“The Deluge” premiered in September 1974, and was preceded not only by months of production, but also by a long search for the main actors. The decisions of the creators were widely commented on by the public – even the one about casting Daniel Olbrychski as Kmicic. Although the director, even before shooting “Pan Wołodyjowski” (premiered in 1969), said that the actor would play both Asia and Kmicic, many people criticized this solution. Let’s note right away that the vast majority agreed with Hoffman when they saw the end result.
Janina Sokołowska was supposed to play in “The Deluge”. However, Jerzy Hoffman changed his mind
And what about Olenka? As Jacek Szczerba noted in the book “After Me, Even the Deluge” published by the Agora Publishing House in 2015, the press of the time reported:
The photos are already in progress, and Olenka is still not here
In the casting, Hoffman chose Janina Sokołowska, then a first-year student at the Lodz Film School, but he did not announce this decision for a long time. – I hesitated. The girl was very pretty, but with such a big movie, I didn’t have time to deal with an inexperienced actress. In the end, I understood that she, because of her extraordinary modesty, was unable to play a lady, to “straighten up”, Jerzy Hoffman replies to Szczerba. Born in Łódź, Sokołowska graduated only a year after the premiere of “The Deluge”. TV show “Nathalie” or the role of Tadek’s fiancée in Stanisław Bareja’s “Uncommonly Calm Man” – both productions from 1975. In the preview below, he appears wearing a red cloak.
Daniel Olbrychski appeared in “Pan Wołodyjowski” and “The Deluge”. Why not Barbara Brylska either?
On the website Filmpolski.pl, Sokołowska’s last role is the TV show “Red Roses for Me” from 1979. Barbara Brylska, who played Krzysia in “Pan Wołodyjowski”, had a much longer career when Oleńka was chosen (and also afterwards). In an interview with Szczerba, Jerzy Hoffman admits that it was not the question of talent that prevailed here, but the actress’s behavior while working on the previous film:
I was unnecessarily forgetful. When we were shooting the sleigh ride scene in ‘Pan Wołodyjowski’, it was the winter of the century in the Bieszczady Mountains. Preparing the plan turned out to be a chore, and here Brylska came with a dog and a camera, which she used to snap pictures of the director. I thought I’d kill her. You must not succumb to such emotions: she was a beautiful woman, a good actress, she could have been made blonde and filmed
Magdalena Zawadzka and Barbara Brylska in ‘Pan Wołodyjowski’ dir. Jerzy Hoffman, prod. Mosfilm / ‘Kamera’ Film Group
Hoffman recalls that when Małgorzata Braunek arrived for the test shoot, she looked phenomenal. The actress was seven months pregnant at the time, but the director and his associates figured they could wait for her by shooting the battle scenes. – However, no one expected that her then-husband Andrzej Żuławski would make her lose weight after giving birth. Costumes had to be narrowed down. Her face tightened. This weight loss caused Janusz Głowacki to write that Braunek is “Max von Sydow of Polish cinema” – said the director in “After Me Even The Deluge”.
Many people were not satisfied with the actress finally selected for the role of Olenka. – It only supported me in my decision – recalled Braunek years later in an interview for “Rzeczpospolita”. – I decided to act in spite of critical voices. I had no idea that I was entering a movie that would become mythical. The actress, although she also played the iconic literary character of Izabela Łęcka from “Lalka”, at the age of 33, she left acting for almost two decades. Years later, she recalled in her book:
I did not suit the Poles for the role of Olenka – the image of the Holy Polish Virgin. It’s a good thing I wasn’t a Buddhist then, because those ‘real’ Poles would probably lynch me
After the death of the actress in 2014, Daniel Olbrychski, her partner in “The Deluge”, appeared on Polish Radio:
She had such natural clarity in her professional and private life. Of the pretty girls, she was the most talented, of the most talented, the prettiest
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.
