Man of Iron

1981 2h 27m PL

👍

7.0

SOLID

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.0TMDB · 95★7.3IMDB · 4,009

DramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In Warsaw in 1980, the Communist Party sends disgruntled radio reporter Winkel to Gdańsk to dig up dirt on the shipyard strikers - particularly on Maciek Tomczyk, an independent labour union leader whose father was killed in the December 1970 protests. Posing as sympathetic, Winkel interviews the people surrounding Tomczyk, including his detained wife, Agnieszka.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Jerzy Radziwiłowicz
Maciek Tomczyk / Mateusz Birkut
Krystyna Janda
Agnieszka
Marian Opania
Winkel
Irena Byrska
matka Hulewicz
Wiesława Kosmalska
Wiesława Hulewicz
Bogusław Linda
Dzidek
Franciszek Trzeciak
Badecki
Janusz Gajos
zastępca szefa Radiokomitetu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Andrzej Wajda
Writers: Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski
Languages: Polish, Hungarian
Countries: Poland

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Polish, Hungarian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Solidarity Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Andrzej Wajda, shot by Edward Kłosiński. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Andrzej Korzyński. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Halina Prugar-Ketling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jerzy Radziwiłowicz and Krystyna Janda and Marian Opania carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082222 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Andrzej Wajda directs. Edward Kłosiński behind the camera. Andrzej Korzyński scores. Halina Prugar-Ketling cuts. Produced in Poland. Dialogue in Polish, Hungarian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Polish, Hungarian.
3Part of the "Solidarity Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Andrzej Wajda, shot by Edward Kłosiński. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Andrzej Korzyński. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Halina Prugar-Ketling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jerzy Radziwiłowicz and Krystyna Janda and Marian Opania carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt0082222 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 95 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Released under 27 different titles around the world.