This week sees the one hundredth birthday of Andrzej Wajda, the grand old man of Polish cinema. Until 26 March, Klassiki subscribers can watch Wajda’s epochal double header Man of Marble and Man of Iron, about the history of worker resistance in communist Poland, alongside two of his great literary adaptations: Siberian Lady Macbeth and The Promised Land. 

With a career running from the 1950s until the 2010s, it can be hard to know where to start with Wajda – but one thread running throughout his filmography is an exploration of Poland’s troubled modern history: from the 19th century through the trauma of the war and the communist era that followed. To dig a little deeper into Andrzej Wajda’s history lessons, host Sam Goff is joined once again by Owen Hatherley – Eastern European architecture expert and Polish film and history aficionado – to discuss some of Wajda’s recurring themes and the highs (and lows) of his national history on film.

Watch our two-part Wajda tribute: Men of History and Literature on Film.

Read our essay on Wajda’s career and check out a watchlist of his films on the Klassiki Journal. 

Get in touch: podcast@klassiki.online.

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