Honest, brutally powerful and often shocking.

| Mar 26, 2013

Wajda's deeply romantic and personal vision, inspired by both Italian neo-realism and by the more baroque images of Expressionism, makes Ashes and Diamonds a gripping experience.

| Mar 26, 2013

When you watch Ashes And Diamonds, remember, you're not just seeing a film: you're looking at a manifesto that has found a voice and a face and speaks for a whole deceived generation.

| Mar 26, 2013

Only Wajda, though, could muster such a mood, with everyone feeding on smoke and booze, and the assembled company, at the end, dancing to a cracked polonaise.

| Mar 26, 2013

Taut thriller about immediate postwar Poland also has a heavier theme of the futility of killing and violence. Its technical knowhow, fine acting and directorial prowess make this an above average drama.

| Mar 26, 2009

Wajda's way is the sweet smell of excess, but some scenes remain powerfully memorable -- the lighting of drinks on the bar, the upturned Christ in a bombed church, and Cybulski's prolonged death agonies at the close.

| Jun 24, 2006

Zbigniew Cybulski as the hero is sensitive, attractive and alert -- a lad with humor and compassion. One is strongly drawn to him.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 20, 2003

Wajda tends toward harsh and overstated imagery, but he achieves a fascinating psychological rapport with his lead actor, Zbigniew Cybulski.

| Apr 26, 2001