Synopsis
The Deluge (Potop, 1974) is Jerzy Hoffman's sweeping Polish historical epic, free to watch online on iFILM. Adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz's novel, it unfolds during the 17th-century Swedish invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Andrzej Kmicic is a hot-headed nobleman whose loyalty oath to a treacherous hetman brands him a traitor among his own people. He ends up fighting on the wrong side, losing his friends' respect and the love of Oleńka Billewicz. Redemption comes the hard way, through capture, wounds and battles waged under a borrowed banner. Daniel Olbrychski carries the part from arrogance to penance; Małgorzata Braunek plays the woman who waits and doubts.
This is the second chapter of Hoffman's Sienkiewicz trilogy and one of the largest productions Polish cinema ever mounted: nearly five hours, cavalry clashes, the siege of Częstochowa, all shot as a Polish-Soviet co-production. It rewards anyone who likes old-school history on a grand scale, where honor and guilt weigh more than spectacle. Stream The Deluge (1974) online on iFILM.
Starring
Comments 0