How I Unleashed World War II
{{Short description|1970 film by Tadeusz Chmielewski}}
{{No plot|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = How I Unleashed World War II
| image = How_I_Unleashed_World_War_II_dvd.jpg
| caption = Polish DVD cover
| director = Tadeusz Chmielewski
| producer = Ludgierd Romanis
| screenplay = Tadeusz Chmielewski
| based_on = The Adventures of Dolas the Cannoneer
by Kazimierz Sławiński
| starring = Marian Kociniak
| music = Jerzy Matuszkiewicz
| cinematography = Jerzy Stawicki
| editing = Janina Niedźwiecka
| studio = Zespoły Filmowe
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1970|04|02|df=yes}}
| runtime = 224 minutes
| country = Poland
| language = Polish
German
Serbo-Croat
Greek
English
French
Italian
Russian
| budget =
}}
File:Przybliżona trasa Franciszka Dolasa w serialu Jak rozpętałem II wojnę światową.png
How I Unleashed World War II ({{langx|pl|Jak rozpętałem drugą wojnę światową}}) is a 1970 Polish comedy film directed by Tadeusz Chmielewski and based on Kazimierz Sławiński's novel "Przygody kanoniera Dolasa" (The Adventures of Dolas the Cannoneer). It was shot in Sochi, Baku, Poświętne and Łódź, among other places.
Synopsis
The film was divided into three parts:
- Część I: Ucieczka (Part I: The Escape)
- Część II: Za bronią (Part II: Following the Arms)
- Część III: Wśród swoich (Part III: Among Friends)
Originally filmed in black and white, it was digitally colorized in 2001 by the Hollywood company Dynacs Digital Studios, as requested by the Studio Filmowe "Oko" and TV Polsat.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-02 |title=2 kwietnia 1970 roku miała miejsce premiera filmu "Jak rozpętałem drugą wojnę światową" » Historykon.pl |url=https://historykon.pl/2-kwietnia-1970-roku-miala-miejsce-premiera-filmu-jak-rozpetalem-druga-wojne-swiatowa/ |access-date=2022-11-17 |website=Historykon.pl |language=pl-PL}}
The film tells the story of a Polish soldier Franciszek (Franek) Dolas, who—as a result of comical coincidences—is convinced that he started the Second World War. Trying to redeem himself at all costs, he constantly gets into new trouble. In doing so, he finds himself on different war fronts (Yugoslavia, Mediterranean Sea, Middle East, Italy) and eventually returns to Poland.
In a particularly famous scene, Dolas is questioned by a German-speaking Gestapo officer in Austria and answers that his name is "Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz"; the officer gets increasingly frustrated trying to write the fictitious Polish name.{{cite web
|url=https://culture.pl/en/article/the-9-most-unpronounceable-words-in-polish
|last=Gliński|first=Mikołaj
|date=29 July 2016
|title=The 9 Most Unpronounceable Words in Polish
|website=Culture.pl
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820051106/https://culture.pl/en/article/the-9-most-unpronounceable-words-in-polish|archivedate=20 August 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news
|url=https://dziennikpolski24.pl/zmarl-niezapomniany-franek-dolas/ar/9753832
|last1=Gazur|first1=Łukasz|last2=Strzyga|first2=Lucjan
|date=18 March 2016
|title=Zmarł niezapomniany Franek Dolas
|trans-title=The unforgettable Franek Dolas has died
|language=pl
|work=Dziennik Polski
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822140820/https://dziennikpolski24.pl/zmarl-niezapomniany-franek-dolas/ar/9753832|archivedate=22 August 2020|url-status=live}}
Cast
{{Cast listing|
- Marian Kociniak – Franek Dolas
- Wirgiliusz Gryń – Józek Kryska
- Leonard Pietraszak – airman in stalag
- Stanisław Milski – German general
- Kazimierz Talarczyk – Woydyłło
- Jerzy Block – stationmaster
- Andrzej Gawroński – Helmut, Gestapo man
- Emil Karewicz – Gestapo officer
- Henryk Łapiński – Władzio Wachocki
- Andrzej Herder – Hans, Gestapo man
- Leon Pietraszkiewicz – Herbert Gulke
- Jerzy Rogalski – Jędrzej Grzyb, peasant
- Mirosław Szonert – gendarme
- Mieczysław Stoor – Gestapo man
- Jarosław Skulski – colonel in the Polish embassy in Belgrad
- Tomasz Zaliwski – Yugoslav officer
- Elżbieta Starostecka – singer in the inn
- Jerzy Moes – lieutenant Regulski
- Andrzej Krasicki – French ship's captain
- Wojciech Zagórski – the Turk enrolling on the German ship
- Janina Borońska – Elżbieta
- Ludwik Benoit – innkeeper
- Janusz Kłosiński – innkeeper
- Jan Paweł Kruk – sailor
- Zdzisław Kuźniar – Dino Stojadinović (Yugoslav ship's captain)
- Józef Łodyński – stoker on the Yugoslav ship
- Krystyna Borowicz – the brothel owner
- Piotr Fronczewski – Italian soldier
- Wacław Kowalski – Kiedros, sergeant in French Foreign Legion
- Jan Świderski – Letoux, captain in Foreign Legion
- Leonard Andrzejewski – soldier in Foreign Legion
- Kazimierz Rudzki – captain Ralf Peacoock
- Lech Ordon – sergeant Hopkins
- Zdzisław Maklakiewicz – Italian soldier
- Jerzy Duszyński – Italian soldier
- Marian Rułka – British soldier
- Joanna Jędryka – Teresa
- Małgorzata Pritulak – Mirella
- Kazimierz Fabisiak – father Dominik, prior in a monastery
- Konrad Morawski – Matula
- Zygmunt Zintel – father Sebastian
- Halina Buyno-Łoza – Jóźwiakowa
- Stanisław Gronkowski – partisan "Wilk" (Wolf)
- Aleksander Fogiel – Jóźwiak
- Eugeniusz Kamiński – Gestapo man
- Ludwik Kasendra – brother Florian
}}
References
External links
- {{IMDb title|0065908}}
Category:1970s Polish-language films
Category:Polish World War II films
Category:Polish black-and-white films
Category:Films about Polish resistance during World War II
Category:Films based on Polish novels
Category:Films shot in Georgia (country)
Category:Military of Poland in films
Category:Films set in the Alps
Category:Films set in Yugoslavia
Category:Films set in Belgrade
Category:Films set in Dubrovnik
Category:Films about Fascist Italy
Category:Films about the French Foreign Legion
Category:Films about prison escapes