Celebrating his birthday on March 15, he shot “The Deluge” for 535 long and laborious shooting days. The production of the famous film cost a real fortune – its budget amounted to one hundred million zlotys at that time, which was a gigantic sum at the beginning of the 1970s. Although there was a lot of money, it was still not enough for everything the filmmaker had in mind. The director later said in interviews that if it wasn’t for the great enthusiasm in Poland for this adaptation, the production would probably not have been completed. For example, some factories from Elbląg, at a discounted rate, produced cannons for the needs of the film – and shooting ones at that.
“Deluge” got nominated for an Oscar as if by chance
The photos for the film were shot over three years, and the locations were carried out in Poland and, among others, in Warsaw. in Belarus. Controversy was also caused by the information that the director entrusted the role of Andrzej Kmicic to Daniel Olbrychski, who played a completely different Asia in the previous adaptation of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s prose. After the premiere, however, the actor’s performance was praised and called even bravado. The number of tickets sold also showed that it was worth spending millions and years to make the film. The production was seen in cinemas by 27 million viewers, and “The Deluge” received the Golden Lions, which were awarded for the first time at the Polish Feature Film Festival.
So it might seem that it was an obvious candidate for an Oscar submission. However, as it turns out, the Polish authorities were not initially favorable to this. In the book After Me
It’s hard to imagine, but Poland was not at all interested in submitting “The Deluge” to the Oscars. A chance helped. Bronisław Kaper, a friend of the Dygats, a popular and respected composer, a member of the American Film Academy, came to Poland from the States. After watching “The Deluge”, he made the Academy semi-officially invite this film to the Oscars.
Nevertheless, nothing would have come of it if Jerzy Hoffman had not traveled to the USA with his wife Walentyna to personally deliver a copy of the film there. Also, they had Cuban cigars as a gift for Privateer. Once there, it turned out that Bronisław Kaper was friends with Artur Rubenstein – widely regarded as one of the best pianists of all time. It so happens that the virtuoso was also a great admirer of Cuban cigars and Henryk Sienkiewicz’s prose. And this resulted in intriguing aftermath for the promotion of the film. Hoffman recalled:
Rubinstein was completely crazy about Sienkiewicz. He canceled a concert in New York to be at the screening of “The Deluge”. Of course, all the media reported it with a bang. The projection was moved to a large hall, and people were still sitting on the stairs, standing against the walls. They were curious what kind of film Rubinstein had given up the concert for.
The outstanding musician also undertook the task of introducing the film’s director to the audience. Even more interesting things happened here:
Rubinstein brought me on stage and introduced me. He was so nervous that he started speaking Polish. His wife shouts from the hall: “Idiot! They don’t understand you!” And Rubinstein said, “Then let them learn!”
It’s all live on TV. Rubinstein made me a commercial that you can’t have for any money. After the screening, there were ovations and an immediate proposal to sell the film.
What’s more, representatives of large studios offered a million dollars for it and dubbing by Hollywood tops. Unfortunately, the Polish bureaucracy was at fault here and the offer was lost. The lack of proper organization on the Polish side also meant that “Deluge” ultimately did not win the American Academy Award, although the chances were really real. “We knew earlier that we would not get it. Kaper told me that the Polish side did not try to create a lobby supporting us, although the only competitor for
He also confessed that he later got an offer to stay in the US and work in Hollywood. However, he did not take advantage of this offer: “I knew that it would be impossible to return to Poland. And I left my parents and friends there. We did not decide on it with Wala,” he explained his decision. Years later, however, the USA was conquered by his daughter Joanna, who was one of the first Apple employees and the person co-responsible for the global success of the technological company.
And Jerzy Hoffman, after returning to Poland, continued to make films. The first painting after “The Deluge” was “The Leper”, which he decided on, as he has already admitted, out of sheer contrariness and provocation. He emphasized that he was fascinated by the phenomenon of this title – it was a sought-after book and at the same time synonymous with the greatest kitsch. Of course, the film met with indignation and harsh critics of film experts, and at the same time great enthusiasm of the audience. The available data speak of 9,834,145 tickets sold.
Viewers were delighted that, unlike most pastiche adaptations of the book – even theatrical ones, Hoffman took the romantic thread and the drama of the characters’ class differences deadly seriously. He did the same with the even more beloved by viewers “
The director, born in 1932 (he celebrates his 91st birthday in 2023), is also the creator of the most watched Polish film since 1990 – his 1999 “With Fire and Sword” was watched in cinemas by 7,151,354 people, which is still a record. Only Andrzej Wajda’s “Pan Tadeusz” (6,168,344 tickets sold) came close to this limit. After many years, Wojciech Smarzowski’s “Kler” from 2018 enjoyed similar popularity, but it was finally seen in cinemas by 5,184,258 viewers.
Hoffman is also the first director in the history of Polish cinema to use three-dimensional technology in his blockbuster production. We are talking about the film “1920 Battle of Warsaw” shot in 2011.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
