Knife in the Water

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Knife in the Water

1962

1h 34m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

97%

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34 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) nearly run over a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz). Inviting the young man onto the boat with them, Andrzej begins to subtly torment him; the hitchhiker responds by making overtures toward Krystyna. When the hitchhiker is accidentally knocked overboard, the husband's panic results in unexpected consequences. This was the first feature directed by Roman Polanski.

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Variety Staff

Variety

03/26/2009

Middle-aged cocksureness, arrogance and incomprehension versus teenage revolt, with a young woman as a sort of arbiter, is the theme of this lively and inventive little pic.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

06/24/2006

Polanski's first feature, a model of economic, imaginative film-making which, in many ways, he has hardly improved upon since.

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Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

04/01/2006

4/5

Polanski arrived on the scene with an almost super-human knack for tension; one of the great directorial debuts in cinema's history.

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

Nov 11

4/5

The cast is superb, with the non-professional Zygmunt Malanowicz judging his swaggering, youthful brio to perfection.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

04/27/2022

6/10

Polanski presents, in the key of grounded suspense, an observation on the struggle of social classes, but navigates irregular tides where the tension comes and goes with the breeze. Full review in Spanish

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

03/20/2022

4/4

Polanski's first great film of many.

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Ben B.

@suikofreak412 Jun 20

This movie sucks. I don't understand the praise.

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thiago s

@Thiagostone 05/05/2025

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, os personagens sao fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes para fazer o filme ser bom.

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Hector I

@Hector1184BC 01/11/2025

Having not yet seen the beginnings of Polanski's work, I threw myself into his early films. We follow the story of a Polish apparatchik couple who go sailing in the WE and meet a young man. They decide to take him with them. But the differences between the two worlds are strong, and this is going to cause a lot of tension. First of all, I noticed the American tropism of this film: jazz is quite present, and the restful scenes are sometimes reminiscent of a Hooper painting. This is undoubtedly a film about jealousy, as the husband seems sure to master this ebullient young man. You never know whether he's really dangerous or just feisty! Polanski plays with our bearings throughout the film, danger, the times, jealousy, calm, even dangerous situations are treated lightly[spoiler](when the young man finds himself alone on the boat not knowing how to control him)[/spoiler]. I find this film formally very beautiful, like a weekend dream in Life magazine from the '30s. A must-see!

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 08/01/2024

Not much happens as per art house norm. However, the dynamic between the three leads is enough to carry the psychological plot along whilst keeping your interest. Bought it for a bit more than usual on DVD as it was in Empire top 100 overseas films and I’ve only a few left unseen.

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G B

@RT79070119 09/30/2023

I haven't seen any other movie with only three actors and probably extremely low budget that was this great. A simple story and such great execution. It shows how much humanity lost by moving the entire film industry to Hollywood, sacrificing everything for money.

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CodyZamboni Z

@CodyZamboni 06/04/2023

Movie is not what I expected, Stunning photography for a early 60s movie, A relationship drama that hits more than it misses.

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Roman Polanski

Director

Leon Niemczyk

Andrzej

Jolanta Umecka

Krystyna

Zygmunt Malanowicz

Young Boy

Roman Polanski

Writer

Jakub Goldberg

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Synopsis

On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) nearly run over a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz). Inviting the young man onto the boat with them, Andrzej begins to subtly torment him; the hitchhiker responds by making overtures toward Krystyna. When the hitchhiker is accidentally knocked overboard, the husband's panic results in unexpected consequences. This was the first feature directed by Roman Polanski.

Director: Roman Polanski
Producer: Nick Kendall
Screenwriter: Roman Polanski, Jakub Goldberg, Jerzy Skolimowski
Distributor: Fox, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Zespół Filmowy "Kamera" [pl]
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Polish
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 21, 2009
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)