With Fire and Sword (1999)

The Worst Film Ever

Such a frustrating disappointment

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

I'm actually Chinese but I found a huge interest in Polish history and I found this film, I decided to watch it. I have to say it's one of my favorite films. The costumes, amour were all accurate and it's set in "The deluge" when Poland was attacked by Swedes, Russians and the Ukrainian uprising. This film was historically accurate which I love since I have a strong interest in history. Another thing is the music, the music was truly amazing. I loved the charges the Polish Winged Hussars did and it went incredibly well with the music. After watching this I guess I'll have to move onto other famous Polish films, I can definitely see all the work and effort put in for a movie that was made more than a decade ago. Well done Poland! :)

A beautiful film with the flavor of old historical movies. Commanding, pompous, made for fascinate and create the taste of a land.In same time, an exercise to make a good Sienkiewicz adaptation. And to impose a Pole product in the fight against American busters. Jerzy Hoffman is, in this case, a real winner. The stake of film is not only artistic value but gentleness of national sensibilities. The respect for truth. The science to travel in obscure and strange past of an East Europe who believe in old gods, who discover in past the panacea of present frustrations. Fights and love story, costumes and soft nuances, conversations in Ukrainean and music. Wall against the crisis and bricks for barbaric scenarios. Fires. Blood. And gestures. Parts of lost time. In the skin of hope to be in the another era. A splendid film, a interesting escape.

As a movie based on a book that is a staple of Polish reading, it is bound to attract its adherents and detractors. But overall it has enough merit to it to warrant at least a single viewing.The story is set in the 17th century, during a period of strife on the eastern fringes of Polish territory, in today's Ukraine. The main plot centers around a rebellion of Cossacks against the oppression of Polish landowners, in the greater setting of a conflict between Poland, Muscovy and the Tartars.The book was written from a Polish standpoint, so there is some obvious favoritism shown, but the main characters are not one dimensional. The motivations of the characters are clearly explained, and the good guy is not always good, and the bad guy is not always bad. The political intricacies may be a bit confusing, but at its heart this movie is a love triangle, so as long as you focus on that, you can follow along.The main reason to watch this movie is visual. If you are one of those people who likes to have a movie transport them to another time and place, this movie is for you. The costumes, props and scenery are simply beautiful. All the characters speak in the language they are supposed to speak, so you have conversations in Polish, Ukranian and even Tartar. The performances by the main characters are wonderful, ranging from comedy to romance to drama to action.The movie has a bit of something for everyone. If you like action, the battle sequences are fantastic, very massive in scale. If you like romance, the lead characters are not too hard on the eyes, and their passionate feelings come across the screen quite strongly. There is a very strong comedy element as well, but you might have to understand Polish to appreciate it fully.The special effects in this movie leave a bit to be desired. It certainly is a bloody, and at times gory film, but really no worse than a lot of recent US offerings.If I was to use a US movie as a thematic comparison, Last of the Mohicans might be a good choice, with the hero looking for his love in a wild and savage environment.Overall I would recommend this movie to fans of historical films. The plot is fairly straightforward, so you can focus on watching the visuals instead.

Granted that I saw this movie in a Sydney cinema packed with Poles (including my Polish wife sitting next to me), the number of weeping expats at the final credits suggested that I needed at least some Polish blood to fully appreciate the experience. Objectively, O i M is a handsomely mounted costume piece with good attention to military details and minor roles (Pan Zagloba in particular), but is let down by lack of polish (no pun intended) and a number of unintentionally hilarious touches such as Scorupco's mile-long plaits and Daniel Olbrychski chewing the scenery at every opportunity. Even with subtitles, the historical narrative remains biased and confusing, and the whole enterprise is infused with an almost quaint Polish naivete and prudishness (except for the depiction of graphic violence, of course). Is it any worse however, than 'Glory' or 'Gettysburg' however? Probably not. 6 out of 10