{"id":44702,"date":"2019-09-06T09:35:07","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T16:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44702"},"modified":"2021-01-24T13:24:05","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T20:24:05","slug":"knife-in-the-water-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44702","title":{"rendered":"Knife in the Water (1962)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;On the water, you need to have reflexes.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Poster-206x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-44705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Poster-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Poster-88x128.jpg 88w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Poster.jpg 550w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn aggressive sports writer (Leon Niemczyk) and his wife (Jolanta Umecka) pick up a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanoqwicz) on their way to a weekly boating trip, and invite him to accompany them &#8212; but tensions and rivalries continue to mount as the two men show off their prowess in front of bikini-clad Umecka.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At Sea<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Masculinity<\/li>\n<li>Rivalry<\/li>\n<li>Roman Polanski Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;Roman Polanski&#8217;s first film, his only Polish film, is an enigmatic three-character piece he wrote with Jerzy Skolimowski and Jakub Goldberg&#8221;, which &#8220;concentrates on the stiff competition between the two men [Niemczyk and Malanoqwicz] at sailing, at pickup sticks, at knife playing&#8221;. He points out the &#8220;sense of claustrophobia (heightened when they go below) that dramatically builds tension; just as the wind determines the boat&#8217;s movements, fate seems to control the characters&#8221; &#8212; and while &#8220;we expect that in this natural setting the characters will lay bare their deepest emotions&#8221;, they &#8220;never really strip off their defenses and totally reveal themselves&#8221;. Peary further notes that &#8220;Niemczyk desires to show off for his wife and to himself by humiliating the younger man; but while he wins his small victories, he seems increasingly infantile&#8221; &#8212; and ultimately, the &#8220;immense problems in the relationship between Niemcyzk and Umecka&#8230; come to [the] surface&#8221; and must be confronted. Other than pointing out Jerzy Lipman&#8217;s &#8220;excellent hand-held photography&#8221;, however,  Peary&#8217;s review neglects to highlight the visual strengths of this unusual and surprisingly potent chamber piece &#8212; including and perhaps primarily its camera angles, strategic blocking of characters, and highly effective editing. While this isn&#8217;t a film I would choose to return to repeatedly, it should be seen at least once for its technical brilliance.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Solid direction, cinematography, and editing throughout<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44707\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still1.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still1-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still1-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still1-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44711\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still5.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still5-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still5-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still5-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still4.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still4-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still4-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Knife-in-the-Water-Still4-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as Polanski&#8217;s worthy debut feature. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0056291\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/films\/2002\/05\/20\/knife_in_the_water_1962_review.shtml\">BBC Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/knife-in-the-water\/review\/103352\/\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1963\/10\/29\/archives\/screen-polands-knife-in-the-waterdrama-involves-three-persons-in-a.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jigsawlounge.co.uk\/film\/knifeinthewater.html\">Jigsaw Lounge Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;On the water, you need to have reflexes.&#8221; Synopsis: An aggressive sports writer (Leon Niemczyk) and his wife (Jolanta Umecka) pick up a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanoqwicz) on their way to a weekly boating trip, and invite him to accompany them &#8212; but tensions and rivalries continue to mount as the two men show off their prowess in front of bikini-clad Umecka. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: At Sea Marital Problems Masculinity Rivalry Roman Polanski Films Review: Peary writes that&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44702\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44702"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65616,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44702\/revisions\/65616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}