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Essential Polish Animation: Limited Edition – Radiance Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Dates: Poland, 1957-1987
Directors: Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, Halina Bielinska, Wlodzimiez Haupe, Witold Giersz, Kazimierz Urbanski, Daniel Szczechura, Stefan Schabenbeck, Miroslaw Kijowicz, Ryszard Czekała, Zofia Oraczewska, Jerzy Kucia, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Jerzy Kalina, Piotr Dumała

Release Date: July 21st, 2025
Approximate Running Times: 2 Minutes 54 Seconds (Banner of Youth), 8 Minutes 25 Seconds (Love Requited), 8 Minutes 7 Seconds (The Changing of the Guard), 11 Minutes 6 Seconds (New Janko the Musician), 5 Minutes 46 Seconds (A Little Western), 7 Minutes 8 Seconds (Playthings), 14 Minutes 57 Seconds (Labyrinth), 5 Minutes 50 Seconds (The Chair), 6 Minutes 43 Seconds (The Red and the Black), 8 Minutes 19 Seconds (Everything is a Number), 6 Minutes 25 Seconds (Horse), 7 Minutes 50 Seconds (Cages), 7 Minutes 45 Seconds (The Stairs), 10 Minutes 17 Seconds (The Son), 6 Minutes 55 Seconds (Journey), 7 Minutes 34 Seconds (Roll Call), 4 Minutes 41 Seconds (Road), 8 Minutes 39 Seconds (The Banquet), 6 Minutes 5 Seconds (Barrier), 7 Minutes 46 Seconds (A Hardcore Engaged Film. Non-camera), 6 Minutes 38 Seconds (Reflections), 8 Minutes 13 Seconds (Tango), 7 Minutes 26 Seconds (Solo in a Fallow Field), 7 Minutes 21 Seconds (The Source), 10 Minutes (Chips), 11 Minutes 28 Seconds (A Gentle Woman), 14 Minutes 56 Seconds (Parade)
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (All Shorts Except The Stairs, Journey, Roll Call), 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC (Roll Call), 1.78:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC (Journey), 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC (The Stairs)
Rating: PG, 15 (UK)
Sound: LPCM Mono Polish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK)

"Polish animation, influenced by jazz, poster design, and collage, took off in the late 1950s when artists found creative freedom in the wake of Stalin’s death. Pioneering filmmakers like Walerian Borowczyk and Jan Lenica would change the form and usher in a golden age of filmmaking that would enable this art form to be appreciated around the world, including winning prestigious international awards at festivals such as Cannes, Annecy, and Oberhausen and an Oscar for Rybczyński’s Tango. This collection of 27 films spans the breakthrough works of the late 1950s to the close of the classic era in the 1980s, capturing some of the form’s essential films." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (All Shorts Except The Source), 4/5 (The Source)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Each of the films in this collection was transferred in 2K by Filmoteka Narodowa and WFIDF. The films were supplied to Radiance Films as digital files and are presented in their original aspect ratio."

Disc one is a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray, and there are 13 short films.

Disc Size: 42.1 GB

Disc Two is a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray, and there are 14 short films.

Disc Size: 30.3 GB

All of the shorts are in excellent shape except The Source, which still has some minor debris. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity and compression are solid, black levels are strong, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Audio: 4/5

Only three shorts have spoken words: Roll Call, Solo in a Fallow Field, and A Gentle Woman. All text and dialogue in Polish comes with removable English subtitles. All of the films sound clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on disc one include an interview with film historian and Eastern European cinema expert Michael Brooke titled Animated Poland; this is a comprehensive overview of Polish animation (59 minutes 29 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), audio commentaries with film historian Daniel Bird for Banner of Youth and Love Requited, and audio commentaries with Michael Brooke for Banner of Youth, Love Requited, The Changing of the Guard, The Chair, Cages, and The Stairs.

Extras on disc two include audio commentaries with film historian Ela Bittencourt for Banquet, Barrier, Reflections, The Source, and Chips, and audio commentaries with film historian Kambole Campbell for Journey and Tango.

Other extras include reversible cover art, removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings, and a 28-page booklet (limited to 3000 copies) with a section titled Films & Filmmakers, an essay titled Tango in the Labyrinth written by Karol Szafraniec, and information about the transfers.

Summary:

The short films in this collection are split into four decades: the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Pioneers: Banner of Youth, Love Requited, The Changing of the Guard, and New Janko the Musician.

The Golden Age: A Little Western, Labyrinth, Playthings, The Chair, The Red and the Black, Everything is a Number, Horse, Cages, and The Stairs.

The Silver Age: The Son, Journey, Roll Call, Road, Banquet, Barrier, A Hard-Core Engaged Film. Non-camera, and Reflections.

End of an Era: Tango, Solo in a Fallow Field, The Source, Chips, A Gentle Woman, and Parade.

The 27 shorts in this collection showcase a wide range of stylistic choices. Many are heavily influenced by avant-garde elements, particularly in their disregard for conventionalism in favor of innovation. Another thing that binds all of these films is their creativity, use of symbolism, and how effectively they employ subtext. Ultimately, anyone who's only familiar with more traditional animation that has linear stories that are easily digestible is in for a real treat if this is their excursion into Polish animation.

Radiance Films Essential Polish Animation is a collection that truly lives up to its name; highly recommended.