With Fire and Sword (film)
| With Fire and Sword | |
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Polish release poster
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| Directed by | Jerzy Hoffman |
| Produced by | Jerzy Frykowski, Jerzy Hoffman, Jerzy R. Michaluk |
| Written by | Jerzy Hoffman Andrzej Krakowski |
| Based on |
With Fire and Sword by Henryk Sienkiewicz |
| Starring |
Izabella Scorupco Michał Żebrowski Aleksandr Domogarov |
| Music by | Krzesimir Dębski |
| Cinematography | Grzegorz Kędzierski |
| Edited by |
Marcin Bastkowski Cezary Grzesiuk |
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Release date
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Running time
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175 minutes |
| Language |
Polish, Ukrainian, Turkish English subtitles |
| Budget | 24,000,000 zł ~ $8,000,000 (as of Aug. 2010) |
| Box office | 105,089,363 zł ~ $26,366,071In ~1999, probably excluding later BD, DVD, VHS, TV: $26,366,071PLN: 105 089 363 Cinema only - viewed by people/tickets: 7 151 354 |
With Fire and Sword (Polish: Ogniem i Mieczem; Ukrainian: Вогнем і Мечем, Vohnem i Mechem) is a 1999 Polish historical drama film directed by Jerzy Hoffman. The film is based on the novel With Fire and Sword, the first part in The Trilogy of Henryk Sienkiewicz. At the time of its filming it was the most expensive Polish film ever made.
The story is set in Ukrainian lands of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland of the 17th century during the Khmelnytsky Uprising 1648-51. A Polish knight Skrzetuski and a Cossack otaman Bohun fall in love with the same woman, Helena. Their rivalry unfolds against the backdrop of a Cossack uprising led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky aimed at reclaiming the control of the land from the hands of the Polish nobles. Historic events form a framework for an action- and character-driven plot, and fictional characters mingle with historic ones. The movie, as the book, culminates with the savage siege of Zbarazh.
The movie has been criticized for introducing some factual inaccuracies not found in the source material. One of the least accurate sections of the film is Hoffman's presentation of the first battle between the Poles and the Cossacks - the Battle of Zhovti Vody. The movie suggests that the Poles were quickly routed by Cossacks and the Polish elite cavalry (husaria) showed needless bravado in the face of unfavorable weather conditions. In reality, the Poles were not only greatly outnumbered, especially after they were deserted by all the Cossacks who had switched sides and joined Bohdan Khmelnytsky, but also their commander, , was only 24 years old; despite that the battle, though eventually lost by the Poles, lasted for nearly three weeks.
The original book is often deemed to be nationalistic and Ukrainophobic, especially in Ukraine. The movie on the other hand has been praised for its depiction of Ukraine and Ukrainians as "vivid rather than monochromatic; they are multi-dimensional, eliciting more than one feeling of, say, fascination or dislike". However, some Polish reviewers felt that the movie emphasized Cossacks' successes and positive traits while diminishing those of the Poles, in the spirit of political correctness.
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Wikipedia