KNIFE IN THE WATER, A (NOZ W WODZIE)

Knife in the Water was Roman Polanski's first full-length feature, the film with which he effectively announced his genius to international cinema. A middle class couple pick up a hitchhiker who turns their lives upside down in the course of one day. Here is a natural filmmaker making a stunning cinematic debut out of almost nothing. It was first seen in the West at the Venice Film Festival, where the International Federation of Film Critics gave it their FIPRESCI award. Two years later it would be nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film. The screenplay was by Polanski and Jerzy Skolimowski It opened doors for Polanski in Western Europe and America that made his extraordinary career possible.
The music was written by the brilliant young Polish composer and pianist Krzysztof Komeda. It is arguably one of the most effective scores in cinema history; understated jazz that compliments the picture's sharp monochrome cinematography and the tense minimalism of the script and brings to the film another emotional dimension. Also included here are three pieces composed and performed by Komeda for Andrzej Wajda's 1960 film The Innocent Sorcerers. Written by Skolimowski, this is a stylish, humorous film about Polish youth: their underground scene, girls, scooters, jazz etc. Both Komeda and Polanski appear on screen. Komeda would go on to write three further film scores for Polanski; Rosemary's Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Cul-de-sac. Overall Komeda wrote more than seventy soundtracks before his tragically early, somewhat mysterious death in 1969, at the age of just 38.

1. BALLAD FOR BERNT
2. CRAZY GIRL
3. TYPISH JAZZ
4. CHERRY
5. ROMAN 11
6. NIEWINNI CZARODZIEJE 1
7. NIEWINNI CZARODZIEJE 2
8. NIEWINNI CZARODZIEJE 3
9. FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE
10. THREE LITTLE WORDS 11. STELLA BY STARLIGHT
12. AN OSCAR FOR A DEVIL
13. THIS OR THIS
14. GET OUT OF TOWN
15. FOURTH
16. MOJA BALLADA
17. STELLA BY STARLIGHT
18. MEMORY OF BACH