Allan Mieczysław Starski (born 1 January 1943 in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
) is a Polish
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
-winning production designer and set decorator.
Life and career
Allan Starski is the son of
Ludwik Starski
Ludwik Starski (born Ludwik Kałuszyner, 1 March 1903 in Łódź – died 29 February 1984 in Warsaw) was a Polish Jewish lyricist, sound engineer and screenwriter of the twentieth century. He was the father of the set designer Allan Starski, wh ...
(originally Ludwik Kałuszyner) famous screenwriter and songwriter of Jewish descent (such as "Zapomniana melodia" and "Piętro wyżej"). In 1969, he graduated with a degree in architecture from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (''Pol. Akademia Sztuk Pięknych'').
His first work as a production designer was in a film by Ryszard Ber called ''Chłopcy'' (''Boys'') in 1973. Starski collaborated with famous Polish Oscar and
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
-winning director
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
on projects like ''Człowiek z marmuru'' (''
Man of Marble
''Man of Marble'' ( pl, Człowiek z marmuru) is a 1977 Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It chronicles the fall from grace of a fictional heroic Polish bricklayer, Mateusz Birkut (played by Jerzy Radziwiłowicz), who became the Stakhanovite s ...
''), ''Człowiek z żelaza'' (''
Man of Iron
''Man of Iron'' ( pl, Człowiek z żelaza) is a 1981 film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It depicts the Solidarity labour movement and its first success in persuading the Polish government to recognize the workers' right to an independent union.
Th ...
''), ''Panny z Wilka'' (''
The Maids of Wilko
''The Maids of Wilko'' ( pl, Panny z Wilka) is a 1979 Polish drama film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 52nd Academy Awards. "Maids" is used in the sense of "maidens", hence a ...
'') and ''
Pan Tadeusz
''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Mister Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Mickiewicz. Th ...
''. Starski also worked on stage productions with Wajda,
Aleksander Bardini
Aleksander Bardini (17 November 1913 – 30 July 1995) was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw. He appeared in 30 films between 1937 and 1994.
Selected filmography
* '' Long Is ...
,
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
and
Andrzej Łapicki.
In 1993, he won an Academy Award (shared with
Ewa Braun
Ewa Braun (born 2 August 1944) is a Polish Oscar winning set decorator, costume designer and production designer.
She has been working in production design since the 1960s. Her most famous productions are ''Europa, Europa'' (1990) by Agnieszka Ho ...
) for
Best Art Direction/Set Decoration for
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
's ''
Schindler's List
''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...
''.
He also has worked with
Agnieszka Holland
Agnieszka Holland (born 28 November 1948) is a Polish film and television director and screenwriter, best known for her political contributions to Polish cinema. She began her career as assistant to directors Krzysztof Zanussi and Andrzej Wajda, ...
(''Europe, Europe'' and ''Washington Square'') and
Jerzy Stuhr
Jerzy Oskar Stuhr (; born 18 April 1947) is a Polish film and theatre actor. He is one of the most popular, influential and versatile Polish actors. He also works as a screenwriter, film director and drama professor. He served as the Rector of ...
(''Historie miłosne''-''Love stories''). Starski worked with
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
on ''
The Pianist'' in 2002 (winning a Cesar Award) and ''
Oliver Twist
''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...
'' in 2005. His latest projects are the American films ''
Hannibal Rising
''Hannibal Rising'' is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, published in 2006. It is a prequel to his three previous books featuring his most famous character, the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The ...
'' by
Peter Webber and ''Snow Princess'' by Mark Roemmich.
See also
*
Cinema of Poland
The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations.
Af ...
*
List of Poles
This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Science
Physics
* Czesław Białobrzeski
* Andrzej Buras
* Georges Charpa ...
*
List of Polish Academy Award winners and nominees
This is a list of Academy Award winners and nominees whose career and identification are associated predominantly with Poland. The list is current as of the 94th Academy Awards nominations. There were eight Academy Awards given to Polish filmmaker ...
References
External links
*
Allan Starski’s 70 Yearsat Culture.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starski, Allan
1943 births
Living people
Artists from Warsaw
Best Art Direction Academy Award winners
Polish scenic designers
Polish set decorators
Polish people of Jewish descent
Production designers