The Saragossa Manuscript

(Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie)


1965   >   Costume comedy / fantasy

Considered the greatest Polish movie spectacle.

A stylish costume comedy, a swashbuckling adventure movie, a fairy tale full of ghosts,
hanged men and possessed princesses.

Directed by distinguished Polish director Wojciech Jerzy Has.

The film is enriched by music composed by the most prominent contemporary Polish composer – Krzysztof Penderecki.

The script is based on the novel „The Manuscript Found in Saragossa” authored by Jan Potocki – a XVII century poet, scholar and philosopher. The storyline is Alfonse Van Worden’s journey
to Madrid (he is a captain of the Walloon Guard of the King of Spain). During the trip he has
a series of incredible adventures. He tries to take the shortest route but repeatedly comes back to the starting point – a mysterious inn and its haunting surroundings. Every time he revisits familiar lands and times they are filled with different characters.

The film is based on a frame story structure - a romantic fantasy adventure with a strong philosophic note: a satire on mysticism, superstition and stupidity. A vision of a chaotic world, which is a metaphor for human life’s randomness.


Crew:

director
Wojciech Jerzy Has
script
Tadeusz Kwiatkowski
d.o.p.
Mieczysław Jahoda
designer
Jerzy Skarżyński, Tadeusz Myszorek
costumes
Lidia Skarżyńska, Jerzy Skarżyński
editor
Krystyna Komosińska
music
Krzysztof Penderecki
cast
Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzyńska,
Elżbieta Czyżewska, Gustaw Holoubek,
Stanisław Igar

Awards:

IFF, Edinburgh
Honorary Mention
Sitges
Special Medal- Fantasy and Horror Film Festival
Spain
Spanish Critics Award
IFF, San Sebastian
Golden Pen, CIDALC Award
Warsaw
Golden Duck (awarded by Film magazine)
Materials: HD
Length: 177’

Media

Photos