

Ashes and Diamonds
Touched with the fire and rebellion of a new generation of Polish film makers
A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.
TMDB
7.4/10
294 votes
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- —
- Language
- Polish
- polish resistance
- world war ii
- soviet military
- black and white
- post war
- post world war ii
- post-war poland
Top billed cast

















Behind the camera
Where to watch
Availability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- Theatrical29 May 1961
- Theatrical(Maine International Film Festival)16 Jul 2014
- Theatrical (limited)Palm Springs International Film Festival8 Jan 2017
ArgentinaAR
- Theatrical16(Mar del Plata Film Festival)7 Nov 2008
BrazilBR
- PremiereSão Paulo International Film Festival (2K Restoration)25 Oct 2026
ChinaCN
- PremiereShanghai International Film Festival12 Jun 2026
DenmarkDK
- Theatrical18 Feb 1960
FinlandFI
- TheatricalK-165 Feb 1960
- Theatrical(re-release)19 Aug 1977
FranceFR
- TheatricalTPVisa CNC 227941 Oct 1959
GermanyDE
- Theatrical16West Germany27 Oct 1961
- TheatricalEast Germany9 May 1968
GreeceGR
- Theatrical(Panorama of European Cinema)24 Oct 2010
Hong KongHK
- Theatrical8 Jul 1961
ItalyIT
- Theatrical(Venice Film Festival)31 Aug 1959
- Theatrical(Turin International Film Week)27 Sept 1959
- Theatrical10 Dec 1960
JapanJP
- Theatrical7 Jul 1959
- Theatrical(Poland Film Festival)27 Nov 2012
- Theatrical(Maine International Film Festival)15 Nov 2015
Frequently asked questions
Ashes and Diamonds was released on 3 October 1958.
Audience reviews
4- B8/10
badelf
7/9/2022
There are so many great things about how this movie is made - the directing, the shots, the tonal quality, and the pacing. Probably most brilliant of all is how the total makes the viewer feel claustophobic. I admit, though, it's a tad dated.
- B8/10
badelf
7/9/2022
There are so many great things about how this movie is made - the directing, the shots, the tonal quality, and the pacing. Probably most brilliant of all is how the total makes the viewer feel claustrophobic. I admit, though, it's a tad dated.
- C7/10
CinemaSerf
8/17/2024
You might have thought that on May 8th, 1945 the population of Poland would have been united in celebrating the defeat of their Nazi invaders. Instead, though, this film quite deftly illustrates a mixture of joy and trepidation as those who had fought together to free their country now found themselves on opposite sides of a new societal order that was going to pit the freedom-loving Poles on one side with those more…
- H7/10
hand2a
1/22/2025
My first Wajda and I really enjoyed it. I thought that Cybulski's performance was great and I loved the scene in the pub where he's lighting vodka shots, which he plays perfectly. The shots of him through the patterned staircase looked amazing in black and white, and especially because of his sunglasses. I did get a bit lost in the politics side of the plot but despite that I didn't get bored and I really liked the r…
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