
Directing
Janusz Majewski
Born — Died
1931-08-05 — 2024-01-10
Place of birth
Lwów, Polska (obecnie Ukraina)
Known for
Directing
Credits
48 titles
Janusz Marian Majewski (5 August 1931 – 10 January 2024) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. Majewski married Zofia Nasierowska, who was a noted portrait photographer. He died on 10 January 2024, at the age of 92.
Known for
7.6Two strangers, Jerzy and Marta, accidentally end up holding tickets for the same sleeping chamber on an overnight train to the Baltic Sea coast. Also on board is Marta's spurned lover, who will not leave her alone. When the police enter the train in search of a murderer on the lam, rumors fly and everything seems to point toward one of the main characters as the culprit.
Night Train
1959
6.4In a rural Catholic village, young Gosia tends cattle and lives an innocent, sheltered life. One summer day, while bathing in the river, she is unknowingly observed by a mysterious painter. When he later reveals his portrait of her, Gosia’s initial shame gives way to curiosity, drawing her into an awakening of desire and a confrontation with temptation.
Devilish Education
1995
5.8Ludwik starts one of the best high schools in Krakow. His life changes with a growing storm of conflicting emotions. First love infatuations, sexual contacts, a rebellion against unjust authorities and the desire to imitate his idol, Marek, an older boy who who fought in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
The Rite of Passage
2010
5.5In 1931, just before the New Year, in a house of architect Henryk Zaremba scream rips the night. The daughter of Zaremba is found killed in her bedroom, obviously killed with a pickaxe. The police arrives and starts the investigation. Rita Gorgonova, the governess of the girl and also lover of Zaremba becomes the main suspect.
The Gorgon Case
1977
NRA tense, compact adaptation of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Bridge (Polish title Most) recreates the surreal final moments of a condemned man awaiting execution during the American Civil War. In Majewski’s hands, the familiar twist — reality folding into illusion — becomes a lean, visual meditation on death, perception, and the fragility of hope.
Bridge
1960
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Jazz Outsider
2022
Film credits
2010s · 3 titles
Janusz Majewski, an outstanding film director seen through the eyes of his friend, Stefan Szlachtycz. The passion for literature and film in Janusz Majewski's life is united by the motif of a dream - the film's title alludes to both Pedro Calderon de la Barca's drama and cinema as a dream factory.
Dream is Life Itself. A Portrait of Film Director Janusz Majewski
2013
NRNo synopsis available yet.
A więc wojna!
2019
6.0The film is a portrait of Zygmunt Samosiuk, a great forgotten cinematographer, who died in 1983. As a director of photography he worked on such films as The Birch Wood, Landscape Afterthe Battle and Austeria. He introduced, among others, hand‑held camera shots, colour lights and shooting at minimum exposure. Reminiscences of his colleagues and friends, including Andrzej Wajda and Piotr Szulkin, show a gifted artist and a modest man who valued his work above all.
Samosiuk. The Independent Film Republic
2012
1990s · 2 titles
9.01. A ring of retired provincial PRL dignitaries plots to steal their party’s banner from the Museum of Communism as an ideological relic, only to have their scheme complicated when one conspirator’s son enlists an Italian collector in a profit-seeking joint venture. 2. A young homeless couple squatting in an unoccupied Balaton dacha is caught by the elderly ex-communist official who now runs a Budapest nightclub—and agrees to keep silent about their trespass in exchange for forcing them into a public “wedding night” performance for his patrons.
Do Widzenia Wczoraj. Dwie Krótkie Komedie o Zmianie Systemu
1993
5.9A sociologist nearing middle-aged returns to Poland after several years of giving lectures abroad. The changing economy of the country and business successes of the people around him inspire him to venture out into the deep and unpredictable world of capitalism himself.
Capital, or How to Make Money in Poland
1990
1950s · 2 titles
7.6Two strangers, Jerzy and Marta, accidentally end up holding tickets for the same sleeping chamber on an overnight train to the Baltic Sea coast. Also on board is Marta's spurned lover, who will not leave her alone. When the police enter the train in search of a murderer on the lam, rumors fly and everything seems to point toward one of the main characters as the culprit.
Night Train
1959
4.8A group of young Łódź hoodlums spends their time shoplifting, partying and drinking heavily, until they are faced with serious consequences of their reckless behaviour.
Koniec nocy
1957
Behind the camera
6.4In a rural Catholic village, young Gosia tends cattle and lives an innocent, sheltered life. One summer day, while bathing in the river, she is unknowingly observed by a mysterious painter. When he later reveals his portrait of her, Gosia’s initial shame gives way to curiosity, drawing her into an awakening of desire and a confrontation with temptation.
Devilish Education
1995
6.4In a rural Catholic village, young Gosia tends cattle and lives an innocent, sheltered life. One summer day, while bathing in the river, she is unknowingly observed by a mysterious painter. When he later reveals his portrait of her, Gosia’s initial shame gives way to curiosity, drawing her into an awakening of desire and a confrontation with temptation.
Devilish Education
1995
5.8Ludwik starts one of the best high schools in Krakow. His life changes with a growing storm of conflicting emotions. First love infatuations, sexual contacts, a rebellion against unjust authorities and the desire to imitate his idol, Marek, an older boy who who fought in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
The Rite of Passage
2010
5.8Ludwik starts one of the best high schools in Krakow. His life changes with a growing storm of conflicting emotions. First love infatuations, sexual contacts, a rebellion against unjust authorities and the desire to imitate his idol, Marek, an older boy who who fought in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
The Rite of Passage
2010
5.5In 1931, just before the New Year, in a house of architect Henryk Zaremba scream rips the night. The daughter of Zaremba is found killed in her bedroom, obviously killed with a pickaxe. The police arrives and starts the investigation. Rita Gorgonova, the governess of the girl and also lover of Zaremba becomes the main suspect.
The Gorgon Case
1977
5.5In 1931, just before the New Year, in a house of architect Henryk Zaremba scream rips the night. The daughter of Zaremba is found killed in her bedroom, obviously killed with a pickaxe. The police arrives and starts the investigation. Rita Gorgonova, the governess of the girl and also lover of Zaremba becomes the main suspect.
The Gorgon Case
1977
NRA tense, compact adaptation of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Bridge (Polish title Most) recreates the surreal final moments of a condemned man awaiting execution during the American Civil War. In Majewski’s hands, the familiar twist — reality folding into illusion — becomes a lean, visual meditation on death, perception, and the fragility of hope.
Bridge
1960
NRA tense, compact adaptation of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Bridge (Polish title Most) recreates the surreal final moments of a condemned man awaiting execution during the American Civil War. In Majewski’s hands, the familiar twist — reality folding into illusion — becomes a lean, visual meditation on death, perception, and the fragility of hope.
Bridge
1960
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Jazz Outsider
2022
7.9Ja gorę! tells the story of a Pogorzelski nobleman who settles in a ruined castle in Samsonów, determined to restore it, only to be haunted by the ghost of its former owner. A parody of gothic horror literature and cinema, the short is based on a tale by Henryk Rzewuski and was produced as part of the Polish television series Opowieści niezwykłe (1967–1968).
I Am Burning!
1968
7.9Ja gorę! tells the story of a Pogorzelski nobleman who settles in a ruined castle in Samsonów, determined to restore it, only to be haunted by the ghost of its former owner. A parody of gothic horror literature and cinema, the short is based on a tale by Henryk Rzewuski and was produced as part of the Polish television series Opowieści niezwykłe (1967–1968).
I Am Burning!
1968
5.2A historical drama about Barbara Radziwiłł, whose controversial love affair and marriage with King Sigismund II Augustus defied political opposition in 16th-century Poland. The film follows their romance, Barbara’s untimely death, and her posthumous return to Vilnius, framed through the king’s memories of his beloved queen.
An Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill
1983
5.2A historical drama about Barbara Radziwiłł, whose controversial love affair and marriage with King Sigismund II Augustus defied political opposition in 16th-century Poland. The film follows their romance, Barbara’s untimely death, and her posthumous return to Vilnius, framed through the king’s memories of his beloved queen.
An Epitaph for Barbara Radziwill
1983
6.1"Deserter's Gold", the sequel to the very popular "The Deserters", is a rich war comedy, skipping humorously around the more serious dangers of a war. Deserters Gold takes place during World War II, while the first film happened during WWI. The heroes' mission is to rob a Nazi-run bank in Poland for gold that will buy military supplies for the Polish Underground.
Deserter's Gold
1998
6.1"Deserter's Gold", the sequel to the very popular "The Deserters", is a rich war comedy, skipping humorously around the more serious dangers of a war. Deserters Gold takes place during World War II, while the first film happened during WWI. The heroes' mission is to rob a Nazi-run bank in Poland for gold that will buy military supplies for the Polish Underground.
Deserter's Gold
1998
6.0A young scientist is kidnapped and taken to a house where his former mentor, a professor, is conducting experiments on shrinking humans.
First Pavilion
1968
6.0A young scientist is kidnapped and taken to a house where his former mentor, a professor, is conducting experiments on shrinking humans.
First Pavilion
1968
7.3Set in the early 1930s, a young man finds a job as a dishwasher in a hotel and quickly works his way up the ladder. Loosely based on the novel by Henryk Worcell.
Hotel Pacific
1975
7.0A stark, two-character chamber drama about Joanna, a middle-aged woman who returns from the camps after World War II. Seeking out her deceased husband’s mother, she cannot bring herself to reveal the truth about his fate. Instead, she invents a story to spare the grieving woman further pain. What begins as a compassionate lie soon entangles Joanna in an ever-growing web of deception, as more people who know the truth become drawn into her fragile fiction.
The Black Dress
1967
7.0A stark, two-character chamber drama about Joanna, a middle-aged woman who returns from the camps after World War II. Seeking out her deceased husband’s mother, she cannot bring herself to reveal the truth about his fate. Instead, she invents a story to spare the grieving woman further pain. What begins as a compassionate lie soon entangles Joanna in an ever-growing web of deception, as more people who know the truth become drawn into her fragile fiction.
The Black Dress
1967
7.0Retired police captain Siwy recounts to a reporter how he undertook a final, private investigation into the suspicious death of Ewa Salm, known as “Princess.” Though her testimony had secured a conviction, Siwy doubted the man’s guilt and set out to uncover the real killer—risking his own life to see justice done.
The Criminal Who Stole a Crime
1969
7.0Retired police captain Siwy recounts to a reporter how he undertook a final, private investigation into the suspicious death of Ewa Salm, known as “Princess.” Though her testimony had secured a conviction, Siwy doubted the man’s guilt and set out to uncover the real killer—risking his own life to see justice done.
The Criminal Who Stole a Crime
1969
5.1In 1930s, a doctor has an affair with the wife of a wealthy industrialist in Poland.
Jealousy and Medicine
1973
5.1In 1930s, a doctor has an affair with the wife of a wealthy industrialist in Poland.
Jealousy and Medicine
1973
7.5A pleasant, open-faced young man comes to live in a boarding house with three peculiar women.
The Lodger
1967
7.5A pleasant, open-faced young man comes to live in a boarding house with three peculiar women.
The Lodger
1967
No synopsis available yet.
Ostatni klezmer
2017
No synopsis available yet.
Ostatni klezmer
2017
NRA documentary short constructed from the photo album of a German officer, tracing his movements across multiple World War II fronts. The film transforms private souvenirs into stark testimony, exposing how personal mementos intersect with the broader history of the war.
Fleischer's Album
1962
NRA documentary short constructed from the photo album of a German officer, tracing his movements across multiple World War II fronts. The film transforms private souvenirs into stark testimony, exposing how personal mementos intersect with the broader history of the war.
Fleischer's Album
1962
NRA man enters a restaurant and, after trying and failing to attract the attentions of the waiter, an absurd battle of wills commences.
Roundabout
1958
NRA man enters a restaurant and, after trying and failing to attract the attentions of the waiter, an absurd battle of wills commences.
Roundabout
1958
6.1In late 1950s Poland, jazzman Fabian returns from England and forms a swing big band that quickly rises to fame. Their glamorous new singer, the enigmatic Modesta, becomes both the group’s star and Fabian’s love interest. As their success begins to resemble a Hollywood musical, the authorities take a growing interest in their world of music and romance.
Eccentrics, the Sunny Side of the Street
2016
6.1In late 1950s Poland, jazzman Fabian returns from England and forms a swing big band that quickly rises to fame. Their glamorous new singer, the enigmatic Modesta, becomes both the group’s star and Fabian’s love interest. As their success begins to resemble a Hollywood musical, the authorities take a growing interest in their world of music and romance.
Eccentrics, the Sunny Side of the Street
2016
6.4A pastor and ethnographer visits a remote corner of 19th-century Lithuania where folk customs associated with the area's pagan past still have a hold on the population.
Lokis: A Manuscript of Professor Wittembach
1970
6.4A pastor and ethnographer visits a remote corner of 19th-century Lithuania where folk customs associated with the area's pagan past still have a hold on the population.
Lokis: A Manuscript of Professor Wittembach
1970
9.01. A ring of retired provincial PRL dignitaries plots to steal their party’s banner from the Museum of Communism as an ideological relic, only to have their scheme complicated when one conspirator’s son enlists an Italian collector in a profit-seeking joint venture. 2. A young homeless couple squatting in an unoccupied Balaton dacha is caught by the elderly ex-communist official who now runs a Budapest nightclub—and agrees to keep silent about their trespass in exchange for forcing them into a public “wedding night” performance for his patrons.
Do Widzenia Wczoraj. Dwie Krótkie Komedie o Zmianie Systemu
1993
9.01. A ring of retired provincial PRL dignitaries plots to steal their party’s banner from the Museum of Communism as an ideological relic, only to have their scheme complicated when one conspirator’s son enlists an Italian collector in a profit-seeking joint venture. 2. A young homeless couple squatting in an unoccupied Balaton dacha is caught by the elderly ex-communist official who now runs a Budapest nightclub—and agrees to keep silent about their trespass in exchange for forcing them into a public “wedding night” performance for his patrons.
Do Widzenia Wczoraj. Dwie Krótkie Komedie o Zmianie Systemu
1993
10.0In 1866, as Austria faces war with Prussia, 19-year-old Ludvík Machl joins a secret Czech resistance group. When he is caught with stolen funds and a weapon, the police commissioner spares him from prison on the condition that he work as an informant. Trapped by fear and betrayal, Ludvík is forced down a path that leads inexorably toward his own destruction.
Mark of Cain
1989
6.7In a secluded forest house, a woman tormented by anxiety and paranoia lives with her helpless husband. Their fragile peace shatters when she suddenly falls ill and appears to die, setting the stage for a tense and haunting drama of isolation and dread.
The Boarded Window
1971
