SCFZ

Polling the films of director Andrzej Wajda

The rules:

- your list can include no more than half of the Wajda films you've seen, up to a maximum of 5. So if you've seen seven of his films, for example, you can list only a top 3. It's only if you've seen ten or more of his films than you can list the maximum of five.

- i'll assume ballots are ranked unless you tell me otherwise. unranked ballots are fine.

- deadline for ballots: next Friday, in seven days, whatever day that is

- if anyone is watching films for these polls, then i'll extend the deadline up to three days, if someone requests an extension

- next poll: whoever posts the first ballot in this thread is free to nominate the director we poll next, unless you've nominated in this round already (everyone should get a chance). Already nominated this round: greg x, wba, greennui, umbugbene, ofrene, mesnalty, john ryan, silga, mrcarmady, evelyn, nrh, roscoe, brian d, rischka, karl

umbugbene created an index on letterboxd of all of our previous polls here: letterboxd.com/umbugbene/list/index-of-all-scfz-director-polls/

one rule for nominees: at least 3 scfzers need to have seen 10+ of a nominee's films, or at least 4 scfzers need to have seen at least 8 of the nom's films, so if it isn't clear if that will be the case, we'll confirm that's true before moving forward

if 24 hours pass after a poll opens, and no one eligible to nominate has posted a ballot, then i'll nominate someone, and then we'll start over, and everyone will be able to nominate again

i'm sure wajda has enough views to make for a decent poll, but i'm not sure how many people have seen a lot of his films, so if it turns out not many have, i might use the extended rules for this - but i'll wait a couple days to decide

Innocent Sorcerers
Kanal

seen five, karl recommended innocent sorcerers for a year poll a while ago and it's great

HD copies of Brzezina (The Birch Wood) and Ziemia obiecana (The Promised Land) are on currently Youtube. Only the first with subs.

Seen 8:

1. The Promised Land
2. Ashes and Diamonds
3. Young Girls of Wilko
4. Kanal

seen 6

siberian lady macbeth
innocent sorcerers
kanal

Kanal

Seen 2

1. Kanal
2. A Generation

Seen 10

1. Ashes and Diamonds
2. Korczak
3. Kanal
4. Danton
5. The Possessed

I'd been meaning to watch The Birch Wood for a while and finally saw it this morning. It's a very close #6 on my list.

Seen 18:

Ashes and Diamonds
Man of Marble
Kanal
The Maids of Wilko
A Love in Germany

If the extended rules are applied:

Everything for Sale
Danton
Innocent Sorcerers

01. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

Wajda seen: 3

seen 2

Ashes and Diamond

wow i've only seen 10 apparently. imagined it was way more, felt like it, even tho i'm not sure i'd recognise a wajda film if someone didn't tell me he directed it. i mean, he ain't Has.

anyway

1. zemsta
innocent sorcerers
the ashes
siberian lady macbeth

still, he did give us polanksi singing a little song about a cat ♥♥♥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYcfIjyv4c

Seen 3

1. Kanal

Seen 22 so will vote for a few good ones not on any other list so far. Will also try to see The Wedding soon, and if that makes the cut I'll edit.

Not always an inspired director, but he knew that as well himself - see his website, where he's frank about which of his films he considers failures, and even includes translations of damning reviews:

"Wajda is only interested in photogenic faces, objects, facts and problems. Whatever he does, the goal is always the same: to show off his talent. Which he undoubtedly has. Unfortunately, he also lacks taste and intellect to match it. If he is indeed master of a 'school,' then be damned to the school which teaches coquetry, vanity and irresponsibility."

1. Rough Treatment aka Without Anesthesia
2. Chronicle of Amorous Accidents
3. The Birch Wood
4. Holy Week
5. Landscape after Battle

Somehow have only seen 2, good opportunity to change that.

Ashes and Diamonds

MrCarmady wrote: ↑Sun Jul 12, 2020 11:24 am Somehow have only seen 2, good opportunity to change that.

Ashes and Diamonds

Why should anyone watch Wajda, when they can watch Käutner?

Seen 22. My votes:
1. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
2. Panny z Wilka (1979)
3. Kanal (1957)
4. Ziemia obiecana (1975)
5. Wszystko na sprzedaz (1969)

Seen 12

1. Kanal
2. Ashes and Diamonds
3. The Promised Land
4. Rough Treatment
5. Innocent Sorcerers

Holymanm wrote: ↑Sat Jul 11, 2020 3:05 am Seen 2

holymanm, you can choose our next director if you like! i'll be starting the next poll on friday

flip wrote: ↑Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:26 am

Holymanm wrote: ↑Sat Jul 11, 2020 3:05 am Seen 2

holymanm, you can choose our next director if you like! i'll be starting the next poll on friday

Oof, there are a few directors I want to watch a bunch more movies by before nominating them... so for now, either:

- Mel Brooks
- Bong Joon-ho

Or if neither of those, I will be prepared in a few weeks!

we can see if mel brooks or bong joon-ho have the views for a poll, but those two directors both have pretty small filmographies overall. to be sure we can get a top ten, we'll definitely need someone who has seen 10+ films from a director we poll, and brooks has 11 films in total, bong 14 (though i don't know how available his early shorts are). so we'll see -- if anyone has seen several films by either director, please post here!

1 Brooks
7 Bong

Whoops, yeah, Bong only really has 7 features, and then several shorts (+ segment in Tokyo, etc). Brooks has 11 real features, but some of them aren't so widely seen. (One heroic John Ryan pops up on LBD for almost every single one, though, I notice!)

But if neither of them work, I don't mind skipping until the end of the round, or just waiting until next round. After finishing this HKKF month I will get to filling in some oeuvres...

Holymanm wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:53 pmoeuvres...

hoping chor is one of them (p.s. full moon scimitar is on prime, and not dubbed!)

i've liked everything i've seen by him - and i've only given one chang cheh movie, out of 11 total, anything less than 3.5/5 - but the two directors have a combined 162 movies... so i'm not sure how soon i'll be completing either of their oeuvres

thoxans wrote: ↑Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:58 pm(p.s. full moon scimitar is on prime, and not dubbed!)

and is this not dubbed for you?? different in america? here it's just english audio and english subs (+)____(+)

Holymanm wrote: ↑Fri Jul 17, 2020 5:14 am and is this not dubbed for you?? different in america? here it's just english audio and english subs (+)____(+)

It's labeled wrong. There are a bunch that are labeled as english audio that are actually chinese or cantonese.

those rat bastards!!! well my AT torrent of it is already at 30% so it's too late. will watch it one way or the other (the rat bastard would certainly not be out of place as a SB movie title)

Almost forgot about this one, not that it matters too much since my choices are mostly already well covered.

Kanal
Ashes and Diamonds
Young Girls of WIlko
Everything for Sale
Zemsta

11 Mel Brookss (Oh, man, is that all of his films? Shit. I don't like completing filmographies by even my favorite directors, but somehow I've seen all of Brooks films? dammit.)

4 Brooks
1 Bong