Knights of the Teutonic Order (film)

Knights of the Teutonic Order
Knights of the Teutonic Order
Directed by	Aleksander Ford
Screenplay by	Jerzy Stefan Stawiński; Aleksander Ford; Henryk Sienkiewicz (novel)
Produced by	Zygmunt Król
Starring	; Urszula Modrzyńska; Mieczysław Kalenik;
Cinematography
Music by	Kazimierz Serocki
Production; company	Zespół Filmowy
Release date	15 July 1960;
Running time	166 minutes
Country	People's Republic of Poland
Language	Polish
Budget	zł38,000,000
Box office	zł100,000,000 (by March 1961)

Knights of the Teutonic Order (Polish: Krzyżacy) is a 1960 Polish film directed by Aleksander Ford based on the novel of the same name by Henryk Sienkiewicz.

The plot is situated in the late-14th century and early-15th century Poland and centers on the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War (1409-1411) and the final Battle of Grunwald (1410). 15,000 extras were employed to create the battle scenes.^[2] The film attracted to cinema masses of viewers and remains one of the most attended films in Polish history: it sold 2 million tickets within several months,^[3] 14 million after four years and as of 1987, it had some 32,315,695 admissions. It was also exported to forty-six foreign countries,^[4] and sold 29.6 million tickets in the Soviet Union^[5] and 2,650,700 in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic,^[6] and was the most successful Polish film internationally.^[7] It was a Polish submission to the 33rd Academy Awards.

It was released on 15 July 1960, the 550th anniversary of the battle of Grunwald.

Cast[]

as Danusia Jurandówna
Urszula Modrzyńska as Jagienka ze Zgorzelic
Mieczysław Kalenik as Zbyszko z Bogdańca
as Maćko z Bogdańca
as Jurand ze Spychowa
Leon Niemczyk as Fulko de Lorche
Henryk Borowski as Zygfryd de Löwe
as Kuno von Lichtenstein
as Duke Janusz I of Warsaw
as Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Ulrich von Jungingen
Emil Karewicz as King Władysław Jagiełło
Józef Kostecki as Lithuanian duke Witold
as Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen
Lucyna Winnicka as Duchess Anna Danuta, wife of Janusz I of Warsaw
as Zawisza Czarny
as Cztan z Rogowa
Janusz Paluszkiewicz as royal marshall
Jerzy Pichelski as Powala of Taczew

References[]

^ ^a ^b Maria Dąbrowska, Tadeusz Drewnowski. Dzienniki: 1958-1965. Czytelnik (1988). ISBN 9788307009742. p. 217.
^ Kreuzritter: Kommische Oper. Der Spiegel, 5 July 1961.
^ Marcin Zaremba. Komunizm, legitymizacja, nacjonalizm: nacjonalistyczna legitymizacja władzy komunistycznej w Polsce. Trio (2001). ISBN 9788388542145. p. 273.
^ Haltof, Marek. Polish National Cinema. Berghahn Books (2002). ISBN 9781571812766. p. 97.
^ Крестоносцы. kinopoisk.ru.
^ Křižáci. Film Culture: Brno 1945-1970.
^ "Polski's Top O'Seas Takes From 1947 Through 1975". Variety. May 12, 1976. p. 426.