The Passenger
by Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz
Our Price: $15.32
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $14.99 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Aleksandra Slaska, Anna Ciepielewska, Anna Golebiowska, Janusz Bylczynski, Krzesislawa DubielównaDirector: Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz
Cinematographer: Krzysztof Winiewicz
Writer: Andrzej Munk
Editor: Zofia Dwornik
Writer: Zofia Posmysz
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: Polish (Unknown), Mono; English (Subtitled); Polish (Original Language), Mono
Format: PAL
Picture Format: 1.77:1
Running Time: 58 minutes
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Second Run
Movie Reviews of The Passenger
Movie Review: There is something chilling about this women in unifom with a totenkopf patch on her cap
Summary: 5 Stars
Passenger (Pasazerka) is a story about a woman named Liza who returns to Europe after being away for many years. On the luxury liner she seems a woman who reminds her of the past that she would rather forget and one her husband had no idea about. During Would War II she was in the German army and an overseer at Auschwitz.
The story goes back to show us what she is like during the war. As an overseer, we see she takes a liking to a Polish woman named Marta who is a political prisoner at Auschwitz. It turns out her fiancée is also imprisoned there but they are forbidden from seeing each other. Between all the miseries that take place in the Nazi death camp, a love story of sorts also occurs.
There is something chilling about this women in unifom with a totenkopf (death's head) patch on her cap. Liza looks the other way occasuionaly and lets the lovers enjoy a few moments together but the fact that Marta remains defiant only outrages her. Although there are a few instances where Liza shows kindness, she also enjoys playing god in which she gives succor in one instance and brings torment the next. If looks could kill Liza would be lethal.
Passenger has more than a few unforgettable scenes. One that stands out for me is when international inspectors come to the camp to see how the prisoners are treated. Marta is chosen as a detainee that they will interview but she can hardly say a word to their questions knowing they will not be able to change her situation. Furthermore, another scene shows an orchestra of prisoners playing beautiful music while the other prisoners are slopping in the mud; there is something ironic and strange at these images that show such contrasts between the neatly dressed guards and their prisoners who are treated so inhumanely.
Passenger is Andrzej Munk's last film, who died in a car accident before it was completed. Witold Lesiewicz completed the project using what was available and a few parts show only still photos, which give the movie the feeling of looking through a photo album, while he narrates what was probably intended in these parts. As powerful as the movie stands now there is a little part of me that grieves the fact that if Munk lived to finish this film it would have been even better.
Summary of The Passenger
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: Polish ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Documentary, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Passenger has been called 'one of the most audacious fictions ever made about the Holocaust'. Director Munk died in a car crash, aged just 39, in the middle of filming. His friend, Witold Lesiewicz, and his colleagues decided to complete the film to what they believed were Munk's intentions and assembled it using the existing footage, Munk's still photographs and a voice-over narration. Finally released in 1964, the film won main awards at Cannes and Venice and has been described by those who have seen it as an unfinished masterpiece. Unseen for far too long, this is the first-ever DVD release of this unique film anywhere in the world. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Venice Film Festival, ...The Passenger (1963) ( Pasazerka )Similar DVD Movies
BelzecRelease date: 2010-02-23; DVD
Best price: $15.89
Price in other shops:
CommissarKino International; Release date: 2007-03-06; DVD
Best price: $15.92
Price in other shops:
La RoueInfinity; Release date: 2008-05-06; DVD
Best price: $35.99
Price in other shops:
Lodz GhettoRelease date: 2010-03-02; DVD
Best price: $14.20
Price in other shops:
Essential Art House: KapoImage Entertainment; Release date: 2010-04-13; DVD
Best price: $13.39
Price in other shops:
A Film UnfinishedRelease date: 2011-03-08; DVD
Best price: $8.58
Price in other shops:
Senso (The Criterion Collection)IMG; Release date: 2011-02-22; DVD
Best price: $15.67
Price in other shops:
The Red and The WhiteKino International; Release date: 2002-01-08; DVD
Best price: $14.38
Price in other shops:
Night and Fog (The Criterion Collection)RESNAIS,ALAIN; Release date: 2003-06-24; DVD
Best price: $9.29
Price in other shops:
The Last StagePolish DVDs; Release date: 2010-01-26; DVD
Best price: $17.87
Price in other shops: