The Krzysztof Kieslowski Collection (A Short Film About Love/Blind Chance/Camera Buff/No End/The Scar/A Short Film About Killing)

Customer Reviews:

Essential cinema: The Krzysztof Kieslowski Collection. .......2007-07-23

Roger Ebert calls Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-1996) "one of the greatest of all filmmakers." Best known for his film cycles Three Colors Trilogy (Blue / White / Red) and The The Decalogue (Special Edition Complete Set), Kieslowski explores similar themes (the hardships of Polish society, love and loss, faith and fear) in this first-rate Collection of his lesser-known feature-length films.

A Short Film About Love ("Krótki film o milosci") (1988) is an expanded film version of the sixth episode of The Decalogue, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," with a different ending than the original. A young man (Olaf Lubaszenko), obssessed with a stranger (Grazyna Szapolowska), spies on her through her window and eventually falls in love with her.

Blind Chance (1981), which later influenced the films, Sliding Doors and Run Lola Run, follows three separate story lines involving Witek (Boguslaw Linda) sitting on an airplane and overcoming obstacles while attempting to catch a train to Warsaw.

Winner of the grand prize at the Moscow International Film Festival, Camera Buff (1979) tells the story of a factory worker, Filip Mosz (Jerzy Stuhr), who becomes obsessed with his amateur film hobby. The film explores government repression of an individual's artistic expression.

Told from the point of view of a lawyer's ghost and his widow, No End (1984) is a political feature about the political trials in Poland during martial law. The film was Kieslowski's first collaboration with screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz and composer Zbigniew Preisner (The Decalogue; The Double Life of Véronique; Three Colors).

In its documentary-style portrayal of everyday life under a flawed system, The Scar follows the upheaval of a small town by a poorly-planned industrial project.

A Short Film About Killing ("Krótki film o zabijaniu") (1988) is an expanded version of the fifth episode of The Decalogue, "Thou shalt not kill." A brutal murder unites a drifter (Miroslaw Baka), a taxi driver (Jan Tesarz), and an idealistic lawyer (Krzysztof Globisz), reflecting Kieslowski's opposition to the death penalty.

For those wanting to explore Kieslowski's genius beyond The Decalog, Three Colors, and The Double Life of Veronique, this six-disc Collection (totaling 596 minutes) should not be missed.

G. Merritt

Kieslowski collection . . ........2005-12-31

A dirty Warsaw frames A Short Film About Killing, symbolizing a society in decay. Murder . . . both state sanctioned and random are shown in counterpoint. The film is a powerful indictment about the death penalty, and the barrister reflects the outrage of the heart. The second theme is random chance . . . if only the killer's sister hadn't been killed, if only he had a good friend to talk to, if only someone had intervened. The film is so hard to watch because it reflects the mirror back at our souls.

Voyeurism, love and loneliness mingle in A Short Film About Love. Love, the special world, cannot be approached directly, but only tangentially . . . in the film's case, through the lens. Where Tomek begins as an impassioned voyeur, his love interest takes over as the film progresses. Do we only need a fleeting glimpse to arrive at love? How do we escape from being alone in the world? Such universal question are asked(and answered) in this expanded film version of The Dialogue classic.

Blind Chance is fantastic. Absolutely great. The themes of free choice and predetermination are explored not as opposites but as two qualities somehow blended together. When we think, "ah, I can choose," are we correct, or does each cosmic choice imply similar outcomes, similar problems? If we have three choices, are they really so different? Is the bad choice so bad? On the extra selections, check out the fascinating interview with his film censor, whom he respected so much she became a sort of creative sounding board for his works in progress, while at the same time examining his work in her `official capacity.'

No End is obviously a precursor to Blue . . . where the dead(sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically)live on, influencing events. There is no Black and White in Kieslowski's films, only gradations. Like Blind Chance, each position/argument on how to handle the case of the prisoner has their pro and con side. Truth or the true side of the prisoner is expressed by the deceased lawyer, revealed through his writings. Check out the short documentary The Office on the extras portion of the disc. It has comedy, wit, grace and tragedy(all in five minutes). It takes place in the black hole of an official state office where some hack drones on in a staccato tone to desperate pleas from several claimants. In this short(shot in film school), one can see the shape and scope of Kieslowski's future films.

On the extras of Camera Buff, Kieslowski's short documentary Talking Heads shows the humanity and hopes of ordinary people, and also of the filmmaker Kieslowski himself. Camera Buff works on several levels. First, it's laugh-out-loud funny(in parts). Second, it raises questions of putting somebody in the spotlight . . . and its implications. Like the dwarf worker or the communist functionary who loses his job. I see implications in news stories everyday . . . the power of turning the camera on ourself. This is Kieslowski's first "breakthrough film," and, perhaps it is here that Kieslowski first all incorporates all of the parts in the sum in combination making Kieslowski a singular genius. No other filmmaker or artist of any kind examines life in this manner, turning the camera inward.

Some of the best movies I have ever watched.......2005-12-10

Each movie of the collection is a masterpiece, a refreshing experience, leaving a deep, intense after-taste. Do not miss them !

Bravississimo! .......2005-08-31

SO FAR THE DVD EVENT OF THE DECADE!

No need to heap more praise upon Kieslowski, one of the greatest masters behind the camera. Just wanted to uncork a flood of this for this nothing short of phenomenal DVD set harvested by the "Kino video" film thoroughbreds! Each of these DVD titles has features aplenty to consider the entire edition a cultural event of the first water ---Kieslowski' rare shorter footage films are added on each of the titles; each title includes interviews with closest associates, friends, critics etc. It seems like that even the critics got inspired -being awara that they are paying tribute to a master that stand on equal footing to a Tarkovski, Fellini or Kurosawa to name but the cream of the crop.
All DVD's from the set are rented relentlessly, around the clock, at least in the video store I frequent. It makesone joyous to see that there's so many film fans hungry for the REAL THING (as opposed to the abominable, unmentionable, ever worse and more offensive Hollywood drek ;-)

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Blind Chance
A work of genius on several levels
Rigid structuralism
Interesting and important film
Simple twist of fate

Blind Chance
Starring: Boguslaw Linda , Tadeusz Lomnicki , Zbigniew Zapasiewicz , Boguslawa Pawelec , and Marzena Trybala
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0002CHIB0
Release Date: 2004-08-17

Customer Reviews:

Blind Chance.......2007-07-06

Banned upon its release in 1982, Kieslowski's engrossing drama is a sly commentary on Poland's uncertain future under Stalinist repression. In separate sequences, Witek alternately joins the Communist Party, becomes a dissident, and settles down to a quiet, apolitical life with a lovely woman, with each turn of events hinging on the accidents of fate. An intelligent ruse that inspired later films like "Facing Windows" and "Run, Lola, Run," Kieslowski's "Blind Chance" is an intriguing, multilayered entertainment with a lot on its mind.

A work of genius on several levels .......2006-02-25

"Blind Chance" is my favorite film directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. The story is deep and meaningful, yet also has a timeless quality that makes the story very memorable. A young Boguslaw Linda plays the main role in the film with an outstanding and sincere performance. The film shows three alternative situations and how small details can make a man's life take various paths.

In one scenario the man becomes a Communist party member, another an anticommunist, and yet in a third a good husband and doctor. The people from one reality are in the background of another, but because of the main course of action taken is different, they do not play a central role in the other time line. I found it absolutely fascinating to see how his lives play out and how he ends up at the same fate, regardless of which life he leads.

"Blind Chance" is an intellectual and psychological movie and may appeal to many people. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little more than just a regular story. It is a work of genius on several levels and not to be missed.

Rigid structuralism.......2005-01-07

Kieslowski's 1981 film Blind Chance is a groundbreaking work of cinema that has been significantly influential. Basis for two later films--Sliding Doors (British) and Run Lola Run (German)--it depicts three different possible outcomes in the life of the protagonist, Witek, a medical student whose pivotal event determining his life is whether or not he catches a train in Poland, the setting for this film.

While it is more than obvious that this is a truly innovative approach to filmmaking for its time, the filmmaker is far more interested in displaying this unconventional structure than he is in giving Witek--or basically any other character--any emotional depth. Witek makes his choices primarily based on what happens to him rather than making a decision; this is even true of what woman he decides to connect to. Three women are presented in the film, each representing one of the three paths Witek follows.

There is plenty of nude coupling in the film but all this sensuality does nothing to counterbalance the obvious dryness of the film because in no instance do we ever FEEL that Witek is involved in ANYTHING, even intimacy with these women--two of whom are married. In essence, Witek exists to carry out the premise of the film--that our lives are determined primarily by circumstances and not by the decisions we make. It is for this reason that Witek, in fact, IS so passive. He HAS to be that way to insure that the filmmaker's purpose is fulfilled.

It is intriguing to compare this to Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run which, in my opinion, is a far more involving film. The reason for that is because Tykwer's characters are directly involved in what amounts to a life-or-death situation and the three different outcomes are all gripping because we want to find out if the characters will survive or not. Because of this, Tykwer's characters do everything they can, GIVEN the different circumstances in which they find themselves, to resolve their situation. In Blind Chance, Witek does next to nothing; he acts as a conduit for Kieslowski--both the filmmaker's rigid structuralism as well as his political leanings.

I give this three stars for its truly innovative structure. But this is not a film that grips the viewer. At least not this viewer.

Interesting and important film.......2004-09-03

While the protagonist of this film does not escape from Poland to France, it's clear that Kieslowski's move to Paris did benefit his filmmaking. Blind Chance is not, in other words, as fine as film as Red, Blue, or White. Still, it's worth seeing if you like any of htose films, and it's an important film partly because it is the obvious inspiration for Tom Tykwer's Run, Lola, Run (the screenplay for Tykwer's Heaven was written by Kieslowski). Also of note is an opening shot of a close of a man's mouth while he is screaming, an obvious allusion to Roman Polanski's The Tenant. Both films share an interst in political paranoia (Polanski's character is regarded as a foreigner and Pole in The Tenant even though he is a French citizen) and chance (Polanski's character is it by a car). While Paris supplied obvious resorces for Kieslowski and for (the vastly underrated and still largely unknown to U.S. filmgoers) contemporary Polish filmmaker Andrej Zulawski, it has interestingly not done so for Polanski.

Simple twist of fate .......2004-08-26

"Blind Chance" (made in 1981) explores three possible outcomes of a young traveler's attempts to catch a fast-moving train. Paranoia runs deep in this, the most political of Krzysztof Kieslowski's early feature films (its release was delayed for years because of censors). Boguslaw Linda is terrific as the resourceful medical student slapped around by fate. This is one of four recent additions to Kino's Kieslowski collection -- along with "No End," "Camera Buff" and "The Scar" -- all of which show that the Polish master's writing and directing skills arrived almost fully formed when he turned to feature films. Each of the films benefits from a powerful central performance. They are products of the 1970s and '80s, a time of vast sociopolitical changes in Poland, but are not timepieces or simplistic attacks on the communists. The color images (full frame, enhanced for widescreen TVs) and sound are adequate. Subtitles are clear.

Blind Chance / Case / Przypadek / Sluchay by Krzysztof Kieslowski

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Blind Chance / Case / Przypadek / Sluchay by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Manufacturer: Karmen Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Boguslav Linda ("Ohrannik dlja docheri"), Tadeush Lomnickij ("Potop. CHast' 1"), Zbignev Zapasevich ("Korotkij fil'm ob ubijstve") v drame "Sluchaj". Molodoj chelovek Vitek pytaetsja najti sebja - to zakljuchaet sdelku s gosbezopasnost'ju, to vlivaetsja v studencheskoe dvizhenie, to pogruzhaetsja v religiju. Simvolom ego metanij stanovitsja poezd, na kotoryj on vse vremja opazdyvaet. Na jetu politicheskuju kanvu nakladyvaetsja ego ljubovnye iskanija. On bezrezul'tatno iwet svoju ljubov' i sam ne zamechaet, kak predaet ljubimyh zhenwin. V jetoj lente, narjadu s politicheskoj angazhirovannost'ju rezhissera projavilos' i ego stremlenie najti novuju stilistiku.

Average customer rating:

Blind Chance
A work of genius on several levels
Rigid structuralism
Interesting and important film
Simple twist of fate

Blind Chance [Region 2]
Starring: Bob Burns (II) , Charles Dorian , Peggy O'Day , and Natalie Warfield
Director: Edward A. Kull
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000AQVIM

Customer Reviews:

Blind Chance.......2007-07-06

A work of genius on several levels .......2006-02-25

Rigid structuralism.......2005-01-07

Interesting and important film.......2004-09-03

Simple twist of fate .......2004-08-26

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