EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Stellead Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

Guy 1920: BATTLE FOR WARSAW is the first ever Polish 3D movie, dramatising their heroic struggle to save themselves (and Europe) from the first attempt by the Soviets to conquer the continent. Being 3D means some wild camera shots and some weird colours but after the initial shock it becomes (relatively) normal as the film settles down into the sort of old fashioned narrative which director Jerzy Hoffman is so good at. It basically ping-pongs between the various heads of state with the 'big picture' to the dramas of our hero - a modern artist turned cavalryman, who learns to hate the Reds - and heroine - a pretty cabaret dancer who sees off the unwanted affections of a creepy officer and joins up herself - living through these events. Although a sensible decision, the writing never quite brings the two plots together as seamlessly as it ought to, with the climax so poorly signposted that it was almost a shock when the film ended. Being Polish there's a lot of classic war action, plenty of Catholic piety and an understandable pride about the achievements of the Poles. It's an under-explored time period in the West so enthusiasts can also admire the Tachankas (horse drawn carts with machine guns), crude tanks and the use of the Polish Boy Scouts in combat. That said, for all its charm, it was never quite as good a film as I'd like it to be.

denis888 I love Polish history. I am fond of the Civil War period, and this particular period is of an extreme interest. 1920 was the year decisive for Poland, since Soviet powers decided to attack the land and take it making it a Soviet republic. The slim but brave Polish army defends the Motherland and due to several smart moves manages to defeat Soviet troops and keep the country integrity intact. That was history. Now, Jerzy Hoffman made a grand war film with a huge budget and great Andrzej Idziak as a cameraman. Great casting, excellent actors (Urbanska, Szyc, Olbrychski, Domogarow, Ferency, Kabo among many), superb color scheme, good music, awesome battle scenes, and a sheer explosion of patriotism galore. The film is generally very good, and a great period piece, the obvious similarities between Bitwa and Ogniem i Mieczem made it even better. But there are some weak dialogs, some prolonged scenes, some obvious caricature images of Bolsheviks - these all made the film good, but not perfect. Which is a pity, it could've been much better

Ben Faust I was sent this film (with subtitles) on DVD by a friend in Poland and found it engrossing.I guess it helped that I had already read a book on the subject, Warsaw 1920 by Adam Zamoyski, so knew what direction the film was going before it started, and that helped my understanding. The love interest and sub-plots enhanced the film, but again some knowledge of 20th Century Eastern European culture and politics helped.My initial thoughts were that some of the colours were rather vivid and maybe unrealistic but a variety of cinematic styles were used and as they were not used frivolously they worked well in the end. The cabaret scenes showed glamour, style and sensitivity where necessary - all in stark contrast to some, frankly, barbaric and unglamorous battle scenes. I suspect that they were actually quite realistic representations of the fighting. There were some interesting touches that most people would not think about eg the taking of soldiers'/prisoners' boots (sometimes before their wearers were dead) because of their value at the time.The principal story is true and the outcome of the battle ultimately decided whether Poland enjoyed independence between its partitioning until the end of WW1 and its invasion by the Germans and then the Russians in 1939.For those with an interest in Eastern European history, it has been said that Stalin's treatment of the Polish Army officers in WW2 (see the superb film Katyn) was determined by the outcome of this battle.

thebodzio How come, every time I wait for a good polish movie about some episode from Poland's history, I end up being seriously disappointed? Every time. With this movie being notable confirmation of this rule.Battle of Warsaw. One of the most important events in Europe's or maybe even world's history. A tragic struggle, held on the very extremes of hope, justly called by some "Miracle at the Vistula", won by a thread against all odds. One would think such event would deserve an epic piece of cinematographic art. I thought so too. A movie was made at last. Why I'm not happy? First thing I despise is the lack of focus. Not the optical one – I despise the lack of focus of the story itself. It seems like creators of the picture wanted to show all of the battle breadth and depth, on every possible level: human, psychological, social, national, strategic and tactical. Guess what? It didn't work. It couldn't work. If one wants to emphasize everything, one emphasize nothing. If one wants to show everything at once, one shows nothing. All the potential of this movie was dissolved in different side-plots and micro-episodes, in the end loosing its proper load. This thin solution is spiced up with some cliché, overdone pathos and stupid, contemporary jokes. Humor in the movie lacks the feeling of a "safety valve" for troubled mind. It lacks a hint of underlying sadness, so specific for polish sense of humor in trying times. Generally it's just artificial and thoughtless.Now a little bit about the story itself (don't worry no spoilers here). To me storyline holds striking resemblance to a bulleted list. Such lists are quite popular in polish schools as a means of putting down most important motives in analyzed literature works. They're also common in cheat-sheets. So it is in the case of this movie. Love motif? Checked! Social view? Checked! Great battle? Check! Enemy's view? Checked! The list goes on. A series of unconnected fragments. The problem is – the movie is contiguous as a story telling mean. Good movies are able to glue seamlessly all bits and pieces of single scenes into one logical, contiguous tale. "Bitwa..." in many places changes topics without warning and reason leaving many things inelegantly untold.Next thing: photography. Sławomir Idziak is mentioned as director of photography. I say: no way! Take "Gattaca" or "Black Hawk Down". There is no way the same man was responsible for shooting them. There are some (technically) nice takes but they're mostly just copies of "BHD" style of filming. I liked them but yet hoped for something specific to this movie, something more innovative, not just another visual "same ol' thing". And about 3D... More and more often I think of 3D as a hype helper in the way: "We can't make it worthy – let's at least make it 3D". I don't oppose new techniques – they're interesting and have indifferently a potential – but I oppose using new techniques whether it makes sense or not. In this case – I'm not impressed, sorry...And where does it leave me? I'm still waiting... hoping... and pray my wait is not in vain. In the meantime: 3 stars out of pity :(