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Product Description
KATY is the story of Polish army officers murdered by the Russia secret police in the Katy forest during the Second World War and the families who, unaware of the crime, were still waiting for their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers to return. It is a film about the continuing struggle over History and memory, and an uncompromising exploration of the Russian cover up of the massacre that prevented the Polish people from commemorating those that had been killed.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C DVD: LANGUAGES: Polish ( Dolby DTS 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Celebrated Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda takes the helm for this Oscar-nominated drama detailing the harrowing events surrounding the 1940 massacre of captured Polish army officers in the Katyn Forest. A unique blend of conventional narrative and documentary-style filmmaking, KATYN opens in the spring of 1940, just as the Soviet Secret police execute a group of Polish officers. On September 1, 1939, Germen forces had descended upon Poland, paving the way for the Red Army to occupy east Poland as part of the Hitler-Stalin pact. As the Red Army assumed control of east Poland, all officers in the Polish army were placed in Soviet custody. Determined to remain loyal to the army despite the growing danger, Polish officer Andrzej refuses to flee with his wife, Anna. It isn't long before invading forces begin arresting professors in Cracow, and as the detainees languish in prison camps, their families start to fear that they'll never see their loved ones again. Flash forward to April 1943, and the Germans announce the discovery of mass graves. While Anna is relieved not to hear her husband's name on the list of bodies discovered, countless others are left to grieve their losses with no explanation or consolation. January 18, 1945: Cracow is liberated by the Red Army, and propagandist newsreels from the Soviet Union blame German forces for the massacre at Katyn. It is at that point that the fine line between collaboration and resistance within the People's Republic of Poland becomes exceptionally blurred. As the details surrounding the massacre gradually begin to emerge, Wajda reveals precisely h...Katyn ( Katyn ) ( Post mortem. Opowiesc katynska ) (Blu-Ray)
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
85 of 88 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Before I watched this film I knew nothing of the awful events that happened in the Katyn Forest. The 14000-22000(est) murders were ordered at the behest of Stalin's Soviet Government and the events that occured were subject to a subsequent cover-up and 50 year denial. Polish-Russian relations still suffer to this day because of it.
The story is told through a young Polish captain and his family; and shows their ensuing turmoil and mental torture. The film also features authentic Nazi German and Soviet newsreels from the time woven into the story and real footage of the mass graves are shown shortly after its discovery. This is not easy viewing...
Frequently disturbing and uncomfortable; Kaytn is a film with noble intentions of documenting an awful atrocity - which is still clearly raw in the hearts of all Polish people.
Katyn is comparable in tone and scale to Polanski's 'The Pianist'.
Katyn was nominated for 'Best Foreign Language Film' at 2008 Acadamy Awards.
The film has been produced on a large budget and shot on a scale which is rarely seen in foreign funded films - and the Katyn Massacre story itself is certainly handled with all the respect it deserves. It is well directed by Wadja and the cinamatography is impressive throughout. Also the casting is noticably top-drawer.
Its transfer to Blu-ray will only compliment it further.
I cannot recommend highly enough.
The story is told through a young Polish captain and his family; and shows their ensuing turmoil and mental torture. The film also features authentic Nazi German and Soviet newsreels from the time woven into the story and real footage of the mass graves are shown shortly after its discovery. This is not easy viewing...
Frequently disturbing and uncomfortable; Kaytn is a film with noble intentions of documenting an awful atrocity - which is still clearly raw in the hearts of all Polish people.
Katyn is comparable in tone and scale to Polanski's 'The Pianist'.
Katyn was nominated for 'Best Foreign Language Film' at 2008 Acadamy Awards.
The film has been produced on a large budget and shot on a scale which is rarely seen in foreign funded films - and the Katyn Massacre story itself is certainly handled with all the respect it deserves. It is well directed by Wadja and the cinamatography is impressive throughout. Also the casting is noticably top-drawer.
Its transfer to Blu-ray will only compliment it further.
I cannot recommend highly enough.
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you watch this film as "entertainment", this is not a perfect film, but it's pretty good. Acting, lighting etc are all excellent. The continuity just seemed a bit odd in places.
More importantly, as a telling of history, this film is extraordinary. I had never heard of Katyn before buying this DVD and I suspect the same will be true of many others. Speaking with a Polish friend today, I mentioned that I had just watched this film and even now, in barely more than a whisper and with a visible sideways glance as if she was still worried about saying it, she said that until just a few years ago it wasn't a subject that was allowed to be taught in classes. The former Soviet occupation/rule still leaves its mark on people today.
I think it's important that people watch films like this. It's a way of learning history, understanding some of the tensions between different countries, seeing how history tends to repeat itself (Srebrenica - not the same, but similar in many respects), and hopefully from that understanding, stopping these things happening again.
Unusually, the interview with the director after the film is also very interesting. It's not the usual nonsense that you get as an extra on a DVD, this is a documentary in itself.
More importantly, as a telling of history, this film is extraordinary. I had never heard of Katyn before buying this DVD and I suspect the same will be true of many others. Speaking with a Polish friend today, I mentioned that I had just watched this film and even now, in barely more than a whisper and with a visible sideways glance as if she was still worried about saying it, she said that until just a few years ago it wasn't a subject that was allowed to be taught in classes. The former Soviet occupation/rule still leaves its mark on people today.
I think it's important that people watch films like this. It's a way of learning history, understanding some of the tensions between different countries, seeing how history tends to repeat itself (Srebrenica - not the same, but similar in many respects), and hopefully from that understanding, stopping these things happening again.
Unusually, the interview with the director after the film is also very interesting. It's not the usual nonsense that you get as an extra on a DVD, this is a documentary in itself.
66 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a film that should be widely seen. It deals with the Soviet massacre of Polish officers in the second world war. Not only was this a devastating killing on a large scale - more than 20,000 officers were killed - but also it was a Soviet cover up as they tampered with evidence to blame the Germans.
The film takes the perspective of families caught up in the atrocity and its aftermath. It tells the story of men killed and the elderly parents, wives, daughters or sisters they left behind. Those who could not accept that the truth was buried, to those who took a pragmatic view dealing with the new regime as they found it but doing what they could to ensure Poland's survival.
Poland took a geographically central role in the second world war. Caught between the Germans and the Soviets one officer wryly talks about the duration of their incarceration noting that it's between the 1000 year Reich and communism being forever!
As testament to the film, the audience was absolutely silent at the end.
The film takes the perspective of families caught up in the atrocity and its aftermath. It tells the story of men killed and the elderly parents, wives, daughters or sisters they left behind. Those who could not accept that the truth was buried, to those who took a pragmatic view dealing with the new regime as they found it but doing what they could to ensure Poland's survival.
Poland took a geographically central role in the second world war. Caught between the Germans and the Soviets one officer wryly talks about the duration of their incarceration noting that it's between the 1000 year Reich and communism being forever!
As testament to the film, the audience was absolutely silent at the end.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Tells the story of the shocking events in the Katyn forest during WW2, which until recently, the Soviet Union/ Russia would not admit they had carried out. The film gives the perspectives of both the victims and relatives of the deceased; the latter of whom, struggled intolerably to live in a state which denied the massacre. This film should be seen by anyone who wishes to go a small way into understanding Poland's torrid twentieth century struggles and experiences. The powerful last twenty minutes of this movie are something you will not easily forget, and because of what the victims and families went through, something you shouldn't forget either.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am so happy that this film is with us at last! Andrzej Wajda waited a long time to make this. It was his very own settling accounts with the past and communism. His father died in Katyn and so did many of Poland's great brains. People do not realise that Poland was attacked from both sides....and I am not sure who was worse: the Germans or the Russians? Cruelty beyond belief, propaganda, selling Poland to Russians and communism followed suit. To know that this was a "white stain" or a taboo for Poles for many years adds to the drama of this movie. I went to the cinema to see this movie and the silence after the film ended was indeed very moving. To add to this tragedy of Polish nation was recent plane crush in which many memebers of Polish government perished...in the same forest....the same country...on the way to attend memorial service to victims of Katyn! I think that everyone should see this movie just like everyone should learn the truth about the second World War. This should be the best anti-war deterrent!
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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
KATYN
Excellent film, well worth watching and worth the money. Not an easy film to watch but, if you know the story, you'll know what to expect. A welcome addition to my DVD collection.
Published 1 month ago by CHRIS
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good representation of an amazing piece of history
The story of the evil agreement between Germany and Russia (Ribbentrop-Molotov pact), and its consequences on Polish history. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Enrico
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unflinching and unforgettable
A powerful film from acclaimed director Andrezj Wajda about the partition of Poland by the Nazis and Soviets in 1939 and the subsequent murder of Polish Officers by the Russians at... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Seoulprovider
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stalin's massacre and the triumph of truth over lies
In the spring of 1940, on the orders of Stalin, 22,000 Polish army officers detained at the Kozielsk, Ostaszkov and Starobielsk concentration camps were shot in the back of the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lance Grundy
4.0 out of 5 stars
Katyn
This film gives credence to the awful massacre at Katyn forest in Poland. This heinous crime has only recently been acknowledged in history as a fact. Read more
Published 11 months ago by rachel Devlin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Survivors Guilt
Beautiful study by veteran auteur, provided with a budget to create a celluloid monument depicting how both the Germans and Russians, uner the aegis of the Molotov-Ribbentrof pact... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Dr. Delvis Memphistopheles
4.0 out of 5 stars
Profound.
...alright, I might as well finish watching what, up to now, has been a slightly disappointing film.
Hang on? That's not right! What's going on? Oh blimey. This isn't good. Read more
Hang on? That's not right! What's going on? Oh blimey. This isn't good. Read more
Published 13 months ago by I. Rumens
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average... close, but not close enough...
This isn't a bad film, but I felt it missed the mark a bit. I think the film sat between what would have been a great story if either one was chosen and explored in full. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Numbing and Powerful
This is a powerful film that leaves one with a great sense of loss. Wajda always wanted to make this film (his father was one of the many Polish officers murdered at Katyn) and I... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk
4.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece on one of the worst episodes of Stalinism
This is a spine chilling documentary of an abominable episode of World War II. In fact it was not even part of the war, really. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Marco Carnovale
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