{"id":31826,"date":"2025-08-19T00:50:43","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T07:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31826"},"modified":"2025-08-19T00:50:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T07:50:43","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-through-and-through-1973","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31826","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: THROUGH AND THROUGH (1973)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films will\nbe available for purchase on August 19th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve seen my fair share of Polish films, and one thing I can\nsay about many is that they\u2019re grim affairs. Yes, there are exceptions, like\nthe movies of Juliusz Machulski (and if anyone out there wants to release\nBlu-rays of Kingsajz <\/em>aka King Size<\/em>, or Kiler<\/em>, it would be\nmost appreciated). But plenty of these features are rough and unforgiving\nrides. Through and Through<\/em> aka Na Wylot<\/em>, definitely fits this\nmold. It\u2019s a gorgeously shot journey into despair and misery. Yet the movie\nlooks so incredible that it\u2019s worth the gloomy state that it may leave many in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radiance Films is now presenting a \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray\nof the film. Cinematographer Bogdan Dziworski has supervised the film\u2019s new 2K\nrestoration, presenting the black and white imagery with inky backgrounds and\nincredible clarity. The movie looks stunning on this disc, as do the three\nbonus shorts from the director that are included on the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janusz Malisz (Franciszek Trzeciak) and Maria (Anna Nieborowska) are a married couple struggling to survive in Krakow. Janusz is an artist who can\u2019t hold a job. We see him being fired from a photo studio for his appearance, and is even told that he is talentless after interviewing at an architecture firm. His family not only insults him for his inability to find a steady position, but treats wife Maria with equal disdain. After taking on various jobs to make ends meet, we eventually see them lose all hope. Eventually, they slide into criminal activities, ending up even more out of their depth, and committing murder. The two enjoy one day of living in luxury before being tracked down and put on trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Events are presented in a unique manner. There is something\nof a naturalistic, documentary feel to the proceedings, though the material is\nfrequently presented using montage techniques. As mentioned, the photography is\nparticularly striking. One example includes a scene in which Janusz tries out a\njob as a church bell ringer. The camera moves with the bell as it is pulled up\nand down, while another angle shows the lead being thrown violently and\nrepeatedly into the air, tearing the arms off of his suit. All the while, of\ncourse, the priest on site shares his disapproval at the job being done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a dark static shot of Janusz sitting\ndejectedly at a park bench, grasping and strangling a bird. He offers the\ndeceased fowl to a less-than-impressed Maria, who offers little in the way of\nthanks or general encouragement. Additionally, the attack on the old couple is\nbrutal and presented as a messy struggle, with the camera jerking around as the\ncouple awkwardly attempt to strangle and shake the life out of their victims.\nThe shadows are pitch black and there is a consistently oppressive feel to the\nstory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the trial is something of an examination of the main\ncharacters (and, perhaps, the system they live under), as they are forced to\nexplain why they did what they did before a judge. Remarkably, they both end up\nsticking up for each other, arguing that each was solely responsible for the\nacts. By the end of the self-reflection, it\u2019s pretty clear that they both want\nto be given the death penalty and escape their existences. But for one of the\nparties, even that kind of relief will not be granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Very little about the picture is positive. There is a brief\nappearance by legendary actor Jerzy Stuhr (Wodzirej, Sexmission, Blind\nChance, King Size, Three Colors: White, Kiler<\/em>). At least he is energetic,\nif also blunt and brutal in his delivery, livening up another dark sequence in\nthe film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While it\u2019s one of the darkest stories to ever be presented\nthat says plenty about the hardships of life in the country at the time, the\nwonderful cinematography, creative camera set-ups and surreal tone does allow\nfor a little bit of emotional distance as one is watching all of the horrible\nevents unfold. This reviewer was strangely captivated and was impressed with\nthe feature. If you appreciate gloomy and depressing fare (and I suppose I do),\nthis is an excellent disc and, thanks to the excellent transfer, the movie\nlooks about as memorably bleak and unforgiving as it possibly can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t a long movie (it runs about 75 minutes), but\nyou\u2019ll also get some great extras, including an essential discussion of the\nfilm and its director, Grzegorz Kr\u00f3likiewicz, from critic Micha\u0142 Oleszczyk.\nI\u2019ll admit that everything I wrote about it above was based on first\nimpressions. The speaker notes that the film is a forgotten gem deserving of\nrediscovery. This tale is actually based on a true story that captivated the\nnation and that it occurred during a period of severe depression in the country.\nAfter their arrest, the public were stunned that the couple wouldn\u2019t turn on\neach other during the trial and admired their openness and support of each\nother. The critic also goes into the filmmaker, his unique, impressionistic\nstyle and how he developed cinematic language to new heights with his\nexperimental editing and sound techniques. He discusses how the director\u2019s\nworks were treated by both film reviewers and the public during the movie\u2019s\ninitial release (as well as how the government reacted to some of his projects).\nAs you might guess, reaction was extreme from all who saw it. This is an\namazingly enlightening talk that fills in gaps most viewers will have regarding\nthis artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are three additional shorts from the director that\ntotal over 30 minutes. The first, Everyone Gets What They Don\u2019t Need<\/em>\n(1966), aka Kazdemu to, Czego mu Wcale Nie Trzeba<\/em>, involves a news crew\ninvestigating the suspicious death of a swimmer. They eventually lose focus on\nwhat they\u2019re covering, as the picture asks questions about how these types of\nsituations are covered by the press, and the distance they can create towards\nthose affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brothers <\/em>(1971) aka Bracia<\/em> follows two gymnast\nsiblings competing for medal glory, and Don\u2019t Cry<\/em> (1972) aka Nie\nPlacz<\/em> follows a group of young Polish citizens celebrating\/saying their\nfinal goodbyes before hopping on a train to serve in the military. Again,\nthere\u2019s a subtle political message in all of the shorts about how citizens are\nbeing treated. As with the feature, they are beautifully shot, with the third\nshort looking particularly striking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition, there is a new interview with a film critic who\ndiscusses the film. He talks for nearly 40-minutes and gives incredible\nbackground on the title. makes plenty of interesting points, alluding to the<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disc is presented in a reversible sleeve featuring new\nand original artwork for the picture. A booklet also contains new writing on\nthe movie. And if you\u2019re interested, be sure to hurry, as only 3000 copies of\nthe Blu-ray will be made available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is a bleak, bleak movie, but one that is staggeringly\nbeautiful to look at. The director of photography has supervised the film\u2019s\ntransfer to Blu-ray, meaning that it looks perfect, and the rare short films\nand other extras give some insight into the production and work of the\nfilmmaker. Through and Through<\/em> is another great release from Radiance\nFilms that, for Polish feature enthusiasts and those with a predisposition for\nheavy material, will certainly appreciate. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films will be available for purchase on August 19th. I\u2019ve seen my fair share of Polish films, and one thing I can say about many is that they\u2019re grim affairs. Yes, there are exceptions, like the movies of Juliusz Machulski (and if anyone out there wants to release Blu-rays […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[104,1496,4910,6251,7820,8693,14535,16222,16584,22827,23314],"class_list":["post-31826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-104","tag-anna-nieborowska","tag-crime","tag-drama","tag-franciszek-trzeciak","tag-grzegorz-krolikiewicz","tag-na-wylot","tag-polish","tag-radiance-films","tag-through-and-through","tag-true-crime"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31826\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}