Tag Archives: Janus Films

Krzysztof Kieślowski’s epic masterpiece “Dekalog” opens in a stunning restoration

This is no ordinary opening of a film. This is the stunning new restoration of the legendary 10-part epic Dekalog (also known as The Decalogue). The film opens theatrically for the first time in 15 years.
Time still is friends with Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Dekalog, newly-restored on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the filmmaker’s death. The film begins its U.S. theatrical run at the IFC Center in Cleveland on September 1. The masterpiece will be accompanied by a national roll out to more than 20 cities.  Criterion Collection and Janus Films will release the series on Blu-ray and DVD on September 27; they include longer theatrical versions of the series’ fifth and sixth films, A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love.

Originally made for Polish television, Dekalog focuses on the residents of a housing complex in late-Communist Poland, whose lives become subtly intertwined as they face emotional dilemmas that are at once deeply personal and universally human.The series’ ten hour-long films draw from the Ten Commandments for thematic inspiration and an overarching structure, and grapple deftly with complex moral and existential questions concerning life, death, love, hate, truth, and the passage of time. Shot by nine different cinematographers, written alongside longtime collaborator Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with stirring music by Zbigniew Preisner and compelling performances from established and unknown actors alike, Dekalog arrestingly explores the unknowable forces that shape our lives.

Stanley Kubrick was a huge fan of the film, saying that “these films dramatize their ideas with such dazzling skill that you never see the ideas coming, and don’t realize until much later how profoundly they have reached your heart.”

This new digital transfer of Dekalog was sourced from the 35mm original camera negatives provided by Telewizja Polska and stored at Filmoteka Narodow. When possible, the restoration of each episode was supervised and approved by its respective cinematographer.

IF YOU GO
9/1/2016 Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Cinematheque
9/2/2016 NYC: IFC Center
9/2/2016 Montreal, QC: Cinema du Parc
9/5/2016 Vancouver, BC: Pacific Cinematheque
9/9/2016 San Francisco, CA: Alamo Drafthouse New Mission
9/9/2016 San Rafael, CA: Smith Rafael Film Center
9/16/2016 Coral Gables, FL: Coral Gables Art Cinema
9/17/2016 Los Angeles, CA: Cinefamily
9/29/2016 Rochester, NY: George Eastman House
9/23/2016 Pleasantville, NY: Jacob Burns Film Center
9/22/2016 Austin, TX: Austin Film Society
10/14/2016 Oklahoma City, OK: Oklahoma City Museum of Art