Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Ashes and Diamonds
Andrzej Wajdaβs best-known, visually remarkable film starring Zbigniew Cybulski.
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Overview
Wajda's best known work, the final film of his acclaimed, unofficial 'War Trilogy', stars Zbigniew Cybulski (simplistically dubbed Poland's James Dean) as a former resistance fighter at the end of World War II. A botched assassination attempt makes him realise that the old certainties no longer apply, and the ensuing moral convolutions turned him into one of Poland's great tragic heroes. Visually remarkable, its set-piece images include the famous scene where burning vodka shots symbolise fallen comrades.
Related
Hapkido Hapkido
Action and Adventure 1972 98 mins Director: Huang Feng
Two martial arts schools battle it out in Huang Fengβs action classic (aka Lady Kung Fu), starring long term collaborator and combat master, Angela Mao.
Kajaki: The True Story Kajaki: The True Story
War 2014 108 mins Director: Paul Katis
A unit of British paratroopers in Afghanistan become caught in a minefield, unable to move or help their injured colleagues, in this unbearably tense thriller.
JSA: Joint Security Area JSA: Joint Security Area
Thriller 2001 109 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Gunfire breaks out in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea in this gripping thriller from Park Chan-wook.
Das Boot Das Boot
War 1981 149 mins Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Devastatingly powerful, tense and claustrophobic war drama about the final mission of a German U-boat, from heroic start to tragic end.
A Generation A Generation
War 1955 85 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
With gripping set-pieces, Andrzej Wajdaβs debut depicts the establishment of a teenage anti-German resistance group.
Kanal Kanal
War 1956 93 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wadjaβs clammy and nightmarishly claustrophobic depiction of the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
A Generation A Generation
War 1955 85 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
With gripping set-pieces, Andrzej Wajdaβs debut depicts the establishment of a teenage anti-German resistance group.
Kanal Kanal
War 1956 93 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wadjaβs clammy and nightmarishly claustrophobic depiction of the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
Watership Down Watership Down
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 92 mins Director: Martin Rosen
An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation.
Tchaikovsky's Wife Tchaikovsky's Wife
Biopic 2022 144 mins Director: Kirill Serebrennikov
Award-winning director Kirill Serebrennikov (Petrov's Flu) charts the tumultuous relationship between the 19th-century composer and his wife, in this poignant and powerful biopic.
Nezouh Nezouh
Drama 2024 104 mins Director: Soudade Kaadan
Enchanting feminist coming-of-age drama, from award winning Syrian director Soudade Kaadan.
The Turin Horse The Turin Horse
Drama 2011 155 mins Director: BΓ©la Tarr
BΓ©la Tarrβs devastating, starkly pared-down final feature, inspired by Nietzsche.
Werckmeister Harmonies Werckmeister Harmonies
Drama 2000 147 mins Director: BΓ©la Tarr
A stuffed whale sparks social apocalypse in this haunting cinematic masterpiece from BΓ©la Tarr and Γgnes Hranitzky.
The Man from London The Man from London
Drama 2007 139 mins Director: BΓ©la Tarr
Tilda Swinton stars in this profoundly nocturnal Georges Simenon adaptation.