Essential Art House: Ashes and Diamonds

The commanding, charismatic Zbigniew Cybulski (dubbed the Polish James Dean) explodes on screen as Maciek, a Polish soldier who on the last day of World War II is ordered to assassinate a Soviet leader who has arrived in town to establish a new government. Directed with stunning dexterity and inventiveness by the visionary Andrzej Wajda, Ashes and Diamonds was the ultimate film expression of Poland's postwar identity crisis and a vital work of a nation's emerging cinema.

Director: Andrzej Wajda
Producer: Laura Pausini
Actor: Eva Krzyewska
Actor: Waclaw Zastrezynski
Actor: Zbigniew Cybulski
Actor: Ewa Krzyzewska
Actor: Adam Pawlikowski
Actor: Waclaw Zastrzezynski
Actor: Bogumil Kobiela
Actor: Artur Mlodnicki
Actor: Alexander Sewruk
Actor: Arthur Mlodnicki
Actor: Barbara Krafft
Actor: Halina Kwiatoska
Actor: Jozef Pieracki
Actor: Zbigniew Skowronski
Actor: Jan Ciecierski
Actor: Stanislaw Milski
Actor: Ignacy Machowski
Actor: Grazyna Staniszewska
Actor: Mieczyslaw Loza