery and black market that
were common during socialism of the People's
Republic of Poland.
36. MR. BLOT’S ACADEMY (AKADEMIA
PANA KLEKSA)
Feature film
Production year: 1983
Genre: Musical, Adventure film
Thanks to the powers of magic, a ten-
year-old Adaś Niezgódka is transported to the
fairy tale land of Mr. Blot – the character of Jan
Brzechwa’s book. Mr. Blot is a teacher and a
magician in one. His lessons cannot be boring.
Especially when blotology is the subject. Adaś
learns about the miracles of the enchanted land,
but also gets to know its dark secrets. The
Academy is only for boys whose names begin
with a letter A.
38. SEXMISSION (SEKSMISJA)
Feature film
Production year: 1984
Genre: Comedy, Science–Fiction, Action film
It is a cult Polish film which contains a
hidden political satire specific to the time and
place of its production.
The two men, Max and Albert, submit
themselves in 1991 to the first human
hibernation experiment. They wake up in the
year 2044, in a post-nuclear world. People live
underground, and, as a result of radiation, all
males have died out…
40. FOREIGN FILMS
Our parents were able to watch more foreign films and TV series than our grandparents.
The most popular were American such as:
• Dynasty
• North And South
• Generations
• The Bold And The Beautiful
• Friends
• Beverly Hills 90210
• Alf
• Star Wars
The British favourites were:
• Mr. Bean
• ‘Allo ‘Allo
Our parents also watched Brasilian soap operas which were hits of that time. These
were:
• Slave Isaura
• In A Stone Circle
41. OUR GENERATION
Now we can choose from a huge number of films
which we can watch on TV, dvd, in the cinema or
online. In contrast to our grandparents we watch
more foreign films than Polish ones. Our favourites
are:
42. HARRY POTTER FILMS
Fantasy film
Production year: 2001-2011
The Harry Potter film series is based on the novels by J. K. Rowling. Harry
Potter is an orphan brought up by his unfriendly aunt and uncle. At the age
of eleven, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid informs him that he is a wizard and that
his parents were murdered by an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. Harry
begins his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and
learns about magic…
45. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA
Fantasy, Adventure films
Production year: 2005-2010
The films tell a story of four siblings who
find the way to a mysterious land of Narnia
with mythic creatures and talking animals.
46. TWILIGHT FILMS
Romantic fantasy Film
Production year: 2008-2012
The films focus on the development of the
relationship between Bella Swan (a teenage girl)
and Edward Cullen (a vampire), and the
subsequent efforts of Edward and his family to
keep Bella safe from a coven of evil vampires.
47. FAMILY.PL
Comedy series
Production year: 2011-2012
It is a warm comedy story of a modern Polish family. This TV series
shows problems which may appear when you bring up three sons.
Some moments of misunderstanding, quarrels about tiny things and
fundamental matters mix up with moving moments of warmth, love
and understanding.
49. AVENGERS
Science–fiction film
Production year: 2012
The film tells a story of Nick Fury who is a
chef of an international agency named
S.H.I.E.L.D, which is in charge of the
safety of the whole world. Nick is to create
a team which will manage to deal with the
most improbable tasks…
51. THE END
Sources:
http://google.com
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://pl.wikipedia.org
http://filmweb.pl
www.youtube.com