Screen as Battlefield
Confronting the Past in New Polish Cinema
Bloomsbury Academic USA (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 15. October 2026
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-5013-8277-2 (ISBN)
Description
Screen as Battlefield deals with the treatment of history in Polish cinema after the end of communist rule in 1989 and the return of democracy.
It analyzes not only how local filmmakers have represented the last century's complex history, but also how various government institutions have tried to influence the cinematic vision of the past through funding (or the lack of it) and by using political pressure. The year 1989 was as a turning point in Polish history, marking the peaceful transition from a totalitarian system to democracy. After years of mythologizing history, Polish past was finally present on Polish screens. Previously banned or available only in censored versions, historical subjects became prominent in cinema theatres and on television. These topics have included, among others, the Soviet-Nazi pact and aggression on Poland in 1939, the Soviet occupation of the entire region after 1945, the brutal imposition of communist rule, and the Stalinist legacy. Since the founding of the Polish Film Institute (PISF) in 2005, more than one hundred theatrically released films have dealt with Polish history. Several of them received international acclaim and festival awards; they were also popular at the box office. Screen as Battlefield discusses several internationally known films, among them The Pianist (2002), Katyn (2006), Rose (2011), Ida (2013), Warsaw '44 (2014), Volhynia (aka Hatred, 2016), and Cold War (2018).More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
349 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5013-8277-2 (9781501382772)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Marek Haltof and Piotr Zwierzchowski
Author
Northern Michigan University USA
Kazimierz Wielki University Poland
Content
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
1. Introduction: History, Memory, and Politics in Polish Cinema
2. Józef Pilsudski and the 100th Anniversary of Polish Independence: Between the "Pedagogy of Pride" and the Revision of History
3. Double Memory: New Films about the Holocaust
4. Between Hitler and Stalin: Cinematic Representations of Polish "Bloodlands" and the Aftermath
5. The Polish Communist Apparatus on the Screen
6. The Return of the Communist Past as a Genre Film
Select Filmography
Select Bibliography
Index