W

arsaw Uprising” is probably the world’s first war documentary film made entirely from original archive materials. It tells the story of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 through the eyes of US airman and two young reporters, witnesses to insurgent fighting. It uses authentic newsreels filmed in August of 1944. Applying modern technology of restoring, colorization and expertize of speech readers and ensuring the co-operation of the best artists, the “Warsaw Uprising” has no comparable project in the World.

Six hours of original newsreel footage from the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, six months of work, a team of military, clothing and architecture consultants, urban planners, Warsaw experts and historians, thousands of color editing consulting hours, 1,200 shots, 1,440 hours of colorizing and reconstruction, 112,000 selected frames, 648,000 minutes of film frames reconstruction, 22,971,520 megabytes of data – these are only a few numbers which help appreciate the enormous effort and means dedicated to this Uprising project.

The result is an 87-minute completely restored, colored and extremely touching film, which shows the Warsaw Uprising with unparalleled realism.

Striving for the best quality of the colored image, the Warsaw Uprising Museum announced a competition for coloring and post-production of the Uprising newsreels. A jury headed by Witold Sobociński selected the Orka Studio for this task. The first stage of the process involved stabilization, which required finding points of reference for each take and eliminating shaking of the image. In the next step, restoration of the material took place, including initial color correction of the black and white material, stabilization and removal of image pulsation and imperfections of the film exposure. The work also involved manually repairing image deformations, removing dirt, dust and film damages and achieving grain control.

Next the film was colored. Proper coloring of the “Warsaw Uprising” constituted a great challenge. Before starting the this phase a reference base was gathered of several thousand photographs of weapons and armament, uniforms, equipment, civilian clothing, urban infrastructure, signs, several hundred photographs of different types of setts, flagstones etc. Historical accuracy was overseen by historians from the Warsaw Uprising Museum, experts in urban studies and architecture, Warsaw specialists and consultants in weaponry and armament co-operating with the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

The film was colored using unique software, invented and created in Hollywood. Because of the fact that the material utilized in “Warsaw Uprising” was greatly worn out or damaged (most likely due to developing in difficult conditions and improper storing), it was hard in many cases to select right color. Each take after preliminary coloring required detailed description and countless consultations with history experts.

After standard colorization was completed the film producers invited a well-known Director of Photography, Piotr Sobociński Jr., to work on the film, who as color grading supervisor was responsible for the film’s credibility and unifying colors applied in post-production.

• Film concept: Jan Ołdakowski, Piotr C. Śliwowski
• Producers: Jan Ołdakowski, Piotr C. Śliwowski
• Director: Jan Komasa
• Consulting Director: Władysław Pasikowski
• Script: Joanna Pawluśkiewicz, Jan Ołdakowski, Piotr C. Śliwowski
• Script Consultant: Władysław Pasikowski
• Film Editing: Joanna Brühl
• Artistic Supervision: Milenia Fiedler PSM
• Colour Grading Supervisor: Piotr Sobociński Jr, PSC
• Dialogues: Joanna Pawluśkiewicz, Michał Sufin, Władysław Pasikowski
• Voice Casting Directors: Magdalena Szwarcbart, Miriam Aleksandrowicz, Agnieszka Matysiak
• Dubbing Directors: Miriam Aleksandrowicz, Władysław Pasikowski
• Sound: Bartosz Putkiewicz, Kacper Habisiak MPSE, Marcin Kasiński MPSE
• Music: Bartosz Chajdecki

• In honor of the cinematographers of Warsaw Uprising Chronicles: Andrzej Ancuta (codename “Kier”), Stefan Bagiński (codename “Stefan”), Stanisław Bali (codename “Giza”), Roman Banach (codename “Świerk”), Antoni Bohdziewicz (codename “Wiktor”), Jerzy Gabryelski (codename “Orski”), Wacław Feliks Kaźmierczak (codename “Wacek”), Seweryn Kruszyński, Kazimierz Pyszkowski, Edward Szope, Ryszard Szope, Henryk Vlassak (codename “Wania”), Antoni Wawrzyniak (codename “Antonio”), Jerzy Zarzycki (codename “Pik”) and others.

• People recognized in the movie: ks. bp. Adamski Stanisław, Andrzej Ancuta (codename “Kier”), Stefan Bagiński , Halina Bala (codename “Małgorzata”), Stanisław Bala (codename “Giza”), Jerzy Barburski, Bolesław Biega (father), Bolesław Biega (codename “Pałąk”), Henryk Bielawski (codename “Asko”), Antoni Bohdziewicz (codename “Wiktor”), Konstanty Bronikowski (codename “Kostecki”), Zbigniew Brym Zbigniew (codename “Zdunin”), Roman Brzosko (codename “Szpak”), Andrzej Bukraba (codename “Żeglarz”), Mieczysław Całka (codename “Miecio”), Antoni Chruściel (codename “Monter”), Alina Ciembroniewicz-Zabiełło (codename “Alina”), Julita Cyrus-Sobolewska (codename “Lidka”), Jerzy Tadeusz Depczyk (codename “Drohojemski I”), Tadeusz Doberski (codename “Dobnia”, Włodzimierz Drecki (codename “Kawka”), Ludwik Dunin (codename “Włast”), Stefan Dzibczyński, Tadeusz Dziurzyński (codename “Orlicz”), Bolesław Dzwonik, Mieczysław Filipowicz (codename “Filip”), Stanisław Firchał (codename “Wicher”), Ksawery Frank (codename “Kiejstut”), Tadeusz Garliński (codename “Spitfire”), Józefa Główczewska (codename “Ziuta”), Lech Głuchowski (codename “Jeżycki”), Władysław Grabiński (codename “Pilawa”), Zbigniew Hellon (codename “Kumpel”), Teodor Jakubowski (codename “Todek”), Wanda Janczarska-Bieńkuńska (codename “Wanda”), Wacław Jastrzębski (codename “Aspira”), Józef Jezierski (codename “Aksak”), Stanisław Kamiński (codename “Daniel”), Danuta Kasprzycka-Deperazińska (codename “Iwonka”), Witold Kieżun (codename “Wypad”), Lucjan Kindlein (codename “Lucjan”), Stanisław Kniachnicki (codename “Kalik”), Konrad Kociszewsk (codename “Radek”, Jerzy Korwin-Szymanowski (codename “Blady”), Maria Kosicka (codename “Małgorzata”), Czesław Kotlarczyk (codename “Czema”), Tadeusz Kozłowski (codename “Kozak”), Tadeusz Krassowski (codename “Start”), Józef Kraszewski (codename “Kot”), Zbigniew Krejckant (codename “Cyngiel”), Zygmunt Królak (codename “Patriota”), Zbigniew Kurbiel (codename “Krakus”), Adam Kutnik (codename “Jawor”), Alfons Laska (codename “Skała”), Jerzy Lipczyński (codename “Szczerbiec”), Wojciech Luterek (codename “Roman”), Henryk Maciejewski (codename “Lech”), Paweł Mańkowski (codename “Rapier”), Marian Marciniuk (codename “Orlik”), Bernard Marwiński (codename “Marwiński”), Teresa Matlakowska (codename “Krystyna”), Wojciech Bernard Mencel (codename “Paweł”), Kazimierz Mikos (codename “Bażant”), Tadeusz Mikulski (codename “Krasicki”), Stanisław Milczyński (codename “Gryf”), Eugeniusz Morozowicz (codename “Janek”), Wacław Muszyński (codename “Tyka”), NN (codename “Biała Baśka”), NN (codename “Jurand”), NN (codename “Sulima”), NN Balon (codename “Cepeliński”), Cyprian Odorkiewicz (codename “Krybar”), Zygfryda (Krystyna) Otwinowska, Józef Pajączkowski (codename “Stach Czarny”), Tadeusz Pereświat-Sołtan (codename “Karcz”), Ryszard Pestkowski (codename “Olchowicz”), Franciszek Edward Pfeiffer (codename “Radwan”), Stanisław Porębski (codename “Olesiński”), ks. Wiktor Potrzebski (codename “Corda”), Franciszek de Pourbaix, Józef Pyrka (codename “Grot”), Kazimierz Pyrka (codename “Andrzej”), Marian Pytkowski (codename “Miś”), Maria Rodziewiczówna, Bernard Romanowski (codename “Wola”), Jerzy Rossudowski (codename “Stary”), Janusz Różalski (codename “Magnus”), Aleksander Sałaciński (codename “Aleksander”), Janusz Sawicki (codename “Zabawa”), Stanisław Sekuła (codename “Śmiały”), Jadwiga Skirmunt, Karol Smogorzewski (codename “Zenon”), Henryk Sobański (codename “Sułkowski”), Maria Sobolewska, Józef Sowilski (codename “Bohdan”), Maria Sowińska, Andrzej Sroczyński-Nowina (codename “Nowak”), Marian Staczkun (codename “Mirek”), Janina Stęczniewska (codename “Inka”, Roman Strzałkowski, Wacław Stykowski (codename “Hal”), Zdzisław Surawski (codename “Robinson”), Franciszek Szafranek (codename “Frasza”), Stefan Szempliński (codename “Stefan”), Edward Szope, Ryszard Szope, Ludwik Szumlewski (codename “Selim”), Jerzy Szuster, Wanda Traczyk-Stawska (codename “Pączek”), Alicja Treutler (codename “Jarmuż”), Jerzy Tyrawski (codename “Tomaszewski”), Mieczysław Ubysz (codename “Wilk”), Henryk Vlassak, Wiktor Wcisło (codename “Kmita”), Bogdan Wiesse (codename “Łąka”), Bolesław Wiewióra (codename “Samson”), Józef Wilczak (codename “Wilk”), Kazimierz Wilczak (codename “Spokojny”), Zygfryd Wiśniewski (codename “Mściciel”), Helena Wład (codename “Lusia”), Maria Wolska (codename “Bożena”), Wacław Wójcik, Jerzy Wysocki (codename “Mewa”), Wacław Zagórski (codename “Lech Grzybowski”), Jerzy Zamecki (codename “Wilczek”), Jerzy Zarzycki (codename “Pik”), ks. Władysław Zbłowski (codename “Struś”), Aleksander Zubek (codename “Julian”), Władysław Zygański (codename “Żuk”), Stanisław Żelaziński (codename “Zielonka”), Krystyna Żochowska (codename “Krysia”), Aleksander Żuk (codename “Żuk”)

• Cast: Karol – Piotr Adamczyk, Witek – Józef Pawłowski, Howard – Jeff Burrell, Chairman – Mirosław Baka, Joanna – Joanna Osyda, Mother – Magdalena Celówna
• Co-starring (in alphabetical order): Jan Aleksandrowicz-Krasko, Modest Aleksandrowicz-Krasko, Piotr Bajor, Marek Barbasiewicz, Tomasz Bednarek, Stanisław Brudny, Wojciech Brzeziński, Janusz Chabior, Jacek Czyż, Bartosz Dombrowski, Jan Dravnel, Mariusz Drężek, Agata Durnoga, Maja Erhart, Dorota Furtak, Marta Gajko-Król, Łukasz Gawroński, Maciej Gąsiorek, Zuzanna Gąsiorek, Roma Gąsiorowska, Katarzyna Godlewska, Mirosław Haniszewski, Remigiusz Jankowski, Joanna Jeżewska-Adamczyk, Ewa Kania-Grochowska, Natalia Koczkodan, Julia Kołakowska-Bytner, Aleksandra Koncewicz-Rulewska, Jacek Kopczyński, Krystian Kostow, Katarzyna Kowalczyk, Antoni Królikowski, Jacek Kufirski, Agnieszka Kunikowska, Robert Kuraś, Grzegorz Lalek, Lech Łotocki, Bartosz Magdziarz, Olaf Marchwicki, Włodzimierz Matuszak, Agnieszka Matysiak, Piotr Miazga, Wojciech Mielimąka, Barbara Mroziewicz, Michał Mroziewicz, Maciej Nawrocki, Witold Oleksiak, Maciej Ołdakowski, Joanna Pach-Żbikowska, Zofia Perczyńska, Kamil Pruban, Bruno Putkiewicz, Maciej Robakiewicz, Robert Rogalski, Otar Saralidze, Krzysztof Skonieczny, Jagoda Stach, Paweł Szczęsny, Andrzej Szopa, Bartosz Szpak, Piotr C. Śliwowski, Julian Świeżewski, Anna Tomczyk-Czerwińska, Brygida Turowska, Magdalena Waligórska, Jakub Wieczorek, Marcin Władyniak, Karol Wróblewski, Zofia Zborowska, Mirosław Zbrojewicz, Marietta Żukowska, Michał Żurawski, Piotr Żurawski

• Executive Production: House Media Company, Andrzej Besztak, Grzegorz Olkowski
• Executive Producer of the international version of the film: Opus Film, Piotr Dzięcioł, Ewa Puszczyńska
• Line Producer: Łucja Kędzior-Samodulska
• Production Manager: Katarzyna Kania
• Production Accountant: Małgorzata Dedek
• Assistant Editors: Sebastien Korwin-Kulesza, Roger Sieczkowski
• Assistant Editor of the international version of the film: Agnieszka Gronowicz
• Dialogue Lists: Agnieszka Kik, Maciej Besztak
• Subtitles and Dialogue Translators: Emilia Puszczyńska, Marcel Sawicki
• Historical Consultants: Grzegorz Hanula, Piotr C. Śliwowski, Katarzyna Utracka, Michał Wójciuk
• Warsaw Topography Consultants: Krzysztof Jaszczyński, Ryszard Mączewski – Foundation “Warszawa 1939.pl”
• Military Consultant: Mariusz Komacki
• Speechreading Consultant: Michał Bernard Łach
• Production Assistant: Anna Gołębicka
• Digital Restoration and Colorization: Production Studio Orka, Jacek Kulczycki
• Head of Studio: Magdalena Zimecka
• Post-production Supervisor: Justyna Juszczyk
• Technological Restoration Supervisor: Marcin Maciejewski
• Conforming: Marcelina Górka, Daniel Pawtel, Paweł Wójcik
• Image Stabilization: Patryk Dumicz, Paweł Konecki
• Image Restoration: Patrycja Grossman, Kamil Filipowicz, Franciszek Jankowski, Tomasz Lisiecki, Sylwester Lipiński, Piotr Łucarz, Maja Kostkiewicz, Dorota Ostrowska, Daniel Pawtel, Michał Piaskowski, Magdalena Sołodyna, Sylwia Tomaszewska, Katarzyna Zaufal
• Colorization Supervisor: Justyna Juszczyk
• Colorization: Legend 3D
• Digital Color Grading: Aleksander Winecki
• DI Assistant: Paweł Wójcik
• 3D Animation: Michał Konwicki, Rafał Castelli
• Compositing: Łukasz Głowacz, Agnieszka Ratyńska, Sławomir Śmiarowski
• Graphic Design: Bartosz Bąk, Tomasz Żelazko
• Sound Post-production: Cafe Ole, Dreamsound
• Location Sound Recordists: Jarosław Bajdowski, Mariusz Bielecki, Mariusz Andrasik, Stefan Gawłowski, Filip Krzyżykowski, Maciej Wiejaczka
• ADR and Dialogues Recording and Editing: Bartosz Putkiewicz, Kacper Habisiak, Tomasz Maciątek
• Sound Effect Editing: Bartosz Putkiewicz, Darek Stanek, Marcin Kasiński
• Foley Artists: Henryk Zastróżny, Bartosz Putkiewicz, Jacej Pająk, Aleksandra Pająk, Anna Kufirska, Jacek Wiśniewski, Tomasz Maciątek
• Sound Post-production Supervisor: Jagna Pilczuk
• Sound Mixing Studio: Dreamsound, Toya Studios
• Dolby Digital Mixing: Filip Krzemień (Studio Dreamtheatre), Kacper Habisiak, Marcin Kasiński, Michał Kosterkiewicz, Bartosz Putkiewicz
• Toya Studios Coordination: Malwina Czajka
• Music Recording: Aukso, City of Tychy Chamber Orchestra, Cond. Marek Moś
• Music Recorded at : Alvernia Studios
• Music Recording Engineer: Dariusz Podhajski
• Second Music Recording Engineer: Piotr Witkowski (Alvernia Studios)
• Technical Supervision: Roman Oses, Krzysztof Bielewicz, Daria Druzgała (Alvernia Studios)
• Notes Transcription: Urszula Kwaśnicka-Chajdecka
• And: Wojciech Gumiński (bass, bass guitar), Brian Massaka (guitar), Jakub Mietła (accordion), Andrzej Olewiński (guitar), Robert Rasz (percussion), Sebastian Zawadzki (piano)
• Music Recorded at: Preisner Studio Niepołomice
• Recording Music Engineer: Dariusz Podhajski
• Second Recording Music Engineer: Andrzej Kaleta
• Production and PR Assistant: Julia Sielicka-Jastrzębska
• Public Relations: Anna Kotonowicz
• Cooperation: Barbara Augustyniak-Papież, Grzegorz Hanula, Agata Kościelna-Ratowska, Jakub Król, Matylda Piątkowska, Marcin Wierzchowski
• Making Of: Tomasz Walasek
• Music Consultant: Agnieszka Putkiewicz
• Music Researchers: Agnieszka Putkiewicz, Anna Malarowska

• Soundtrack from:
  Rhapsody in blue – Music: G. Gershwin, performed by: Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Warsaw, Conductor: Stefan Rachoń, piano: Andrzej Ratusiński (Polish Radio Archives)
  Nostalgic kids – Music: Michael Whittaker (Apollo Music)
  Ostatni mazur – Traditional, string instruments: Bartosz Putkiewicz
  Radio broadcast from radio station “Błyskawica”, radio signal “Warszawianka” 24 August 1944 (Polish Radio Archives)
  Rota – Music: K. Nowomiejski, words: M. Konopnicka, performed by: J. Aleksandrowicz, W. Brzeziński, R. Kuraś, B. Magdziarz, J. Pach, J. Stach
  Sto lat – Traditional, performed by: M. Drężek, M. Waligórska, M. Gajko-Król, N. Koczkodan, P. Miazga, K. Wróblewski
  Tango – Music: B. Putkiewicz, violin: Grzegorz Lalek
  Hungarian dance no 5 – Music: J. Brahms, violin: Grzegorz Lalek, piano: Marech Bracha
  Warszawianka 1831 – Music: K. Kurpiński, words: C. Delavigne/K. Sienkiewicz, performed by: W. Brzeziński, J. Komasa, M. Kudelka, R. Kuraś, M. Nawrocki, B. Putkiewicz, M. Władyniak
  Wir sind die braunen Soldaten (Apollo Music)

• The film uses excerpts from a poem “Cellars’ litany” taken from Miron Białoszewski’s book “Pamiętnik z Powstania Warszawskiego”
• The film uses excerpts from the movie “Warszawa 1936″ directed by Julien Bryan

• Warsaw Uprising Museum would like to thank: Beata Biel, Robert Boniecki, Krzysztof Czyżewski, Tomasz Dąbrowski, Ks. Wojciech Drozdowicz, Paweł Gabryś, Dariusz Gawin, Piotr Głogowski, Angela Götz-Zyskowski, Albert Horn, Robert Kijak, Łucja Konopka, Bogusław Kowalski, Michał Kwieciński – Akson Studio, Joanna Lang, Ks. Kacper Malicki, Robert Matracki, Edward Miszczak, Włodzimierz Niderhaus, Małgorzata Niedźwiedź, Agnieszka Pawelec, Henk Proeme, Joanna Rozwoda, Stefania Rajgrodzka, Joanna Rozwoda, Anna Sienkiewicz-Rogowska, Janina Sonik, Aleksandra Trzeciecka, Paweł Ukielski, Tymoteusz Wiskirski, Arleta Zalewska, Mariusz Ziaja, The National Film Archive, Wytwórnia Filmów Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych, P.A.Y. Studio, Military Sports Club “Legia” Warsaw – Arms Section
• Special thanks to: Maciej Strzembosz, Dorota Hawliczek