{"id":82599,"date":"2022-03-31T22:47:09","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T05:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82599"},"modified":"2022-03-31T22:47:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T05:47:09","slug":"ashes-and-diamonds-1958","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82599","title":{"rendered":"Ashes and Diamonds (1958)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to change some things; rearrange my life.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Poster-217x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"217\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-82600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Poster-217x300.png 217w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Poster-92x128.png 92w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Poster-195x270.png 195w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Poster.png 603w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 217px) 100vw, 217px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nJust after the end of Nazi occupation, a Polish Resistance fighter (Zbigniew Cybulski) and his partner (Adam Pawlikowski) accidentally assassinate innocent men rather than their intended target (Waclaw Zastrzezynski) &#8212; and Cybulski soon has a change of heart about his career when he falls for a beautiful bartender (Ewa Krzyzewska).\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>Assassination<\/li>\n<li>Character Arc<\/li>\n<li>Eastern European Films<\/li>\n<li>Resistance Fighters<\/li>\n<li>World War II<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary argues that this &#8220;thematically ambiguous Andrzej Wajda film&#8221; &#8212; about a Resistance fighter who &#8220;checks into the same hotel as the aged Communist [he was meant to assassinate] and looks for an opportunity to complete his mission,&#8221; but then &#8220;has an affair with [a] pretty barmaid&#8230; that affects him greatly&#8221; &#8212; does not successfully convince &#8220;American viewers&#8230; that Wajda is on the side of the anti-community resistance fighters,&#8221; and fails to evoke our sympathy for the two assassins given that the &#8220;Party Leader&#8230; is old, humble, walks with a cane,&#8221; and has a son who &#8220;was raised by people of whom he didn&#8217;t approve.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82621\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Zastrzezynski-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This is likely due to the fact, as <a href=\"https:\/\/trailersfromhell.com\/ashes-and-diamonds\/\">DVD Savant<\/a> points out, that &#8220;A popular pro-Communist novel was the source, a choice that insured smooth sailing during production&#8221; &#8212; although &#8220;the powers that be didn\u2019t know that Wajda\u2019s rewrite would displace the central figure of a People\u2019s Minister in favor of a minor character, a hit-man for the nationalists.&#8221; To that end, while his actions at first are questionable (given his seeming lack of remorse for killing &#8220;the wrong men at the beginning&#8221;), Cybulski &#8212; &#8220;who became a major Polish star because of this film&#8221;, and is often likened to James Dean &#8212; eventually garners our sympathy given the vulnerability he displays with Krzyzewska. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lying-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Peary notes that the &#8220;early and late scenes, those in which guns are fired, are fairly exciting&#8221;: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Gun-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but the &#8220;middle scenes&#8221; &#8212; while &#8220;artistically photographed&#8221; &#8212; are &#8220;slow and deadly.&#8221; I&#8217;m not sure I fully agree, given that the &#8220;middle scenes&#8221; are designed to show us both Cybulski falling for Krzyzewska (and thus undergoing a transformation), and the humanity of Zastrzezynski (who wasn&#8217;t yet tainted by Stalin&#8217;s venom) &#8212; and there are enough strikingly shot moments to keep us engaged.  <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Lighting-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Orchestra-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Blood-Sheet-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Zbigniew Cybulski as Maciek<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82620\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cybulski-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jerzy Wojcik&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1176\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-82619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross.png 1176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross-1024x627.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross-768x470.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Ashes-and-Diamonds-Cross-441x270.png 441w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1176px) 100vw, 1176px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as international classic. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1458\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0052080\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/trailersfromhell.com\/ashes-and-diamonds\/\">Trailers From Hell Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/4417\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/ashes-and-diamonds\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1961\/05\/30\/archives\/screen-chaos-in-polandandrzej-wajdas-ashes-and-diamonds-opens.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/67693\/ashes-and-diamonds#articles-reviews?articleId=25863\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;d like to change some things; rearrange my life.&#8221; Synopsis: Just after the end of Nazi occupation, a Polish Resistance fighter (Zbigniew Cybulski) and his partner (Adam Pawlikowski) accidentally assassinate innocent men rather than their intended target (Waclaw Zastrzezynski) &#8212; and Cybulski soon has a change of heart about his career when he falls for a beautiful bartender (Ewa Krzyzewska). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Assassination Character Arc Eastern European Films Resistance Fighters World War II Response to Peary s&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=82599\"> 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-82599","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\/82599","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=82599"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82630,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82599\/revisions\/82630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}