Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
A Generation
With gripping set-pieces, Andrzej Wajda’s debut depicts the establishment of a teenage anti-German resistance group.
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Overview
Wajda's powerful debut - and the first film in his acclaimed 'War Trilogy' - drew on his own wartime memories to depict the establishment of an anti-German resistance group whose members are mostly teenagers (one played by the young Roman Polanski).
Gripping set-pieces, including a shoot-out on a spiral staircase, show a confidence belying Wajda's inexperience. The overt pro-Communist propaganda elements can be forgiven as a universal obligation imposed on Polish film-makers at the time.
Contains moderate violence
Related
Kajaki: The True Story Kajaki: The True Story
War 2014 108 mins Director: Paul Katis
A unit of British paratroopers in Afghanistan become caught in a minefield, unable to move or help their injured colleagues, in this unbearably tense thriller.
Das Boot Das Boot
War 1981 149 mins Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Devastatingly powerful, tense and claustrophobic war drama about the final mission of a German U-boat, from heroic start to tragic end.
Ashes and Diamonds Ashes and Diamonds
War 1958 99 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda’s best-known, visually remarkable film starring Zbigniew Cybulski.
Kanal Kanal
War 1956 93 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wadja’s clammy and nightmarishly claustrophobic depiction of the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
Eastern Condors Eastern Condors
Crime 1987 98 mins Director: Sammo Hung Kam-bo
A high-kicking tribute to The Dirty Dozen, which sees ten convicts offered amnesty if they undertake a deadly mission behind enemy lines.
The Last Metro The Last Metro
Romance 1979 132 mins Director: François Truffaut
Catherine Deneuve shines as the director and lead actor of a Parisian theatre struggling to survive under the Nazi occupation in Truffaut's wartime drama.
Ashes and Diamonds Ashes and Diamonds
War 1958 99 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda’s best-known, visually remarkable film starring Zbigniew Cybulski.
Kanal Kanal
War 1956 93 mins Director: Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wadja’s clammy and nightmarishly claustrophobic depiction of the 1944 Warsaw uprising.
Last Exit to Brooklyn Last Exit to Brooklyn
Crime 1989 104 mins Director: Uli Edel
Jennifer Jason Leigh stars in the controversial drama about the underbelly of 1950s Brooklyn, from the pen of Hubert Selby Jr (Requiem for a Dream).
Four Mothers Four Mothers
Drama 2023 89 mins Director: Darren Thornton
Hilarious, uplifting tale of an Irish son juggling four very different mothers over one chaotic weekend in Dublin.
Of Horses and Men Of Horses and Men
Drama 2013 81 mins Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Human romance and a passion for horses intertwine in this wildly beautiful, darkly funny equine tale from Iceland.
Blind Blind
Drama 2013 96 mins Director: Eskil Vogt
A woman’s blindness sharpens her capacity for imagination and fantasy in the Eskil Vogt’s inventive debut.
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
The People vs. Larry Flynt The People vs. Larry Flynt
Biopic 1996 130 mins Director: Milos Forman
Milos Forman’s provocative biopic starring Woody Harrelson as a notorious pornographer turned unlikely hero and champion of free speech.