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Samson
Andrzej Wajda Film-maker
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The film Samson, I wanted to make Samson and the very title tells you that it's a story from the Bible. However, the story that Kazimierz Brandys wrote was more of a realistic tale whereas I tried very hard to make it into a work of creation and ended up suspended somewhere between the two. In addition, I couldn't find an actor to play the role of Samson and I think it's interesting, because one of our writers drew attention in an article he wrote that the Holocaust in Poland had been so profound that years later, the film was being made in '60, years later it was impossible to find a Jewish boy in Poland who could have played this role. This is evidence that the entire nation had been destroyed, and it was true that I couldn't find an actor among young students at the time, and so I used a French actor who was the antithesis of Samson. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but it was sort of sophisicated and the outcome was ambiguous.

Film Samson ja chciałem zrobić. Samson – sam tytuł mówi o tym, że to jest przypowieść biblijna. Tymczasem powieść, którą napisał Kazimierz Brandys, była powieścią raczej typu takiego realistycznego i ja strasznie pompując, jakby starając się zrobić z tego film kreacji, właściwie zawisłem tak pomiędzy jednym i drugim. Poza tym też nie znalazłem aktora, który by mógł zagrać tę role i to jest myślę ciekawe, bo jeden z naszych pisarzy w takim felietonie zwrócił uwagę, że Holocaust w Polsce był tak głęboki, że po latach, to był film robiony w 1960 roku, że po latach nie można znaleźć żydowskiego chłopca w Polsce, który by mógł zagrać tą rolę. Że to jest po prostu dowód, że cała, że tak powiem... że to było zniszczenie całego narodu i coś takiego rzeczywiście się stało, że takiego aktora ja wśród młodych... młodzieży studiującej wtedy w szkole nie mogłem znaleźć i posłużyłem się aktorem francuskim, który był zaprzeczeniem Samsona. Wydawało mi się, że to jest taki dobry pomysł, ale to było takie sophisticated i skończyło się, że tak powiem, też takim, że tak powiem, dwuznacznym wynikiem.

Polish film director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) was a towering presence in Polish cinema for six decades. His films, showing the horror of the German occupation of Poland, won awards at Cannes and established his reputation as both story-teller and commentator on Poland's turbulent history. As well as his impressive career in TV and film, he also served on the national Senate from 1989-91.

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Tags: Samson, Bible, Kazimierz Brandys

Duration: 1 minute, 42 seconds

Date story recorded: August 2003

Date story went live: 24 January 2008