The Ashes (Polish: Popioły) is a 1965 Polish historical drama film directed by Andrzej Wajda, referencing the classic Stefan Żeromski epic novel of Polish Literature of the same name. It was entered into the 1966 Cannes Film Festival. It sold about 6 million tickets in Poland, becoming one of the highest-grossing Polish films of all time.
Contents
Cast
Daniel Olbrychski – Rafał Olbromski
Bogusław Kierc – Krzysztof Cedro
Piotr Wysocki – Jan Gintułt
Beata Tyszkiewicz – Princess Elżbieta
Pola Raksa – Helena de With
Władysław Hańcza – Rafal's Father
Jan Świderski – General Sokolnicki
Jan Koecher – General de With
Zbigniew Sawan – Krzysztof's Father
Józef Duriasz – Piotr Olbromski
Zbigniew Józefowicz – Michcik
Janusz Zakrzeński – Napoleon Bonaparte
Józef Nalberczak – Soldier Wanderer
Stanisław Zaczyk – Józef Poniatowski
Zofia Saretok – Helena's Aunt
Krzysztof Litwin – Officer
Arkadiusz Bazak – Officer
Tomasz Zaliwski – Officer
Stanisław Mikulski – Polish Soldier
Ethical controversy
To film one of the scenes, Andrzej Wajda decided to push a living horse off a cliff(that was "saved" from a slaughterhouse prior to filming), which resulted in animal's brutal death. This director's move sparked a backlash from fans and several communities, starting a debate around the extremes of artistic expression.
Years later, Wajda's at the time assistant - Andrzej Żuławski, came forward to defend the scene, stating that the horse was going to die anyways (in the slaughterhouse) and was drugged by the crew so much, that it didn't know what was happening around it.