Golem – Second Run (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Poland, 1980
Director: Piotr Szulkin
Writers: Piotr Szulkin, Tadeusz Sobolewski, Gustav Meyrink
Cast: Marek Walczewski, Krystyna Janda, Joanna Zólkowska, Anna Jaraczówna, Mariusz Dmochowski, Wieslaw Drzewicz, Henryk Bak, Jan Nowicki, Wojciech Pszoniak, Krzysztof Majchrzak

Release Date: February 24th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 93 Minutes 37 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Polish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £14.99 (UK)

"In a dark dystopian future, a solitary worker suffers a breakdown after being interrogated about crimes he has no recollection of committing. Is he a real human, or a clone created by scientists in an attempt to engineer a new, more submissive race of humans?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "a 2K restoration by WFDiF Poland, supervised by its late director Piotr Szulkin and sound engineer Nikodem Wołk-Łaniewski."

Golem comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 35.5 GB

Feature: 26.4 GB

The source for this transfer is the same one used for Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray release. That said, the source looks excellent.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in Polish with removable English subtitles. The source is in excellent shape; dialog comes through clearly; everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include four short films directed by Piotr Szulkin; One, Two, Three (7 minutes 16 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Polish with removable English subtitles), Everything (6 minutes 59 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono with text in Polish and removable English subtitles), A Sketch in Six Parts (12 minutes 58 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono Polish with removable English subtitles), and Copyright Film Polski MCMLXXVI (4 minutes 12 seconds, 1.33:1 aspect ratio, LPCM mono, no dialog), Piotr Szulkin's annotated script/storyboard for Copyright Film Polski MCMLXXVI (6 images), an audio commentary with writer, producer and Polish cinema specialist Michael Brooke for Golem, and a 20-page booklet with an essay titled Dedicated to the Memory of Filmmaker Piotr Szulkin written by Tomasz Kolankiewicz, an essay titled Things to Come: Piotr Szulkin’s Homespun Apocalypse written by Michał Oleszczyk, and cast & crew information.

One, Two, Three: Two men change their pants and explore ruins.

Everything: Garbage men collect trash cans.

A Sketch in Six Parts: This is an abstract short film about a young man living in an apartment that feels inspired by Jean-Luc Godard.

Copyright Film Polski MCMLXXVI: A vise slowly crushes an apple.

Summary:

In the near future, scientists will create men from clay, hoping to improve the human race.

Adapted from Gustav Meyrink’s novel The Golem, Piotr Szulkin's Golem is a nightmare vision of a dystopian future inhabited by genetic clones. Despite being set in the near future, Piotr Szulkin's Golem lacks the futuristic elements found in the other three films in his Apocalypse Tetralogy. That said, Piotr Szulkin's Golem is best as a horror film with a Kafka-esque vibe.

The narrative revolves around Pernat, a man, who is accused of a crime he doesn't know anything about. When he encounters people who claim to know him, they say that he has changed. Is it a case of mistaken identity, or is he suffering from a lapse of memory?

Piotr Szulkin's Golem is a film that is constantly blurring the fine line between artifice and reality. Every inch of every frame is filled with surreal imagery, which does a phenomenal job reinforcing the unsettling mood. Also, the image and sound create a fusion that greatly enhances the story that unfolds.

Though the entire cast is great in their roles, the standout performance is Marek Walczewski’s portrayal of Pernat. He delivers a pitch-perfect portrayal of a character trying to navigate through a world inhabited by unhinged characters.

From a production standpoint, Piotr Szulkin's Golem is a film that delivers and then some. Several layers of subtext and many moving parts make up this film, requiring multiple viewings. The production design is exquisite; Piotr Szulkin creates a world that is tangible and, at the same time, nightmarish. Ultimately, Golem is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking, Piotr Szulkin’s masterpiece.

Golem gets an excellent release from Second Run that comes with a solid audio/video presentation, four bonus short films, and insightful extras; highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer