Jerzy Skolimowski
Encyclopedia
Jerzy Skolimowski is a Polish
film director
, screenwriter
, dramatist
and actor
. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début Oko wykol (The Menacing Eye). He lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years where he painted in a figurative, expressionist mode and acted occasionally in films. More recently, he returned to Poland, and to film making as a writer and director after a 17 year hiatus with Cztery noce z Anną
(Four Nights With Anna) in 2008.
, the son of Maria (née
Postnikoff) and Stanisław Skolimowski, an architect
. He often recognized indications in his work to a childhood ineradicably scarred by the War. As a small child he witnessed the brutalities of war, even having been rescued from the rubble of a bombed-out house in Warsaw. His father, a member of the Polish Resistance, was executed by the Nazis. His mother hid a Jewish family in the house and Skolimowski recalls being required to take candy from the Nazis to maintain appearances.
After the war, his mother became the cultural attaché of the Polish embassy in Prague
. His fellow pupils at school in Poděbrady
, a spa town near Prague, included future film-makers Miloš Forman
and Ivan Passer
, as well as Václav Havel
.
Skolimowski was considered as a trouble maker at school as he was the origin of many pranks which angered the authorities. At college he studied ethnography, history and literature and took up boxing, which was also the subject of a feature-length documentary, his first significant film. Skolimowski's interest in jazz and association with composer Krzysztof Komeda
brought him into contact with actor Zbigniew Cybulski
and directors Andrzej Munk and Roman Polanski
.
, the leading director of the then dominant 'Polish school' and twelve years his senior, who showed him a script for a film about youth written by Jerzy Andrzejewski
, the author of the novel Ashes and Diamonds
. Skolimowski was not impressed and dismissed the script. However in response to a challenge by Wajda, he produced his own version which became a basis for the finished film, Innocent Sorcerers
(1960), directed by Wajda with Skolimowski playing a boxer.
Skolimowski enrolled in the Łódź Film School with the intention of avoiding the long apprenticeship required before graduating to feature film direction. He used the film stock available to him for student exercises, and with initial advice from Andrzej Munk, he filmed over several years in such a way that the sequences where later cut together. While scoring poorly in course work Skolimowski had a finished feature film by the end of the course.
(1962).
Between 1964 and 1984 he completed six semi-autobiographical feature films: Rysopis, Walkover, Barrier (1966), Hands Up! (completed 1967, released 1981), Moonlighting
(GB 1982) and Success Is the Best Revenge
, a segment in Dialóg and two other features Le Départ (1967) and Deep End
based on his original screenplays. Barrier won Grand Prix at Bergamo International Film Festival. Le Départ won the Golden Bear
at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival
.
While living and working in many countries, he also completed another six relatively big budget productions, including four international co-productions, between 1970 and 1992 (The Adventures of Gerard
, King, Queen, Knave
, The Shout
, The Lightship, Torrents of Spring
and Ferdydurke
), all distinctly bearing Skolimowski’s signature.
Skolimowski has said that he makes films to please himself.
(Hands Up!), the third film of the Andrzej trilogy and the fourth of his Polish sextet. The anti-Stalinist themes of Hands Up! resulted in that film being banned and him being effectively expelled from then communist Poland. He then resettled in London, notably having Jimi Hendrix
as a neighbor in the same building.
Between Hands Up! and his next feature, Arthur Conan Doyle
’s The Adventures of Gerard
(1970), Skolimowski contributed a story to a Czech-produced portmanteau film, Dialóg 20-40-60 (1968), in which three different directors (with Zbynek Brynych
and Peter Solan) each devised their own story using identical dialogue even though the central characters in each section are separated in age by twenty years. Skolimowski's segment, "The Twenty Year Olds", would seem to be an extension of Le départ with Jean-Pierre Léaud
playing opposite Skolimowski's wife Joanna Szcerbic.
Deep End
(1970) was Skolimowski's second non-Polish feature to be based on his own original screenplay. The movie with a coming of age storyline bears distinctive thematic similarities to Le Départ. Deep End was a promising film yet it was poorly handled by the studio. His films The Shout (1978) and Moonlighting (1982) became critical successes, with Moonlighting, made in the UK and starring Jeremy Irons
, the fifth of his Polish sextet, critically and commercially his most successful film.
. Set on a US coastguard ship it was filmed in the North Sea. It is suspended between psychological duel with a doppelgänger theme and a pure performance piece within the stage-like confines of the lightship. However, even though receiving the best film award at the Venice Film Festival, The Lightship had only a very limited release.
Torrents of Spring (1989), adapted from a semi-autobiographical novella by the Russian Ivan Turgenev
, was a big budget European co-production starring Timothy Hutton
, Nastassja Kinski
and Valeria Golino
. It could be considered as Skolimowski’s most impersonal 'generic' film, the only real departure from his expressed interest in making films only to please himself.
Skolimowski is also an actor, having appeared as Colonel Chaikov, a ruthless yet composed KGB colonel, in White Nights (1985) and Uncle Stepan, a Russian expatriate in Eastern Promises (2007), among other roles.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, dramatist
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. A graduate of the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Skolimowski has directed more than twenty films since his 1960 début Oko wykol (The Menacing Eye). He lived in Los Angeles for over 20 years where he painted in a figurative, expressionist mode and acted occasionally in films. More recently, he returned to Poland, and to film making as a writer and director after a 17 year hiatus with Cztery noce z Anną
Four Nights with Anna
Four Nights with Anna is a 2008 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film won Polish Academy Award for Best Director and Best Cinematography...
(Four Nights With Anna) in 2008.
Early life
Skolimowski was born in Łódź, PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the son of Maria (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Postnikoff) and Stanisław Skolimowski, an architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. He often recognized indications in his work to a childhood ineradicably scarred by the War. As a small child he witnessed the brutalities of war, even having been rescued from the rubble of a bombed-out house in Warsaw. His father, a member of the Polish Resistance, was executed by the Nazis. His mother hid a Jewish family in the house and Skolimowski recalls being required to take candy from the Nazis to maintain appearances.
After the war, his mother became the cultural attaché of the Polish embassy in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. His fellow pupils at school in Poděbrady
Podebrady
Poděbrady is a historical spa town in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It lies on the river Labe 50 km east of Prague on the D11 highway. A historic milestone in the life of the town was the year 1905, when it was visited by the German estate owner Prince von Bülow...
, a spa town near Prague, included future film-makers Miloš Forman
Miloš Forman
Jan Tomáš Forman , better known as Miloš Forman , is a Czech-American director, screenwriter, professor, and an emigrant from Czechoslovakia. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both gaining him the Academy Award for...
and Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer
Ivan Passer is a Czech-born film director and screenwriter.A significant figure in the Czech New Wave of the mid-1960s, Passer worked closely with Miloš Forman on many of his films, and directed his first feature in 1965...
, as well as Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
.
Skolimowski was considered as a trouble maker at school as he was the origin of many pranks which angered the authorities. At college he studied ethnography, history and literature and took up boxing, which was also the subject of a feature-length documentary, his first significant film. Skolimowski's interest in jazz and association with composer Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...
brought him into contact with actor Zbigniew Cybulski
Zbigniew Cybulski
Zbigniew Cybulski was a Polish actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland.-Life:...
and directors Andrzej Munk and Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
.
Writer and actor
In his early twenties Skolimowski was already a writer, having published several books of poems, short stories and a play. Soon Skolimowski met Andrzej WajdaAndrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
, the leading director of the then dominant 'Polish school' and twelve years his senior, who showed him a script for a film about youth written by Jerzy Andrzejewski
Jerzy Andrzejewski
Jerzy Andrzejewski was a prolific Polish author. His novels, Ashes and Diamonds , and Holy Week , have been made into film adaptations by the Oscar-winning Polish director Andrzej Wajda...
, the author of the novel Ashes and Diamonds
Ashes and Diamonds
Ashes and Diamonds is a 1948 novel by the Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski. It was adapted into a film by the same title in 1958 by the Polish film director Andrzej Wajda. English translation, entitled Ashes and Diamonds, appeared in 1962...
. Skolimowski was not impressed and dismissed the script. However in response to a challenge by Wajda, he produced his own version which became a basis for the finished film, Innocent Sorcerers
Innocent Sorcerers
Innocent Sorcerers is a 1960 film directed by Polish film director, Andrzej Wajda.- Cast :* Tadeusz Łomnicki – Bazyli* Krystyna Stypułkowska – Pelagia* Zbigniew Cybulski – Edmund* Wanda Koczeska – Mirka...
(1960), directed by Wajda with Skolimowski playing a boxer.
Skolimowski enrolled in the Łódź Film School with the intention of avoiding the long apprenticeship required before graduating to feature film direction. He used the film stock available to him for student exercises, and with initial advice from Andrzej Munk, he filmed over several years in such a way that the sequences where later cut together. While scoring poorly in course work Skolimowski had a finished feature film by the end of the course.
Into the movie arena
Skolimowski then collaborated with Polański, writing the dialogue for the script of Knife in the WaterKnife in the Water (film)
Knife in the Water is a 1962 Polish drama film directed by Roman Polański. It is Polanski's first feature film, featuring three characters in a story of rivalry and sexual tension.-Plot:...
(1962).
Between 1964 and 1984 he completed six semi-autobiographical feature films: Rysopis, Walkover, Barrier (1966), Hands Up! (completed 1967, released 1981), Moonlighting
Moonlighting (film)
Moonlighting is a 1982 British drama film written and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It is set in the early 1980s at the time of the Solidarity protests in Poland...
(GB 1982) and Success Is the Best Revenge
Success Is the Best Revenge
Success Is the Best Revenge is a 1984 French-British drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Michael York as Alex Rodak* Joanna Szczerbic as Alicia Rodak* Michael Lyndon as Adam Rodak...
, a segment in Dialóg and two other features Le Départ (1967) and Deep End
Deep End (film)
Deep End is a 1970 British-West German drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Jane Asher, John Moulder Brown and Diana Dors. The film is set in the suburbs of London and is perhaps best known for featuring the song "Mother Sky" by the band Can and "But I Might Die Tonight", the Cat...
based on his original screenplays. Barrier won Grand Prix at Bergamo International Film Festival. Le Départ won the Golden Bear
Golden Bear
According to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
at the 17th Berlin International Film Festival
17th Berlin International Film Festival
The 17th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 23 to July 4, 1967.-Jury:* Thorold Dickinson * Rüdiger von Hirschberg* Knud Leif Thomsen* Michel Aubriant* Sashadhar Mukerjee* Aleksandar Petrović* Willard Van Dyke...
.
While living and working in many countries, he also completed another six relatively big budget productions, including four international co-productions, between 1970 and 1992 (The Adventures of Gerard
The Adventures of Gerard
The Adventures of Gerard is a 1970 British adventure comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach and Jack Hawkins...
, King, Queen, Knave
King, Queen, Knave (film)
King, Queen, Knave is a 1972 German comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, based on the novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. It was entered into the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Gina Lollobrigida as Martha Dreyer...
, The Shout
The Shout
The Shout is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, based on a short story by Robert Graves which was adapted for the screen by Michael Austin...
, The Lightship, Torrents of Spring
Torrents of Spring (film)
Torrents of Spring is a 1989 film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Timothy Hutton and Nastassja Kinski. It is based on the novel of the same title....
and Ferdydurke
Ferdydurke
Ferdydurke is a novel by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz, published in 1937. In this darkly humorous story, Joey Kowalski describes his transformation from a 30-year-old man into a teenage boy. Kowalski's exploits are comic and fervid -- for this is a modernism closer to Dada and the Marx...
), all distinctly bearing Skolimowski’s signature.
Skolimowski has said that he makes films to please himself.
Film as life
After Barrier he left Poland to make Le Départ in Belgium in French. According to him Le Départ was a light film rather than a comedy, "does not have the serious layers that I like in my work." Skolimowski returned to Poland to make Ręce do góryRęce do góry
Ręce do góry is a Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It is the fourth of a series of semi-autobiographical films in which Skolimowski himself plays his alter ego, Andrzej Leszczyc.The film was originally made in 1967 in monochrome...
(Hands Up!), the third film of the Andrzej trilogy and the fourth of his Polish sextet. The anti-Stalinist themes of Hands Up! resulted in that film being banned and him being effectively expelled from then communist Poland. He then resettled in London, notably having Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
as a neighbor in the same building.
Between Hands Up! and his next feature, Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
’s The Adventures of Gerard
The Adventures of Gerard
The Adventures of Gerard is a 1970 British adventure comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach and Jack Hawkins...
(1970), Skolimowski contributed a story to a Czech-produced portmanteau film, Dialóg 20-40-60 (1968), in which three different directors (with Zbynek Brynych
Zbynek Brynych
Zbyněk Brynych was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He directed 30 films between 1951 and 1985.-Selected filmography:* Suburban Romance * The Fifth Horseman is Fear -External links:...
and Peter Solan) each devised their own story using identical dialogue even though the central characters in each section are separated in age by twenty years. Skolimowski's segment, "The Twenty Year Olds", would seem to be an extension of Le départ with Jean-Pierre Léaud
Jean-Pierre Léaud
-Early years:Born in Paris, Léaud made his major debut as an actor at the age of 14 as Antoine Doinel, a semi-autobiographical character based on the life events of French film director François Truffaut, in The 400 Blows....
playing opposite Skolimowski's wife Joanna Szcerbic.
Deep End
Deep End (film)
Deep End is a 1970 British-West German drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Jane Asher, John Moulder Brown and Diana Dors. The film is set in the suburbs of London and is perhaps best known for featuring the song "Mother Sky" by the band Can and "But I Might Die Tonight", the Cat...
(1970) was Skolimowski's second non-Polish feature to be based on his own original screenplay. The movie with a coming of age storyline bears distinctive thematic similarities to Le Départ. Deep End was a promising film yet it was poorly handled by the studio. His films The Shout (1978) and Moonlighting (1982) became critical successes, with Moonlighting, made in the UK and starring Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons is an English actor. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969, and has since appeared in many London theatre productions including The Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the...
, the fifth of his Polish sextet, critically and commercially his most successful film.
In America
The Lightship, Skolimowski’s first US production, was adapted from a novella by the German writer Siegfried LenzSiegfried Lenz
Siegfried Lenz is a German writer, who has written novels and produced several collections of short stories, essays, and plays for radio and the theatre. He was awarded the Goethe Prize in Frankfurt-am-Main on the 250th Anniversary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's birth...
. Set on a US coastguard ship it was filmed in the North Sea. It is suspended between psychological duel with a doppelgänger theme and a pure performance piece within the stage-like confines of the lightship. However, even though receiving the best film award at the Venice Film Festival, The Lightship had only a very limited release.
Torrents of Spring (1989), adapted from a semi-autobiographical novella by the Russian Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century...
, was a big budget European co-production starring Timothy Hutton
Timothy Hutton
Timothy Tarquin Hutton is an American actor. He is the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, which he won at the age of 20 for his performance as Conrad Jarrett in Ordinary People . He currently stars as Nathan "Nate" Ford on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Timothy...
, Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Kinski
Nastassja Kinski is a German-born American-based actress who has appeared in more than 60 films. Her starring roles include her Golden Globe Award-winning portrayal of the title character in Tess and her roles in two erotic films , as well as parts in Wim Wenders' films The Wrong Move; Paris,...
and Valeria Golino
Valeria Golino
Valeria Golino is an Italian-Greek film and television actress. She is best known to English language audiences for the 1988 film Rain Man, and the Hot Shots! films...
. It could be considered as Skolimowski’s most impersonal 'generic' film, the only real departure from his expressed interest in making films only to please himself.
Skolimowski is also an actor, having appeared as Colonel Chaikov, a ruthless yet composed KGB colonel, in White Nights (1985) and Uncle Stepan, a Russian expatriate in Eastern Promises (2007), among other roles.
Quotations
- As a poet my mind is trained along the path of poetic associations — I'm not afraid to wander away from direct narrative - I feel safe with a story that tempts you to believe or disbelieve.
- To those who like me — I'm back. And to those who don't like me — I'm back. ~ to assembled critics at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival screening of Four Nights With Anna after his 17 year hiatus from directing.
- Don’t worry about what the American critics are writing on your cinema... you and I, we are the best directors in the world! ~ Jean-Luc GodardJean-Luc GodardJean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
in a letter to Skolimowski in the late 1960s.
Director
- Erotique (Erotyk) (1960)
- Little Hamlet (Hamles) (1960)
- The Menacing Eye (Oko wykol) (1960)
- Boxing (Boks) (1961)
- Your Money or Your Life (Pieniadze albo zycie) (1961)
- The Nude (1962)
- Identification Marks: NoneIdentification Marks: NoneIdentification Marks: None is a 1964 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It was first feature film directed by Skolimowski, after shorts Erotique, Little Hamlet, The Menacing Eye, Boxing and Your Money or Your Life....
(Rysopis) (1964) - Walkover (Walkower) (1965)
- Barrier (Bariera) (1966)
- Le départ (1967)
- Rece do góryRęce do góryRęce do góry is a Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It is the fourth of a series of semi-autobiographical films in which Skolimowski himself plays his alter ego, Andrzej Leszczyc.The film was originally made in 1967 in monochrome...
(subitiled English version entitled Hands Up!, completed 1967, released 1981) - Deep EndDeep End (film)Deep End is a 1970 British-West German drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Jane Asher, John Moulder Brown and Diana Dors. The film is set in the suburbs of London and is perhaps best known for featuring the song "Mother Sky" by the band Can and "But I Might Die Tonight", the Cat...
(1970) - The Adventures of GerardThe Adventures of GerardThe Adventures of Gerard is a 1970 British adventure comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Peter McEnery, Claudia Cardinale, Eli Wallach and Jack Hawkins...
(1970) - King, Queen, KnaveKing, Queen, Knave (film)King, Queen, Knave is a 1972 German comedy film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, based on the novel of the same name by Vladimir Nabokov. It was entered into the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Gina Lollobrigida as Martha Dreyer...
(1972) - The ShoutThe ShoutThe Shout is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, based on a short story by Robert Graves which was adapted for the screen by Michael Austin...
(1978) - MoonlightingMoonlighting (film)Moonlighting is a 1982 British drama film written and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It is set in the early 1980s at the time of the Solidarity protests in Poland...
(1982) - Dialóg 20-40-60 (1968) (segment "The Twenty-Year-Olds")
- Success Is the Best RevengeSuccess Is the Best RevengeSuccess Is the Best Revenge is a 1984 French-British drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It was entered into the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Michael York as Alex Rodak* Joanna Szczerbic as Alicia Rodak* Michael Lyndon as Adam Rodak...
(1984) - The LightshipThe LightshipThe Lightship is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski.- Cast :* Robert Duvall - Caspary* Arliss Howard - Eddie* Klaus Maria Brandauer - kapitan Miller* Badja Djola - Nate* William Forsythe - Gene* Tim Phillips - Thorne...
(1985) - Torrents of SpringTorrents of Spring (film)Torrents of Spring is a 1989 film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Timothy Hutton and Nastassja Kinski. It is based on the novel of the same title....
(1989) - FerdydurkeFerdydurkeFerdydurke is a novel by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz, published in 1937. In this darkly humorous story, Joey Kowalski describes his transformation from a 30-year-old man into a teenage boy. Kowalski's exploits are comic and fervid -- for this is a modernism closer to Dada and the Marx...
(30 Door Key) (1991) - Four Nights with AnnaFour Nights with AnnaFour Nights with Anna is a 2008 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film won Polish Academy Award for Best Director and Best Cinematography...
(Cztery noce z Anną) (2008) - America (2008)
- Essential KillingEssential KillingEssential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :...
(2010)
Actor
- Niewinni czarodzieje (1960)
- Boks (1961)
- Rysopis (1964) as Andrzej Leszczyc
- Walkower (1965) as Andrzej Leszczyc
- Sposob bycia (1966) as Leopold
- Deep EndDeep End (film)Deep End is a 1970 British-West German drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Jane Asher, John Moulder Brown and Diana Dors. The film is set in the suburbs of London and is perhaps best known for featuring the song "Mother Sky" by the band Can and "But I Might Die Tonight", the Cat...
(1970) as a man with newspaper - Rece do góryRęce do góryRęce do góry is a Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It is the fourth of a series of semi-autobiographical films in which Skolimowski himself plays his alter ego, Andrzej Leszczyc.The film was originally made in 1967 in monochrome...
(1981) as Andrzej Leszczyc - Die FälschungDie FälschungDie Fälschung is an anti-war film directed by Volker Schlöndorff and internationally released in 1981. An international co-production, it was an adaptation of Nicolas Born's novel of the same name, which had appeared in 1979...
(1981) as Hoffmann - White Nights (1985) as KGB Colonel Chaiko
- Big Shots (1987) as Doc
- Torrents of SpringTorrents of Spring (film)Torrents of Spring is a 1989 film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Timothy Hutton and Nastassja Kinski. It is based on the novel of the same title....
(1989) as Victor Victorovich - Mars Attacks!Mars Attacks!Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
(1996) - L.A. Without a MapL.A. Without a MapL.A. Without a Map is a 1998 film directed by Mika Kaurismäki and written by Mika Kaurismäki and Richard Rayner, based on his novel. The film stars David Tennant, Vinessa Shaw, Julie Delpy, Vincent Gallo, and Johnny Depp It is a French, British and Finnish production.Also known under the titles:...
(1998) - Before Night FallsBefore Night FallsBefore Night Falls is the 1992 autobiography of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, describing his life in Cuba, his time in prison, and his ultimate escape to the United States. It was on The New York Times list of the ten best books of the year 1993...
(2000) - Eastern Promises (2007) as Stepan
Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | PWSFTviT | Best Director (Identification Marks: None Identification Marks: None Identification Marks: None is a 1964 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It was first feature film directed by Skolimowski, after shorts Erotique, Little Hamlet, The Menacing Eye, Boxing and Your Money or Your Life.... ) |
| 1965 | Arnhem Film Festival | Grand Prix: Best Director (Identification Marks: None Identification Marks: None Identification Marks: None is a 1964 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It was first feature film directed by Skolimowski, after shorts Erotique, Little Hamlet, The Menacing Eye, Boxing and Your Money or Your Life.... and Walkover) |
| 1965 | PWSFTviT | Andrzej Munk Award (Walkover) |
| 1965 | Bergamo Film Festival | Grand Prix (Barrier) |
| 1967 | Berlin Film Festival Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978... |
Golden Bear (Le départ) |
| 1967 | Berlin Film Festival Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978... |
Critics' Prize (UNICRIT Award) (Le départ) |
| 1968 | Valladolid International Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (Barrier) |
| 1978 | Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals... |
Special Jury Prize (The Shout The Shout The Shout is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, based on a short story by Robert Graves which was adapted for the screen by Michael Austin... ) |
| 1981 | Polish Film Festival Polish Film Festival The Polish Film Festival is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk, now held in Gdynia, Poland.... |
Journalists Award (Hands Up!) |
| 1982 | Deutscher Filmpreis Deutscher Filmpreis The Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie... |
Best Supporting Actor (Die Fälschung Die Fälschung Die Fälschung is an anti-war film directed by Volker Schlöndorff and internationally released in 1981. An international co-production, it was an adaptation of Nicolas Born's novel of the same name, which had appeared in 1979... ) |
| 1982 | Cannes Film Festival Cannes Film Festival The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals... |
Best Screenplay (Moonlighting Moonlighting (film) Moonlighting is a 1982 British drama film written and directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. It is set in the early 1980s at the time of the Solidarity protests in Poland... ) |
| 1985 | Venice Film Festival Venice Film Festival The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the... |
Special Jury Prize (The Lightship The Lightship The Lightship is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski.- Cast :* Robert Duvall - Caspary* Arliss Howard - Eddie* Klaus Maria Brandauer - kapitan Miller* Badja Djola - Nate* William Forsythe - Gene* Tim Phillips - Thorne... ) |
| 2008 | Tokyo Film Festival | Special Jury Prize (Four Nights with Anna Four Nights with Anna Four Nights with Anna is a 2008 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film won Polish Academy Award for Best Director and Best Cinematography... ) |
| 2009 | International Istanbul Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2009 | Lato Filmów: Warsaw Film and Art Festival | Best screenplay in the history of Polish cinema (Knife in the Water Knife in the Water (film) Knife in the Water is a 1962 Polish drama film directed by Roman Polański. It is Polanski's first feature film, featuring three characters in a story of rivalry and sexual tension.-Plot:... ) |
| 2009 | Polish Film Awards Polish Film Awards Polish Film Awards: Eagles are a series of awards given annually since 1999 by the Polish Film Academy.-Awards:* Best Film – since 1999* Best Actor – since 1999* Best Actress – since 1999* Supporting Actor – since 2000* Supporting Actress – since 2000... |
Eagle: Best Director (Four Nights with Anna Four Nights with Anna Four Nights with Anna is a 2008 Polish drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film won Polish Academy Award for Best Director and Best Cinematography... ) |
| 2010 | Venice Film Festival Venice Film Festival The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the... |
Special Jury Prize (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2010 | Venice Film Festival Venice Film Festival The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the... |
CinemAvvenire Award: Best Film In Competition (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2010 | Mar del Plata Film Festival Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina... |
Golden Astor: Best Film (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2010 | Mar del Plata Film Festival Mar del Plata Film Festival The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina... |
ACCA Award: Best Film in the International Competition (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2010 | Camerimage Camerimage The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE is a festival dedicated to cinematography and its creators cinematographers.The first seven events were held in Toruń, Poland. The next ten events were held in Łódź... |
Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2010 | Polish Film Awards Polish Film Awards Polish Film Awards: Eagles are a series of awards given annually since 1999 by the Polish Film Academy.-Awards:* Best Film – since 1999* Best Actor – since 1999* Best Actress – since 1999* Supporting Actor – since 2000* Supporting Actress – since 2000... |
Eagle: Best Director (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2010 | Polish Film Awards Polish Film Awards Polish Film Awards: Eagles are a series of awards given annually since 1999 by the Polish Film Academy.-Awards:* Best Film – since 1999* Best Actor – since 1999* Best Actress – since 1999* Supporting Actor – since 2000* Supporting Actress – since 2000... |
Eagle: Best Film (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2011 | Polish Film Festival Polish Film Festival The Polish Film Festival is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk, now held in Gdynia, Poland.... |
Best Director (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2011 | Polish Film Festival Polish Film Festival The Polish Film Festival is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk, now held in Gdynia, Poland.... |
Golden Lions: Best Film (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
| 2011 | Sopot Film Festival | Grand Prix (Essential Killing Essential Killing Essential Killing is a 2010 Polish political thriller film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Vincent Gallo and Emmanuelle Seigner.- Plot :... ) |
External links
- Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
- 'Two Paths, Little Glory For This Polish Director', Anthony Paletta, The Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street JournalThe Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
, 14 June 2011 - External Wandering, Michael Atkinson, movingimagesource.us
- Finding Zen in Poland: An Interview with Jerzy Skolimowski, Ben Sachs and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, MUBI
- Photographs and literature on Jerzy Skolimowski