Not to be confused with Ashes and Diamonds (1958), The Ashes was adapted from Stefan Zeromski’s 1904 novel, and conceived on a massive scale. The action spans the period 1797 to 1812, including the bulk of the Napoleonic Wars; but while old Boney is glimpsed, Wajda focuses on a trio of Poles (Daniel Olbrychski, Boguslaw Kierc, Piotr Wysocki) whose differing social and military statuses symbolise the national and personal confusion that followed Poland’s then-recent absorption into the Habsburg Empire. The Poles fight alongside Napoleon in the hope of regaining independence, but this forces them into ‘only obeying orders’ situations, such as having to massacre Black rebels in Santo Domingo for having the temerity to assert their independence.
The first half is primarily a deft social satire, as the complexity of the Poles’ relationship with their Habsburg rulers is explored from multiple angles, including a Masonic initiation involving ritualised bloodletting. Moments like that anticipate the second half’s more upfront horrors, the more hallucinatory parts of which foreshadow the films of assistant director Andrzej Zulawski (The Devil, 1972; On the Silver Globe, 1977/88). If The Ashes ultimately doesn’t quite achieve the full-blown transcendence of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev (1966) and Frantisek Vlácil’s Marketa Lazarová (1967), the brilliance of individual set pieces at least points in their direction.
Michael Brooke, Sight and Sound, Summer 2020
The Ashes, a work written by Stefan Zeromski at the beginning of the 20th century, belongs to the most outstanding achievements of the Polish modern literature. The author depicts the tragic fate of ten thousand Poles who, acting under the magic spell of the greatness of Napoleon’s genius, followed him blindly across Europe in the sincere belief that their blood shed so willingly on all battlefields will give their enslaved country the long expected freedom.
One of the most tragic dramas in Poland’s history is being filmed by Andrzej Wajda, a film author who devoted almost the whole of his talent to the problem of the so called ‘case of the Poles’. In his famous trilogy – A Generation, Kanal, Ashes and Diamonds – Wajda exposes those problems against the background of our times. Filming The Ashes he wants to show their historic origins for which the epoch of Napoleonic wars was a period of greatest sacrifices and tragic defeats, giving the most profound document of those errors which in the more and less distant past led the nation to disasters.
Indoor sequences are shot at Lodz. The battle of Raszyn – in the vicinity of Warsaw, in a place close to the historic battlefield. Later on, the team moved to Bulgaria where the famous cavalry charge in the Somosierra gorge was to be shot. The Bulgarian sun and landscape don’t differ much from those of central Spain. Finally, the team went back to Wroclaw where ‘storming of Saragossa’ was shot.
The work began at the well-equipped Lodz Studio. But not as smooth as expected. And although Wajda lit at the first clapper a large ‘John Wayne’ cigar which he saved for the occasion for over a year – difficulties started to mount the very first day of the shooting. The ballet of the Baltic Opera was to appear in the scenes of a ball which takes place in Orlowski’s palace. The programme of the opera was accordingly altered. And then everything started to get upside down. Beata Tyszkiewicz who performs one of the leading female parts fell ill only a few days before the planned shooting. There was no chance to bring her from Warsaw to Lodz.
Things turned even more complicated because the sets for the next sequence in a freemasons lodge were not ready. Yet, there was no chance to postpone anything for a train load of soldiers was on its way to Warsaw to take part in the famous Battle of Raszyn. Hundreds of phone calls, orders, decisions had to be made to find a solution of a problem which seemed to be without one. Finally the ‘great breakdown’ was overcome: Wajda shot first the ‘freemasons lodge’ sequences, then the ball and after all that was finished he started his Battle of Raszyn.
Some 1,500 uniforms worn by different armies at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, were prepared for the filming of The Ashes. Each of those uniforms consists of 15 different parts. There are 40 buttons on each of them. A military cap consists of eight parts. There are three belts to every one of them: service belt, cartridge belt and a chopper-belt. The officers were given additionally a whole collection of distinctions, embroidery, medals and things like that. The light cavalry horses were to get proper harness. Hundreds of the guard soldiers had to be ‘fitted’ with proper moustaches. When the whole work was finally finished, the troops looked very much like those which took place in the real battle.
The historic costumes were the biggest problem. In the battle scenes there are some 130 professional actors and over 1,500 extras. The whole production-plan however, anticipated only 30,000 full pay working hours for the extras. If anything went wrong in the course of shooting – the whole financial plan would turn into a fiction. It looked rather simple but the battle ground is full of marshes, water-canals and dikes. There are scenes of a cavalry charge, hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet charges. After a part of the battle was finished the uniforms looked like rags. The team had only a very short time to get them cleaned so they could be used again the next day, and then to be sent by train to Bulgaria for other battle sequences.
Some 200 soldiers were specially drilled to get the whole ‘know how’ of the historic period. Those 200 were always in the front of the more than 1,100 extras. In one sequence the troops ‘played’ the Poles, in the other – the Austrians. The continuous changing of uniforms was another technical problem for production management and men.
One of the scenes required three horses. The horses were brought but not a single foot of the film could be shot. Today a horse’s mane is trimmed short. It could be quite an error when you make a historic film. Horses used to have very long manes. The horses had to be sent back.
The siege of Saragossa took place in Wroclaw. The Wroclaw Studio built a huge artificial Spanish town for a film by Wojciech Has, The Saragossa Manuscript. After a little redecorating the same settings were used for the murderous fights that led to a destruction of the town.
Films and Filming, January 1965
The Ashes Popioły
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Production Company: Zespol Filmowy ‘Rytm’
Assistant Directors: Andrzej Zulawski, Andrzej Brzozowski
Screenplay: Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski
Based on the novel by: Stefan Zeromski
Director of Photography: Jerzy Lipman
Sets: Anatol Radzinowicz
Costumes: Ewa Starowieyska, Jerzy Szeski
Music: Andrzej Markowski
Cast
Daniel Olbrychski (Rafal Olbromski)
Pola Raksa (Helena)
Boguslaw Kierc (Krzysztof Cadro)
Beata Tyszkiewicz (Princess Elzbieta)
Piotr Wysocki (Prince Gintult)
Jozef Duriasz (Piotr, Rafal’s brother)
Tadeusz Hanoza (Rafal’s father)
Jadwiga Andrzejewska (Rafal’s mother)
Stanislaw Zaczyk (Prince Józef Poniatowski)
Jan Swiderski (General Sokolnicki)
Jan Nowicki (Captain Wyganowski)
Jan Koecher (De Witt)
Poland 1965
227 mins
Digital (restoration)
Restored by Fixafilm
The screening on Sat 28 Feb will be introduced by writer Michael Brooke
With thanks to
Marlena Łukasiak, Michał Oleszczyk, Jędrzej Sabliński
Presented with the ICA and Ciné Lumière, who will also be hosting screenings of Wajda’s works in February and March
SIGHT AND SOUND
Never miss an issue with Sight and Sound, the BFI’s internationally renowned film magazine. Subscribe from just £25*
*Price based on a 6-month print subscription (UK only). More info: sightandsoundsubs.bfi.org.uk
BFI SOUTHBANK
Welcome to the home of great film and TV, with three cinemas and a studio, a world-class library, regular exhibitions and a pioneering Mediatheque with 1000s of free titles for you to explore. Browse special-edition merchandise in the BFI Shop.We're also pleased to offer you a unique new space, the BFI Riverfront – with unrivalled riverside views of Waterloo Bridge and beyond, a delicious seasonal menu, plus a stylish balcony bar for cocktails or special events. Come and enjoy a pre-cinema dinner or a drink on the balcony as the sun goes down.
BECOME A BFI MEMBER
Enjoy a great package of film benefits including priority booking at BFI Southbank and BFI Festivals. Join today at bfi.org.uk/join
BFI PLAYER
We are always open online on BFI Player where you can watch the best new, cult & classic cinema on demand. Showcasing hand-picked landmark British and independent titles, films are available to watch in three distinct ways: Subscription, Rentals & Free to view.
See something different today on player.bfi.org.uk
Join the BFI mailing list for regular programme updates. Not yet registered? Create a new account at www.bfi.org.uk/signup
Programme notes and credits compiled by Sight and Sound and the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
Questions/comments? Contact the Programme Notes team by email