Knights of the Teutonic Order (Polish: Krzyżacy), also known as Knights of the Black Cross, is a 1960 Polish historical epic film adapted from a 1900 novel by Nobel laureate, Henryk Sienkiewicz. Directed by Aleksander Ford, it is one of the most successful movies in the cinema of Poland.

Quick Facts Knights of the Teutonic Order Krzyżacy, Directed by ...
Knights of the Teutonic Order
Krzyżacy
Theatrical release poster by Polish artist Roman Cieślewicz
Directed byAleksander Ford
Screenplay byAleksander Ford
Jerzy Stefan Stawiński
Based onThe Knights of the Cross
by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Produced byZygmunt Król
StarringGrażyna Staniszewska
Urszula Modrzyńska
Mieczysław Kalenik
Aleksander Fogiel
CinematographyMieczysław Jahoda
Music byKazimierz Serocki
Production
company
Zespół Filmowy
Release date
  • 15 July 1960 (1960-07-15)
Running time
166 minutes
CountryPeople's Republic of Poland
LanguagePolish
Budgetzl 38,000,000 [1]
Box officezl 100,000,000 (by March 1961)[1]
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The plot is situated in late-14th century and early-15th century Poland and centers on the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and the climactic Battle of Grunwald in 1410. For the battle scenes, 15,000 extras were hired.[2] The release date of 15 July 1960 was also the battle's 550th anniversary.

The film attracted huge audiences: it sold 14 million tickets in its first four years of release and had more than thirty million viewers as of 2000, making it the most popular film ever screened in Poland.[3][4][5] It was later exported to 46 foreign countries,[6] selling 29.6 million tickets in the Soviet Union[7] and a further 2.6 million tickets in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.[8] It was the most successful Polish film internationally[9] and a Polish submission to the 33rd Academy Awards.

Cast

References

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