Customer Reviews

With Fire and Sword (Ogniem i Mieczem), Parts 1 & 2

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"With Fire and Sword" (Ogniem i Mieczem) was the film that started my interest in Polish cinema a few years ago. Its story, effects, and history amazed me. Watching the movie was a life-changing event for me on the level of being a spiritual and cultural experience. It ranks among the best I have ever watched and is one of my all time favorites.

"With Fire and Sword" is based on the first of a trilogy written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It takes place in the 17th century, when Poland's borders were much wider than they are today. However, it also a time when nearly all of its neighbors invaded its land throughout the century. This story has it all. It is a love story and a war story. It is fairly lengthy, but considering it is an epic and covers an intricate story with so much happening, I loved every minute and feel it needs the time to fully portray the story.

Although the film should not be taken as an exact history, it is remarkable how many of the historical details do match up. In my study of this time by reading and though my involvement with a 17th century Polish-Lithuanian living history group, I am amazed on the volume of fine details that are accurate in the film. Regardless, the film is not a documentary but entertainment and that it is without any doubt.

Even people unfamiliar with Polish cinema may recognize some of its actors. Izabella Scorupco, who plays the leading lady in this film also played in the English speaking films "GoldenEye" and "Reign of Fire." Two men with very prominent parts in this movie (Michal Zebrowski and Zbigniew Zamachowski) also have small parts in Roman Polanski's "The Pianist." If you enjoy long historical movies, "With Fire and Sword" is a must.

This DVD is the TV version of the film, which is broken into four parts, with credits at the end of each part. There are voiceovers when those speaking Ukrainian talk, which obstructs hearing them. Often, the only difference between the Ukrainian and Polish is the accent. Personally, I find the voiceover to be a little annoying. On the plus side, the TV version has a few extra minutes of footage not in the theater version.

A very good film characterized by marvelous acting, a very good soundtrack, and maybe more historical realism than some audiences are ready for. The story takes place in 17th century Poland in the midst of the Polish-Zaporojan war. There is a romance set against the backdrop of hostility between the Poles and the Cossacks. An otherwise serious tale is offset by various humorous interludes (mostly centred around the supporting character of Sir Zagloba). Excellent historical fiction.

Very disappointed by this two disc version.
1. They divided it into a 4 part screen play which doesn't flow as well as the movie
2. The subtitles often miss out part or are one sided so you miss what one character is saying completely.
3. There is a strange voice over some parts repeating what the characters just said in a monotone voice that completely ruins the movie and there is no way to turn it off.

This is a fantastic movie and one of my all time favourites, but steer clear of this version. Try to get the dual layer disc that has all the characters on the front cover.

You hear often of how much Hollywood pays for screenplays and adaptations of popular work, but it seems that many times they overlook the most obvious source of magnificent drama which is history. With Fire and Sword was shown in Chicago back in 1999 and I always regretted missing it. Fortunately, I was able to catch the quick moving period piece the other day. The battles between the Poles and the Cossacks were riveting and spurred me to do a little research about author Henryk Sienkiewicz. As always, however, I loved seeing the beauty of the winged hussars charge into battle--a sight artfully recreated in With Fire and Sword. One's interest is piqued every time a horseman makes an appearance. It's hard not to root for the Ruthenians, and the love story makes the need for their victory all the more compelling. Overall, this is definitely a needed changeup for the mainstream viewer who has grown tired of Hollywood's schlock. I highly recommend it.

A most excellent depiction of the story, Sienkiewicz is a master of writing and I think his story was portrayed beautifully.

Yes, the DVD transfer could have been better. I don't really care. If a little graininess is the price we must pay for having the enjoyment of this film, then so be it. It's a miracle that this sprawling, brutal epic --- the most expensive in the history of Polish cinema --- was made in the first place. Reasonably faithful to both Sienkiewicz' work and the history of the Zaporozhye Uprising, this features good production values, excellent acting, and unforgettable characters. Plus, it does justice to a great story! For anyone who enjoys historical epics, this should be near the top of the list of must-see films.

Wow! Rebelling Cossack and Tartar hordes vie with winged hussars for the fate of Poland in this extraordinary movie. Throw in a beautiful damsel in distress, a manly, emotionally charged protagonist, and complexly characterized antagonists and you have the mix for an extraordinary movie. With Fire and Sword has the narrative sweep and costumed sumptuousness of the great historic film epics along with the imagery one expects from world class cinema.
With Fire and Sword is Henryk Sienkiewicz's vast and wonderful novel of the brewing crises of 17th Century Poland that eventually destroyed the Polish state. Director Jerzy Hoffman has distilled this sprawling work into a compelling, fast paced dramatic work.
Some reviewers have noted the "cross talk" feature, which can be distracting on a very few occasions. I believe what is happening is that the Ukrainian characters are speaking in Ukrainian while a narrator repeats what they are saying in Polish. Perhaps, if one could follow the original dialog in Polish this feature may be annoying. Relying solely on the English subtitles, it seemed to add an even greater sense of authenticity for me.

I have been looking forward for years to see this screen version of Sienkiewicz's classic book. The movie version follows the story line of "With Fire and Sword" very honestly but leaves out a lot of the filler material. I am a bit dissapointed with the production in the sense that the battle scenes seem so sparsely populated after reading the novel. I guess that computor enhancement was not available to it's production crew. This was great Polish history but on a reduced scale.

Read the trilogy first because it is one of the few true masterfull trilogies then watch the trilogy on dvd

A great film epic from Poland, based on a famous novel by Nobel laureate Henryk Sienwiewicz, taking the 17th Century Ukrainian uprising by Bogdan Khmelnitsky against the Polish Commonwealth as a background, with Poles, Ukrainians and Tatars fighting against each other. My knowledge of Polish history is weak, so I cannot tell how faithful this movie is to the real events it depicts, but as an epic it never fails to entertain. Since this is a Polish film, Poles come naturally the best. Some may complain that the Ukrainian Cossacks are depicted as ignorant brutes, but they are nonetheless great fun to watch. Worst depicted are the Crimean Tatars, as oriental despots (and pederasts, as well, since the Khan is shown as an obvious boy lover). Though this was one of the most expensive films in Polish history, it took just small change to made in comparison with similarly themed Western movies, and the results for the money are impressive. The battles depicted here are great, and the filmmakers took care to involve many people in them, not just a few (presumably, without any aid from computer imagery). There is a great acting, as well (Izabella Scorupco as the beautiful Helena, Alexandr Domogarov as the impulsive Bohun, Ruslana Pysanka as the witch Horpyna, Krzystof Kowalewski as the comic relief Zagluba).