''Korczak'' is a 1990

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

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 ...

and written by

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, ...

, about

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the l ...

humanitarian

Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). After spending m ...

. An

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

between Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom, it stars

Wojciech Pszoniak Wojciech Zygmunt Pszoniak (2 May 1942 – 19 October 2020) was a Polish film and theatre actor. Biography and career Pszoniak was born in Lwów, Nazi occupied Poland, now in Ukraine. He gained international visibility following Andrzej Wajda's 19 ...

as Korczak, with Ewa Dałkowska, Teresa Budzisz-Krzyzanowska, Marzena Trybala, Piotr Kozlowski,

Zbigniew Zamachowski Zbigniew Zamachowski (; born 17 July 1961) is a Polish actor. Life and career He was born on 17 July 1961 in Brzeziny near Łódź. Zamachowski graduated from the actor's faculty of the National Film School in Łódź. He began his acting care ...

and

Jan Peszek Jan Peszek (born 13 February 1944) is a Polish theatre, film, and television actor. Although primarily involved in theatre work, he has appeared in more than sixty films since 1970. He is most well known for his work with dramaturgist Bogusław S ...

. The film was screened out of competition at the

1990 Cannes Film Festival The 43rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 May 1990. The Palme d'Or went to '' Wild at Heart'' by David Lynch. The festival opened with '' Dreams'', directed by Akira Kurosawa and closed with ''The Comfort of Strangers'', directed by Pau ...

. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 25, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ce ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Reception

Among the strongest defendants of the epic was

Marek Edelman Marek Edelman ( yi, מאַרעק עדעלמאַן, born either 1919 in Homel or 1922 in Warsaw – October 2, 2009 in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish political and social activist and cardiologist. Edelman was the last surviving leader of the ...

, the

Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

who survived the

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising; pl, powstanie w getcie warszawskim; german: link=no, Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany' ...

. Wajda saw the idea of showing the children being led into the

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The cam ...

gas chambers as unnecessary addition of tearjerking moments. Annette Insdorf, a film scholar and strong supporter of Wajda, considers Korczak to be a masterpiece alongside Wajda's own Ashes and Diamonds, in her commentary of Criterion Collection's DVD release of Wajda's War Trilogy.

Cast

- Henryk Goldszmit vel Janusz Korczak * Ewa Dałkowska - Stefania 'Stefa' Wilczynska *

Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska (born 17 September 1942) is a Polish stage and film actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1972. She has performed at the Bagatela Theatre in Kraków, Juliusz Słowacki Theatre Juliusz Słowacki Th ...

- Maryna Falska * Marzena Trybała - Estera * Piotr Kozłowski - Heniek *

- Ichak Szulc *

- Max Bauer *

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 ...

Adam Czerniaków Adam Czerniaków (30 November 1880 – 23 July 1942) was a Polish engineer and senator who was head of the Warsaw Ghetto Jewish Council (''Judenrat'') during World War II. He committed suicide on 23 July 1942 by swallowing a cyanide pill, a day a ...

* Maria Chwalibóg - Czerniaków's wife * Andrzej Kopiczyński - director at Polish Radio *

Krystyna Zachwatowicz Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda (born Krystyna Zachwatowicz; 16 May 1930) is a Polish scenographer, costume designer and actress. She is a daughter of architect and restorer Jan Zachwatowicz and Maria Chodźko ''h.'' Kościesza, and wife of film di ...

- Szloma's mother * Zbigniew Suszyński - student * Jerzy Zass - German watchman on the bridge * Wojciech Klata - Szloma * Michał Staszczak - Józek *

Agnieszka Krukówna Agnieszka Krukówna (born 20 March 1971, Chorzów) is a Polish film, television and theatre actress. She is a laureate of the Polish Film Award for Best Actress for her role a 1998 film ''Farba''. Life and career She was born on 20 March 1971 in ...

- Ewka (as Agnieszka Kruk) * Anna Mucha - Sabinka

References

External links

*
Rotten Tomatoes
1990 films Polish biographical drama films Polish black-and-white films 1990 drama films Holocaust films 1990s Polish-language films Films about Jews and Judaism Films directed by Andrzej Wajda Films scored by Wojciech Kilar 1990s biographical drama films {{Poland-film-stub

Reception

Cast

See also

References

External links