User Reviews

KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER, based on the novel by Nobel winner Henryk Sienkiewicz, is full of intensely melodramatic conflicts and nonstop action; Sienkiewicz's fiction was more in the mold of THE THREE MUSKETEERS and IVANHOE than WAR AND PEACE, and the source material makes for a highly entertaining movie. The epic scope is quite impressive (fully comparable to Hollywood epics of the same era, like QUO VADIS or SPARTACUS). The setting will be unfamiliar to many audiences (Poland and Prussia in the middle ages), but the plight of the Polish knight Jurand as he and his family are tormented by the dastardly Teutonic Knights is emotionally involving. I saw this in 2005 on a not-so-good video from Polart (washed-out color, poor subtitles), but I've recently seen a DVD on offer, which I hope will have higher quality; it's a handsomely made film that deserves restoration and a wider audience.

Good acting. Great plot. This is a very sad movie, but it presents the true facts in history. It should be released on DVD. One of the best Polish movies. I recommend this movie to everyone.

Polish cinema is always good at adapting heroic war films like Potop or Ogniem I Mieczem. This one, based upon the book of the Noble Prize winner, Henryk Sienkiewycz, is a real hit. The directors managed to adapt this large and serious historical novel to a screen version. The plot tells about the wars between Poland and the Knights who were called the Crerss Bearers and lived in old Prussia nearby. The thrilling story tells about two brave and valiant Polish knights, Macko and Zbyszek. This story has everything - love story, tragedy of the Polish people being oppressed by the knights of Prussia, the heroic struggle, and on top of it all, the Grunwald Battle, that was the deafening defeat of the Prussian knights and lead to the changes in their history after that. Music, operators' work, actors' play, especially the parts of Henryk Borowski and Mieczyslaw Voit are impeccable. This is a fine example of the classic Polish battle movies.

I saw the German dubbed version of this movie over 20 years ago, when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. Nonetheless, I have most vivid memories of this movie. This is a rare masterpiece, that sparks every little boys imagination, simply spectacular. I would love to see this movie again but so far no luck finding it on video.

It is a good film and - as some reviews pointed out - of quite a big importance (and sentimental value!) to Poles. As every nation, Poles delight in productions illuminating the splendor years or turning points in their history, so the film has a guaranteed place in the pantheon of Polish films. It is begging for a remake though. If it is to be equally enjoyable for younger generations technical anachronisms and especially lengthy scenes need to be taken care of. The plot is great, so it definitely deserves a lifting. Apart from the extraordinary number of horses and extras, and Guiness record long battle scenes the film is famous for 2 amazing goofs: 1. In one of the battles, far beyond the herd of knights, you can see a crew car happily passing on the horizon 2. During the main battle of Grunwald scene (1410!) an electric watch can be seen on the actor's wrist as the Polish king zestfully waves his sword fighting his opponents.

The Teutonic Knights were an order of monks founded in 1190 in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. Like the Hospitallers their stated aim was to aid Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and establish hostels and hospitals. But, also like the Hospitallers they degenerated into warriors ("warrior monk" is the mother of all oxymorons). After Christian forces were defeated and expelled from Palestine the Order fled back to Europe and was invited/disinvited by various local princes. After a while the Order settled in allegedly Germanic lands and since 1230 devoted its efforts to Christianize by fire and sword the eastern realms, in particular the Baltic Old Prussians and Lithuanians. It also campaigned against peoples as Christian as they were, such as the Republic of Novgorod in the 1240s.

The Knights were not deterred by the conversion of Lithuania to the Cristian faith, which voided any pretext for a Crusade. Foolishly, some Polish nobles invited the Order to their territories, which was answered with expropriations, plunder, enslavement of serfs and further encroachments on Polish lands. Poles and Lithuanians were finally fed up and organized a joint army commanded by King Wladislaw II Jagiello and Grand Duke Vytautas. They confronted and decisively defeated the Knights in the battle of Grunwald on July 15 1410, one of the largest battles in the Middle Ages, fought in a field southeast of Hamburg in the Order's home turf. The Knights military might was destroyed and their molestation of Eastern lands severely curtailed.

The last half hour (and centerpiece) of this movie is a reconstruction of the battle of Grunwald; the rest is on the abuses of the the Knights leading to the battle. The script is based on a 1900 novel by Henryk Sienkewicz, of Quo Vadis fame. His books based on history (translated to numerous languages and never out of print) are fast paced and exciting, which makes the movie equally exciting. I watched it in 1960, the year of its release and again recently, and it has stood the test of time; it is now as stirring as sixty years ago. There are some iconic shots: a screenwide line of defiant drummers shown later broken and decimated, the King wielding the two swords across the screen, the commanders of each army asking God's help in slaughtering the enemy with the same words.

The Knights left a sinister resonance in modern history, The Prussian military caste venerated them and many Prussian officers (including some of Hitler's generals) claimed descent from a Knight or other. There were riders dressed as Knights in Nazi parades. And, Hitler credited the Order with the concept of Drang Nach Osten = Drive to the East that. In his view, justified his invasion and attempted subjugation of Slavic lands. Obviously, the Order is vilified in Slavic countries; the Russian name for them is the Dog Knights, apparently coined by Karl Marx.

'Krzyzacy', or 'Knights of the Teutonic Order' in English is one of Poland's biggest blockbuster films, based off an incredibly hard to procure (in English at least) novel by the great Henryk Sienkiewicz. Like Sienkiewicz's 'Potop' (The Deluge), the story concerns the tribulations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, this time as raiding, brutal Teutonic Knights ignite a war which culminates in the iconic Battle of Grunwald.

Directed by Aleksander Ford, 'Krzyzacy' displays many elements commonly associated with Hollywood at the time: the scope is massive and epic, with a vivid use of color aptly complementing the widescreen visuals, and the cinematography is remarkably effective throughout, creating a stylized pageantry that in many ways predates the Hollywood epics of the 60s. The final battle sequence may seem quaint by modern standards, but is extraordinarily well done for anything produced in the 60s, let alone from behind the Iron Curtain. Ford has a sharp sense for composition, and there are several remarkably effective moments especially in the second half: a line of symmetrical drummers framed against the sky, the disgraced Teutonic Knight hanging himself, the knights' slaves working away inside a castle.

The cinematic showstopper sequence is not the battle, however; it comes around one hour and 40 minutes in, when the Teutonic Knights throw a grand feast for the Polish envoys. A long tracking shot (one of several in the film) travels endlessly over and under the tables, gloriously displaying all the earthy details of medieval celebration in one fluid movement. Jesters cavort about endlessly. Tables are cleared by wrapping the ornate tablecloths around plates and silverware and pulling them away, only to reveal another underneath. Dwarves swing down on ropes to refill wine goblets. As tensions rise between the envoys and their German hosts, the clowns obliviously trample across tables or make gurning faces from behind, adding a kind of grotesque irony that is very much foreign to the historical epic genre.

Unfortunately, though, the overall film is too flawed to merit masterpiece status. It's a bit too long at nearly three hours and the first half or so is mostly forgettable setup. The characters are all fairly bland, lacking the marvelous complexity that Sienkiewicz brought to those in Potop, and they are not as well portrayed as those in Jerzy Hoffman's excellent Potop adaption. Ideologically, it's a bit simple and very much what you'd expect from a film made with the approval of the Soviet state. Many on this site have taken umbrage with the negative depiction of the German knights, which does come off a bit propaganda-esque, and it follows a slew of anti-German films and TV produced after WW2 with Soviet approval. (For some context, the Poles had, during the war, suffered greatly from the Nazis, so the anti-German sentiment was already there. The Russians, who of course saw themselves as the 'friends' of those they had annexed into the Soviet Union, encouraged these feelings probably to distract from their own failures and abuses). Sienkiewicz was never subtle in his glorifying of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but again he did it better in Potop since the Swedes naturally made more nondescript villains (a very desirable attribute in historical films). Another quibble is that, despite the lush cinematography, there is often a blurred distortion of the image around the edges, something I can only attribute to flawed filming tools.

Overall, Krzyzacy is probably worth a watch for those interested in either medieval European history, or the cultural effects of Soviet control. It is difficult to get on DVD but, as of 2022, can be viewed on YouTube for free without ads.

The best historical movie ever set in Middle Ages. After 40 years it is still unbeatable. There is no single minute without action and no chance of getting bored. The film, based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz, was seen by over 30 million Poles and is a must for historical movie fan. Many scenes hit a viewer with power and skill but nothing beats the battle of Grunwald sequence, which lasts almost 20 minutes. Every Hollywood film lacks such sequence. No detail is bit of absurd as it sometimes happens in American movies. Actors are at their peak, especially Andrzej Szalawski(Jurand) who plays his best role. Absolutely worth of seeing.

It's a well-made film but you have to consider the political circumstances: Polish party-leader Wladyslaw Gomulka needed another symbol of convincing his nation that the Germans were and are the biggest enemies in the world...

The movie is based on a Sienkiewicz's novel written in 1910 (500th anniversary of Tannenberg battle) and during the time of top German power in Europe. The content describes the life of medieval Polish gentry on the background of historical events (conflicts between the German Teutonic Orden and Kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania). Shows, how crude and cruel the life was that time. The movie has been made about 1960 on order of communist and para-nationalist propaganda to illustrate the role of alliance between Poles and "eastern nations" in stopping the German expansionism (a cold war ran that time, Poland had no diplomatic links with FR of Germany, which was putting Poland's western borders into questioning). The final Tannenberg battle scene is probably the best one battle movie in the history of cinematography. However, some propaganda accents have been put, i.e. German knights shooting "Heil!" at the beginning of the battle. The main tune of the film is to present Poles as a fit and sound nation.

I made myself some dinner and decided to sit down and watch something subtitled since Dad was out of the house. I pulled Knights of the Teutonic and sat down to watch a three hour knights in armor epic from Poland. Almost instantly I almost choked to death on my food...where is MST3K when you need them? I was awe struck and giggling from the get go. This tale of the Teutonic knights battling with a Lord who didn't like the idea of bowing down to them is the sort of thing that would have been badly dubbed into English and run at 3am on the late show. What is this? The editing is disjointed, the plot jumps around and while there is a very real sense of seriousness it plays almost like a kids film. Classic of Polish cinema? oh please no. Who are these people and what are they doing? I don't know. To be certain it all looks spectacular but after 45 minutes I really didn't know what was going on. Actually I had the feeling I was watching the cliff notes version.Two more hours of this? I think not. I turned it off. I'll try it again down the road but unless I can find something that makes the movie click I think my second attempt is going to be much like this first one- short and sweet.

I have seen this movie many years ago. This movie to my knowledge is one of the best Knights movies that ever been made. The plot is fantastic and the ending is a very sad one. This movie shows to what extreme some people would go to avenge even if they are in the wrong. A great movie and not enough acclaimed to my satisfaction.

This is movie made in 1960. It features REAL extras numbering at least 35 000 people. How many American movies have that many extras to start with??? 2 people DIED in making of this movie, because the battle is so realistic. It has excellent plot, begging for a remake by Spielberg, Soderberg or Petersen! Or Mel Gibson :)

It's based on a novel by NOBEL prize winning writer Sienkiewicz. He is only matched by Robert Graves of "I, Claudius". The costumes are realistic. The locations are accurate. This was about one of 10 battles defining the destiny of the world, yet because, it's in Eastern Europe it's downplayed by the West, which is arrogant and proud of its ignorance, lol. As if it was something to brag about ;)

This movie has the best battallistic scenes which concept was used in other Hollywood productions. Great performance of Leon Niemczyk and Aleksander Fogiel.

Perfectly based on novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. This movie used 300 horses from Mosfilm, Moscow, for battallistic scenes.

I didn't like this film at all. It's way too long and has nothing interesting to say other than Germans bad, Poland good, but it does it over 2 hours 46 minutes.

I doubt many people would sympathize with the Teutonic Order to begin with - if some action film presented someone dressed as a Teutonic knight, viewers would say it's cheesy and over-the-top. This movie doesn't take chances and makes sure that you know who the good ones are and who the baddies are.

There is no subtlety whatsoever. It's good-vs-evil. There are no doubts. Everyone has their team and a job to do. No ulterior motives, no double-agents, no deep game, no sacrifice a battle to win the war. It's just black and white.

There are the goofs that others mentioned (the watch, the cars), but I didn't care for those either way. The film is boring. The music is boring. The dialogues are really poor.

The acting is theatrical.

It looks like a color version of Alexander Nevsky (1939) with a bigger budget but not with more experience. It doesn't add anything new, doesn't advance cinema, doesn't bring anything new to the table. It is propaganda (just like Alexander Nevsky) but at a time when it wasn't really necessary. What was the point in telling people that Germany was bad in 1960? Propaganda doesn't age well in either case.

The final scene is epic and amazing on its own. It must be watched, just for that. It's a shame that it's wasted on this film that has nothing interesting to say.

This history film is about the events before the famous Grunwald battle between Teutonic knights and the joint Polish-Lithuanian forces. It depicts Polish sufferings under the grasp of the greedy Order. I think this is a very weak film even by the standards of the 60-s which produced lots of poor historical films. But for a modern viewer it becomes practically unwatchable. The story line is quite simple and predictable, the characters are depicted in a primitive black and white fashion. The script leaves no places for acting and psychological development of the characters. The costumes are very rudimentary as well, all identical and as if cut from paper. Finally the history is altered and dumbed down to become a boring patriotic poster.

Greatest Polish big budget film for me. Far, far better than today's huge budget craps that are released on DVD market, craps most of them from Eastern Europe, where CGI is galore. This sixties movie amazed me, even dubbed in French. A pure masterpiece, which has nothing to envy to Hollywood material. Excellent camera work, jawdropping cast and acting. Such movies are so rare to find, especially from Eastern Europe. If you crave for Medieval films, with plenty of extras, battles, gruesome and awesome battles, pulled by outstanding production design, this film is definitely for you. I don't know the other movies from this director, political oriented, but if I have the opportunity to watch them, I won't miss.

The story is part of Polish history, but the plot consists largely of superfluous chatter with very little action.