Man of Iron
Directed by	Andrzej Wajda
Written by	Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski
Starring	Jerzy Radziwiłowicz Krystyna Janda
Cinematography	Edward Kłosiński
Distributed by	United Artists Classics
Release date(s)	27 July 1981 11 October 1981 (NYC only)
Running time	153 min
Country	Poland
Language	Polish

Man of Iron (Polish: Człowiek z żelaza) is a 1981 film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It depicts the Solidarity labour movement and its first success in persuading the Polish government to recognize the workers' right to an independent union.

The film is a continuation of the story of Maciej Tomczyk, the son of the protagonist of Wajda's earlier film, Man of Marble. Here, Maciej is a young worker involved in the anti-Communist labour movement, described as "the man who started the Gdańsk Shipyard strike", and a journalist working for the Communist regime's radio station, who is given a task of slandering Maciej. The young man is clearly intended as a parallel to Lech Wałęsa (who appears as himself in the movie).

The film was made during the brief thaw in Communist censorship that appeared between the formation of Solidarity in August 1980 and its suppression in December 1981, and as such it is remarkably critical of the Communist regime. The film won the Palme d'Or and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.^[1]

[edit] Cast

• Jerzy Radziwiłowicz - Maciej Tomczyk / Mateusz Birkut
• Krystyna Janda - Agnieszka
• Marian Opania - Winkel
• Irena Byrska - Matka Hulrwicz
• Wiesława Kosmalska - Wiesława Hulewicz
• Bogusław Linda - Dzidek
• Franciszek Trzeciak - Badecki
• Janusz Gajos - Z-Ca Szefa
• Andrzej Seweryn - Kapt. Wirski
• Marek Kondrat - Grzenda
• Jan Tesarz - Szef
• Jerzy Trela - Antoniak
• Krzysztof Janczar - Kryska
• Krystyna Zachwatowicz - Hanka Tomczyk (as Krystyna Zachwatowicz-Wajda)
• Bogusław Sobczuk - Redaktor TV

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Man of Iron at the Internet Movie Database

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