If you’ve taken the hours-long journey into Krzysztof Kieślowski‘s The Decalogue, you’ve probably seen a less-than-great-looking copy on DVD or through, let’s say, “other means.” One probably doesn’t consider this a huge injustice — just as one probably doesn’t consider Kieślowski the most visually lush filmmaker — but consider and compare it with the divine experience of seeing the Three Colors trilogy or The Double Life of Véronique on Criterion’s Blu-rays. A bit better than some early-2000s DVD, undoubtedly.
It’s now clear that the late master’s ten-part television series / epic film (definite it however you’d like) is getting the same treatment, and, if long-standing rumors are true, likely (soon) from the same company — despite actually stemming from MK2, who will begin theatrically screening their restoration this month. There’s thus a preview, and it doesn’t disappoint; as a matter of fact, this, however brief, is clearly as good as any copy I’ve ever seen, and perhaps better than I had any right to expect.
See the preview below (via Criterion Cast):
Synopsis:
In deeply Catholic Poland, these films were deemed far too intimate and bizarre, and at first struggled to be viewed beyond the country’s borders. But in 1988 A Short Film about Killing was selected in Competition at the Festival de Cannes and shocked viewers, with many of the audience walking out. Yet the event marked the beginning of Kieslowski’s international recognition. In 1989 he was invited to the Venice Film Festival to present the entire Decalogue in a world première. It was a new revelation for the Press. And yet it was still some time before the entire series could be exported to foreign distribution channels and brought before a wider public. Today the film is considered to be “one of the masterpieces of modern cinema”.
