| The Life and Films of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Journal |
[entries|friends|calendar] |
|
|
The Life and Films of Krzysztof Kieslowski
|
|
|
| Great appreciation |
[01 Dec 2006|10:08am] |
I am so happy I found this community, I never knew it was here. I'm so glad there are so many others who value and appreciated Kieslowski's work as much as I do!
I have just seen the new Criterion DVD of The Double Life of Veronique! OMG the transfer was amazing. The VHS I have been watching, the picture quality is so poor this was a real treat. Watching it again after many years reminded me why Kieslowski remains my favorite writer/director/cinematic philosopher. In the past my devotion have been split between Bergman and Kieslowski but after viewing the Dekalog, Three Colors Trilogy, and now Double Life of Veronique again, my appreciation for Kieslowski has surpassed mine for Bergman. I still love Bergman but Kieslowski is a cinematic Prospero, capable of any magic. He even gave us a tempest at the end of Red. When he died he was working on another trilogy, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory. I always think, had he lived and completed Heaven, what would Kieslowski's heaven be like? Watching Double Life of Veronique, I think I caught a glimpse of it.
|
|
| “From the City of Łódź” in Kyiv, Ukraine |
[29 Nov 2006|11:49am] |
|
October 27 to November 07 this year in Kyiv, Ukraine took place an exhibition “From the City of Łódź”; the exhibition of black & white photos made by Krzysztof Kieślowski being the 1st year student of Łódź Film School (1965-1966).
I loved the photos (there were about 30 of them).
People & life they are reflecting fall into memory: aged people “resigning themselves to the life as it is”; late autumn-white winter streets & houses… Everything is so familiar – resembles everything around here… Some pictures from the exhibition you may see here & here (sorry for the poor quality).
|
|
| Double Life of Veronique on Criterion DVD |
[06 Sep 2006|06:01pm] |
The wait is over. The Criterion Collection will release the North American DVD of Double Life of Veronique. As I'm sure you know, Criterion DVDs almost always contain a top-of-line digital transfer and a wealth of extra features. Among these features are three documentary shorts Kieslowski made in Poland, new interviews with Zbigniew Preisner and the great Slawomir Idziak, and on-set footage from Double Life.
The scheduled release date is November, however I've seen the company push dates back several months and even years. But, judging from the specs on the webpage, it looks pretty solid.
|
|
|
[25 Jul 2006|06:29pm] |
|
Św.Krzysztof jest dzisiaj…
|
|
| Krzysztof Kieslowski Collection extras? |
[17 Dec 2005|08:34pm] |
|
Does The Krzysztof Kieslowski Collection include all the extra features from the individually released DVDs?
The individual films and the box set are both released by Kino so I would assume the extras would be part of the box set, but I can't find any information confirming or denying.
Merci.
|
|
|
[08 May 2005|07:58pm] |
|
Someone PLEASE tell me how I can get a hold of a copy of The Double Life of Veronique. ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED! leave a post here or on my lj. thanks in advance.
|
|
| have any of you watched the interview on the facets DVD? |
[10 Feb 2005|02:01pm] |
|
i just watched the 100 questions segment from polish TV that is on the special features on the Decalogue DVD set. It was almost funny...no, it was funny. Kieslowski is bashing Polish critics right in front of them, and from the looks of it, they deserve it. It's a fascinating interview, a bit cheesy at times, but worth watching.
|
|
| The Decalogue Discussions |
[08 Dec 2004|09:03pm] |
I've looking on the internet for discussions about this but I haven't found one decent. How about we start
one here.
What are you fave episodes. Finally got the dvd's of this.. way overdue..heheh. My parents have watched this a long time ago and have recommend to me. I'm a aspiring director, and Kieslowski is on my top list. I thought there would be more of a discussion about Kieslowski and his works on the net but there isn't, that's sad.
I've watched eppys 1-9, one more to go.
So far my faves are 1,4, and 5. I'm really thinking about 6, 7 and 8, very good films. Oh man it's way too hard to decide a fave one.
And what do you all think about Young Man aka (Man in the sheepskin in eppy 1) in the series.
I hope we can get into deep discussions about the decalogue.
|
|
| Books on and about Krzysztof Kieslowski |
[02 Dec 2004|03:37am] |
Any recommendations?
I'm also looking on books if there are any of Kieslowski work with actors and how he works with them...
How about...
Double Lives, Second Chances : The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski
by Annette Insdorf ?
OR
Kieslowski on Kieslowski
|
|
| Lucid Dreams |
[19 Nov 2004|03:43pm] |
|
Last week, I won this book on Ebay - Lucid Dreams: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski, a collection of Polish, British and American essays on KK's body of work, translated & edited by Paul Coates. I never even knew this existed, I just happened to chance across it on Ebay - this came up not after a search for Kieslowski, but for Krzysztof Piesiewicz (?!) - but some of the essays are quite fascinating. Has anyone else read this? I have 3 other Kieslowski books in my library (Kieslowski on Kieslowski, the Insdorf one whose title I can't remember, and the little BFI Three Colours one by Geoff Andrew, but IMHO this is the most in-depth and interesting one criticism-wise.
|
|
|
[29 Aug 2004|10:29pm] |
"Fellini is dead, Tarkovsky is dead, Bergman sticks to theatre, and Godard is out to lunch. All of which leaves European cinema wandering around like a lost kid. Rescue has come in the unlikely shape of the Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski—unlikely because a résumé of his
early career, most of it in documentaries, barely hints at the glories to come. The man who made The Principles of Safety and Hygiene in a Copper Mine, fine work though that undoubtedly was, had a long path to tread before he arrived at A Short Film About Killing, one of the least hygienic movies ever made, let alone at The Double Life of Véronique, one of the most baffling and beautiful."
( First lines of Anthony Lane's original review of Blue for The New Yorker. I stumbled across it this weekend, and thought you might enjoy reading along. )
|
|
| L'Amour au Premier Regard - Jean-Louis Murat |
[29 Aug 2004|01:38am] |
|
I liked the music in Kieslowski's films a lot, so on a recent trip I bought the Trois Couleurs soundtracks. Unfortunately upon returning to US I discovered that the french CD of "Rouge" I have is lacking the Track 16 - L'Amour au Premier Regard. Does anyone have this track/knows where one might get it? I don't want to buy the whole album again, and iTunes does not have it.
|
|
|
[13 Aug 2004|02:09am] |
|
Oh my god! I can't believe there is a community here devoted to
Kieslowski. Oh lord, people who will understand why I sat at an
uncomfortable library booth before a tiny tickering television just to
see their copy of Decalogue... I am in heaven... you are all my
brothers...
|
|
| The end sequence in Krzysztof Kieslowski's 'Blue' and Richard Kelly's 'Donnie Darko' |
[19 Jun 2004|03:56pm] |
 I've not seen the movie Blue for quite some time- perhaps not since it was first released. It is the first installment of the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, the three colours of the French flag.
The ending of Blue features a small reference to each of the characters- where they are in the night- and what they are doing. It is bathed in the colour blue, and is just a small touch- it seems as though they've all experienced a similar feeling or vision. It pans from left to right for each character, until it reaches the very sexual Lucille, at which point it begins to pan in the opposite direction. Throughout this series of scenes, the music that was being composed throughout the life of the movie is heard for the first time in the manner it was meant to be performed, booming and full of grief.
 While watching this, the similarity to the ending character reference montage in Donnie Darko was striking. In Donnie Darko, there is a blended pan from left to right, where each character is seen in bed- seemingly all at the same period of time- and reacting to a shared bad dream or emotion- all while a depressing Tears for Fears cover is performed. The mood is somber and blue- and allows the director a way to allow a relevant glimpse for the viewer into all the characters- all without them interacting directly with one another.
I had to stop the movie and call some friends in that were familiar with Donnie Darko to verify my claim. It does seem either that Richard Kelly either chose to use a very successful method of closure and 'looking in' at other characters, or perhaps it was a reference to Blue? I haven't seen anything quite as similar as the endings in Blue & Donnie Darko- but perhaps I've forgotten something.
Has anyone else made this connection? I did a simple Google search- butI found no obvious connection- perhaps there isn't one. I'd be interested in any opinions you might have.
Cross posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.2) donnie_darko
|
|
| The Big Animal |
[12 Feb 2004|10:42am] |
|
Anyone living in the Detroit area can see Duze zwierze (The Big Animal) at the DIA Film Theatre on March 1st. As I'm sure everyone here knows, Jerzy Stuhr directs a script by Kieslowski, based on a story by Kazimierz Orlos.
Unless you live in Los Angeles, New York or Chicago, this may be your only chance to see it on a screen. I'm positive it won't play anywhere else in the Midwest.
Venue information: www.dia.org
Official site (Polish): Duze zwierze
A review I found on culturevulture.net: The Big Animal
andy
|
|
|
[28 Aug 2003|09:45am] |
|
Here's a full version of that Charlie Rose interview with Juliette Binoche from 1997, right after the release of The English Patient.
|
|
|
[27 Aug 2003|06:28pm] |
The following is a small transcribed excerpt from Juliette Binoche's appearance on the Charile Rose show January 21st, 1997. I rediscovered this interview on my desktop tonight and in rereading it, was once again astounded to remember the amazing fact that Kieslowski created his masterpiece films IN ONE TAKE. Two, if the camera failed. As he told Danielle Stok, coming from his experience at Lodz he felt it was highly immoral to waste film on the ego. On multiple takes for neurotic actors. He could never bring himself to do it.
CHARLIE ROSE: What was [Kieslowski] like as a director?
JULIETTE BINOCHE: First of all, he was a good person, which I think goes together sometimes, you know--
CHARLIE ROSE: Of being--
JULIETTE BINOCHE: --a good person being a good director because you-- you know, they try to help you, you know? Some directors, they don't care about actors, you know? They don't try to help you. You know, they're more interested to what they think and what they-- you know, how you should play that because they thought about it, you know? It's like you have to be in the puzzle, you know, and too much what they thought about. And making movies for me, it's different because it's-- it's teamwork again. You know, you're trying your best to get as close as possible with the other. And I think Kieslowski was-- he didn't care about himself, you know, as I didn't care about myself. It was about the story of the film and doing the best as we could.
CHARLIE ROSE: How much of what-- of your talent and skill and craft as an actor is just who you are naturally? What does-- the person that you were born, the characteristics that you have, as much as it is study and practice and rehearsal and hard work-- how much of it is just you were born with certain something-- luminescence-- certain something?
JULIETTE BINOCHE: So you want me to define--
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah. I mean, you know, it just seems that you have something that's beyond craft, too, I mean, that you brought to the--
JULIETTE BINOCHE: Well, your experience and-- it's so-- you know, when I-- when I involve myself in a movie, I-- sometimes I know without knowing.
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: I know because it's my intuition, so I work mostly with my intuition and it comes out of probably childhood and--
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: But I don't have a specific, you know, way of working. It depends on the movie and it changes all the time. Like, I had to [unintelligible] myself with the director sometimes. Kieslowski would do only one take, rehearse-- rehearse, like, four or five times and then do just one take. And I was used to doing another film with a young director called Leos Carax, which was Les Amants du Pont Neuf.
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: We did about 40 takes each time, sometimes more than 40 takes. And so it was the reverse for me and I felt very uncomfortable to start with. I asked Kieslowski, ``It's impossible. You know, you have to allow me to do another take, at least two takes so I can make a mistake.'' And I was so furious sometime because when the camera was-- you know, didn't work, we would do another take because of the camera or because of sound, because of whatever, light, whatever. And I say, ``Well, let's say that I'm a machine and it doesn't work and that technically I had a problem. Is that okay with you?''
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: And so the first month of shooting, you know, he let me have my second take most of the time, but it was a fight each time, which is very tiring, you know, for me and-- and so the second month I was so exhausted by it, I said, ``Well, okay. It's your film. One take-- it's your problem, it's not mine.''
CHARLIE ROSE: And so what did he say, ``Fine''?
JULIETTE BINOCHE: Oh, he said, ``Fine,'' you know, because he said, you know, ``It's nonsense to do another take when you can do it only one take which is just fine.''
CHARLIE ROSE: Yeah.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: Also he was used-- you know, in Poland he was used to--
CHARLIE ROSE: Shooting fast.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: --do just one take because there was no money.
CHARLIE ROSE: No film.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: No film.
CHARLIE ROSE: Right.
JULIETTE BINOCHE: No-- no nothing. You just have, you know, as condensed as possible.
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
