(aka "A Short Film About Killing" ( 84 minutes version) or "Krótki film o zabijaniu")
Poland 1988
A stark
indictment of capital punishment, A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING won numerous
international awards including the Jury Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film festival.
Considered by many critics to be Krzysztof Kieslowski’s masterpiece, A SHORT
FILM ABOUT KILLING is an extended version of Decalogue V, which was inspired
by the Fifth Commandment from the Old Testament, "Thou Shalt Not Kill," and
later broadcast on Polish television.
In one of the most relentlessly detailed and hands-on shocking murder scenes in
the history of cinema, the disaffected twenty-year-old Jacek (Miroslaw Baka)
murders a taxi driver (Jan Tesarz) –the boy tries to garrote the driver and then
beats him to death with a rock. Captured hours after the murder, Jacek is sent
to prison and put on trial by the state. In prison, he meets a young and
idealistic lawyer named Piotr (Krzysztof Globisz) who decides to defend the boy
in court. Despite Piotr’s best efforts, the boy is sentenced to death and
“legitimately” hanged by the state.
Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak filmed A SHORT FILM ABOUT KILLING using
over 600 different green filters. Exclusively designed for this film, these
optical devices were applied in different combinations in order to capture a
variety of shots–from close-ups to interiors and sky shots. Informed by
Kieslowski’s vision of Warsaw as a tepid and desolate place, Slawomir Idziak
filmed Poland’s largest city as a barren and monochromatic site almost entirely
made of the concrete which defines its modern architecture.
Subverting the binary roles of victim and murder, Kieslowski’s A SHORT FILM
ABOUT KILLING represents a reality made by a multitude of forces–state,
social, individual…– while at the same time making a film directly connected to
a historical and ideological critique of capital punishment. A SHORT FILM
ABOUT KILLING is not only a masterpiece of filmmaking; it was also an
integral –and incidental–part of a national discussion which was responsible for
halting death penalty sentences in Poland during the 1980s.
Posters
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Theatrical Release Date: October, 1988(
DVD Comparison:
A9 Media (
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| Collection Boxset: |
The Kino edition is also available in the The Krzysztof Kieslowski
Collection
including: A Short Film About Love / Blind Chance / Camera Buff / No End /
The Scar / A Short Film About Killing !
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| Distribution | A9
Media in
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Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC | |||||||||||
| Runtime | 1:20:57 | 1:20:45 | |||||||||||
| Video |
1.62:1.00
Letterboxed WideScreen 16X9 enhanced Bit-rate: 6.34 bps |
1.62:1.00
Letterboxed WideScreen 16X9 enhanced Bit-rate: 5.6 bps |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | Polish 2.0 Channel (Mono) | Polish (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |||||||||||
| Subtitles | Korean, English (removable) | English, None | |||||||||||
| Features |
Distribution: A9 Media in Running
time: Listed as 85 minutes including the extra Movie Highlights (sort of
like a Trailer). Running
time of the film itself was Release
Information: Edition Details: Region 3 Encoding Widescreen
anamorphic
1.62:1 aspect ratio Photo Gallery Cast and Crew Info Synopsis Movie Highlights (like a trailer)
DVD
Release Date: Keep
case Chapter stops: 16 |
Release Information: Edition Details:
• Interview with Cinematographer Slawomir Idziak |
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| Comments | If our
source is correct, once again the A9 issue has been stretched out of
proportion and we can easily dismiss it. Also the subtitle translation is
much weaker on the Korean disc.
Although non-progressive the Kino has minimal combing visible. Other than that the DVD image is acceptable, in the correct aspect ratio (1.66), very dark at times, clean of artifacts, no major damage, excellent removable subtitles, original audio and some fabulous extra features including interviews with Idziak, Insdorf and Holland. There is also an examination of the film by writer Antonin Liehm and A Night Porter's Point of View (1977, 17min): A short documentary by Krzysztof Kieslowski. I suspect that this entire package has been ported from the existing French MK2 (non English subtitled) releases which Kino does quite frequently (they probably have some arrangement), including the extras - but Kino have thankfully added optional English subtitles. I found no visible proof that they were taken directly from PAL masters although there is evidence now that they are. Initially I thought this was quite expensive, but for what you get supplement-wise, it is quite understandable... and if purchased in the Collection Boxset you can see a substantial savings. This is an absolute must-have DVD package and we give it a very high recommendation! |
DVD Menus
(A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 LEFT vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC
RIGHT)
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Screen Captures
(A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 TOP vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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(A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 TOP vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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(A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 TOP vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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(A9 Media ( South Korea) - Region 3 TOP vs. Kino - Region 0 - NTSC BOTTOM)
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Kino |
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Sound: |
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| Extras: | Kino |
| Menu: | Kino |
Recommended Film reading on Kieslowski (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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Kieslowski (Rivages / cinéma) by Vincent Amiel |
The Films of Krzysztof Kieslowski: The Liminal Image by Joseph G. Kickasola |
Double Lives, Second Chances : The Cinema of
Krzysztof Kieslowski by Annette Insdorf |
The Fright of Real Tears: Krzysztof
Kieslowski Between Theory and Post-Theory
by Slavoj Zizek |
The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski :
Variations on Destiny and Chance
by Marek Haltof |
Kieslowski on Kieslowski ed. by Danusia Stok |
Three Colors Trilogy : Blue, White and Red
by Krzystof Kieslowski |
| DVD Box Front Cover |
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| Collection Boxset: |
The Kino edition is also available in the The Krzysztof Kieslowski
Collection
including: A Short Film About Love / Blind Chance / Camera Buff / No End /
The Scar / A Short Film About Killing !
|
Click to image enlarge
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| Distribution | A9
Media in
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Kino Video - Region 0 - NTSC | |
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