Pan Tadeusz (partially lost Polish silent film; 1928)

Tadeusz and Zosia - still from the film.

Status: partially lost

Pan Tadeusz (Mr. Thaddeus) is Polish silent film from 1928, based on Adam Mickiewicz's 1834 epic of the same title. The film was directed by Ryszard Ordyński, the script was written by Andrzej Strug and Ferdynand Goetel.

Production

Ryszard Ordyński shot the film, among others, at the Czombrów estate near Lake Świtez, where Adam Mickiewicz, the author of the book, spent his childhood. The set design, costumes and film props were supervised by a team of consultants, and the 1st Cavalry Regiment of Józef Piłsudski and the 4th Regiment of Zaniemenski Uhlans took part in the battle scenes.

Film Release

The official premiere of the film took place on 9 November 1928 in Warsaw with the participation of President Ignacy Mościcki and Marshal Józef Piłsudski. The newspaper of the time announced Pan Tadeusz as "a film epic of Adam Mickiewicz's immortal work", an anniversary film, "a superproduction made for the 10th anniversary of Poland's independence". The project proved to be a commercial success for the creators, enjoying great success in the capital. The premiere marked the beginning of celebrations marking ten years of Polish independence.

Availability

For many years the work was considered lost. The film was lost during the Second World War. Fragments of the film, totalling forty-two minutes in length, were found in the 1950s. In 2006 further fragments were found in Wrocław, thanks to which it was possible to reconstruct about one hundred and twenty minutes of the film, which originally lasted over three hours. On November 9th, 2012 in Warsaw's Iluzjon cinema there took place the premiere of the reconstructed version of the film which was enriched with music composed by Tadeusz Woźniak. In January 2014 Filmoteka Narodowa released the film on DVD.

External Links

• Pan Tadeusz on FilmPolski.pl.
• Pan Tadeusz on National Film Archive "Nitrofilm".
• Stills from the film Pan Tadeusz.
• Digital reproduction of an interview with Ferdynand Goetel on the film on polona.pl.
• Digital reproduction of the film programme on polona.pl.