Essential Polish Animation Blu-ray

'Essential Polish Animation' (1957-1986) Radiance Limited Edition 2-Disc Blu-ray | HD transfers of 27 animated films | 219 mins | Region Free | Polish w/ English subtitles

Polish animation, influenced by jazz, poster design and collage, took off in the late 1950s when artists found creative freedom in the wake of Stalin’s death. Pioneering filmmakers like Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica would change the form and usher in a golden age of filmmaking that would enable this art form to be appreciated around the world including winning prestigious international awards at festivals such as Cannes, Annecy, Oberhausen and an Oscar for Zbigniew Rybczyński’s Tango. This collection of 27 films spans the breakthrough works of the late 1950s to the close of the classic era in the 1980s, capturing some of the form’s essential films. 

Films:
Banner of Youth (Walerian Borowczyk & Jan Lenica, 1957)
Love Requited (Walerian Borowczyk & Jan Lenica, 1958)
The Changing of the Guard (Halina Bielińska & Włodzimierz Haupe, 1959)
New Janko the Musician (Jan Lenica, 1960)
A Little Western (Witold Giersz, 1960)
Playthings (Kazimierz Urbański, 1962)
Labyrinth (Jan Lenica, 1962)
The Chair (Daniel Szczechura, 1963)
The Red and the Black (Witold Giersz, 1964)
Everything is a Number (Stefan Schabenbeck, 1967)
Horse (Witold Giersz, 1967)
Cages (Mirosław Kijowicz, 1967)
The Stairs (Stefan Schabenbeck, 1968)
The Son (Ryszard Czekała, 1970)
Journey (Daniel Szczechura (1970)
Roll Call (Ryszard Czekała, 1970)
Road (Mirosław Kijowicz, 1971)
The Banquet (Zofia Oraczewska, 1976)
Barrier (Jerzy Kucia, 1977)
A Hardcore Engaged Film (Julian Józef Antoniszczak, 1979)
Reflections (Jerzy Kucia, 1979)
Tango (Zbigniew Rybczyński, 1980)
Solo in a Fallow Field (Jerzy Kalina, 1981)
The Source (Jerzy Kucia, 1982)
Chips (Jerzy Kucia, 1984)
A Gentle Woman (Piotr Dumała, 1985)
Parade (Jerzy Kucia, 1987)

Limited Edition contents:
- Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork
- Booklet featuring new writing by animation expert Karol Szafraniec
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Special features include:
- Fifteen new audio commentaries on select films by film historians Daniel Bird, Ela Bittencourt, Michael Brooke and Kambole Campbell (2025)
- Animated Poland - a newly created programme by film historian and Eastern European cinema expert Michael Brooke (2025, 59 mins)