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Movies / On DVD / Knife in the Water
Knife in the Water

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Knife in the Water (1963)

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Reviews Counted:27

Fresh:27

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: Roman Polanski's first feature-length film is a suspenseful three-person chamber drama reminiscent of the work of Ingmar Bergman. KNIFE IN THE WATER was filmed in the director's native Poland and... Roman Polanski's first feature-length film is a suspenseful three-person chamber drama reminiscent of the work of Ingmar Bergman. KNIFE IN THE WATER was filmed in the director's native Poland and financed through government subsidies. Although denounced by local authorities as devoid of any significant social or political content, the film caused a minor sensation in the West, was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Film, and even made the cover of Time magazine. The action takes place almost entirely within the confined setting of a sailboat owned by a wealthy journalist (Leon Niemczyk) and his much younger wife (Jolanta Umecka). On their way to the lake for a weekend of sailing, they are accosted by a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz) who jumps in front of their car, forcing them to stop. Annoyed by the youth's daredevil posturing, the journalist nevertheless decides to invite him to join the couple on their boat, initiating a series of playfully competitive games between the two men. Playfulness soon gives way to hostility, however, as each tries to outshine and humiliate the other in front of the woman, who appears to be taking a more than casual interest in her husband's young rival. [More]

Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz

Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz

Director: Roman Polanski

Director: Roman Polanski
Screenwriter: Jerzy Skolimowski, Roman Polanski, Jakub Goldberg
Producer: Stanislaw Zylewicz
Composer: Krzysztof Komeda

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 9, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • A husband, a wife, a stranger, a knife: Roman Polanski sets them all adrift on a weekend filled with simmering resentments and gut-churning suspense in his seminal psychological thriller, still one of the greatest feature debuts in film history. With Knife in the Water, Polanski revealed his delight in exploring sexual and class boundaries with ruthless precision.
  • Source: Image Entertainment Inc.
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    Reviews for Knife in the Water

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Circles and triangles govern Polanski's great, brackish anecdote about the instability of human interaction

    Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
    09/25/09
    Fernando F. Croce
    Fernando F. Croce
    CinePassion

    Attests to the idea that Polanski was from the very onset, a filmmaker with a singular and disturbing vision. His is clearly a cinema of obsession.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
    08/19/09
    Ken Hanke
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

    ...a dazzling black-and-white chamber piece

    Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
    05/01/09
    Philip Martin
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    03/26/09
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Knife In The Water is a claustrophobic, slow-burning expose of jealousy, spite and eroticism.

    Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
    12/14/07
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile Critics
    Urban Cinefile

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    02/18/07
    Jake Euker
    Jake Euker
    F5 (Wichita, KS)

    'Knife in the Water,' Roman Polanki's first feature, strips bare the nature of human dealings and the will to dominate.

    Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    09/23/06
    Donald J. Levit
    Donald J. Levit
    ReelTalk Movie Reviews

    The acting, music and camerawork all weave together to create an unexpectedly magical, brilliantly crafted, intensely sensuous experience

    Full Review Source: Perihelion Journal | comment Comment
    08/27/06
    Jay Antani
    Jay Antani
    Perihelion Journal
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Geoff Andrew
    Geoff Andrew
    Time Out

    One of the greatest of all feature debuts.

    Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
    05/26/06
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Jeffrey M. Anderson
    Combustible Celluloid

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    04/01/06
    Empire Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Polanski at his uniquest

    comment Comment
    02/07/06
    Clint Morris
    Clint Morris
    Film Threat

    [The movie suggests that a] young man will either become like his corrupt elders, and presumably get a trophy woman of his own, or drown.... To Polanski, surviving in such a society, in such a world, is not the same as winning.

    Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
    12/26/05
    Alan Dale
    Alan Dale
    Blogcritics.org

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/19/05
    Emanuel Levy
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com

    An intriguing Polish import that launched Polanski's career.

    comment Comment
    04/30/05
    Dan Lybarger
    Dan Lybarger
    Nitrate Online

    Builds up a sexual, generational, and violent tension in a straightforward manner, with hardly any dramatic contrivances.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    03/13/05
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    05/28/04
    Matt Bailey
    Matt Bailey
    Not Coming to a Theater Near You

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    05/17/04
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    04/16/04
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Worcester Telegram & Gazette

    When it comes to depicting people at their worst, Polanski is relatively restrained in his first outing, perhaps because of the sobering influence of Poland's Ministry of Culture.

    Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
    04/09/04
    Jason Anderson
    Jason Anderson
    eye WEEKLY
     
     
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