The Montage Forms of Wacław Kaźmierczak
Marek Kosma Cieśliński
mkosma@interia.plWroclaw Business University of Applied Sciences (Poland)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5687-2559
Abstract
Wacław Kaźmierczak (1905-1981) is one of the leading Polish editors of documentary cinema. Having gained film experience before the war and by documenting the Warsaw Uprising (1944), after World War II he co-created the most important productions of the Documentary Film Studio in Warsaw and educated many successors. In his work, he preferred a laconic style and metaphorical montage connections; he knew how to catch and hold the viewer’s attention. His style has evolved from persuasive political messages to cross-sectional historical syntheses, created using archival materials, of which the feature-length documentary Requiem dla 500 tysięcy [Requiem for 500 000] (1963) is an outstanding example. As an editor, he was distinguished by his in-depth knowledge of historical forms of film narration, characteristically expressed in the Polish Film Chronicle, which he edited for almost 40 years. The author discusses the evolution of Kaźmierczak’s style and presents his most characteristic works.
Keywords:
documentary film, newsreel, montage, film editing, film rhythmReferences
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.12775/DN.2022.3.09
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Authors
Marek Kosma Cieślińskimkosma@interia.pl
Wroclaw Business University of Applied Sciences Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5687-2559
PhD in humanities; film scholar, university teacher, communication specialist. He deals with the problems of persuasion and manipulation in audiovisual media. He is currently interested in film narratives of social networks. Author of several books, i.a.: Piękniej niż w życiu. Polska Kronika Filmowa 1944-1994 [More Beautiful than Life: Polish Film Chronicle 1944-1994] (2006) and Polska Kronika Filmowa. Podglądanie PRL-u [Polish Film Chronicle: Watching the People’s Republic of Poland] (2016). He published articles in Kwartalnik Filmowy and Images, among others.
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