Lech Majewski

Lech Majewski was born in Katowice, Poland. He initially studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts but later transitioned to film studies at the prestigious Łódź Film School in 1973. During his time as a student, he directed the documentary Grand Hotel (1975), which won the Grand Prix at the International Film Schools Festival.

Majewski’s early works in Poland include the feature films Annunciation (1978) and The Knight (1980). The Knight was praised by The New York Times for its austere and visually arresting style, with critic Janet Maslin describing it as "a haunting, austere parable." In 1982, Majewski staged Homer’s Odyssey on a barge along the River Thames in London, receiving acclaim from The Times as "potent theater."

After relocating to the United States in 1983, Majewski adapted his Polish novel Kasztanaja into his U.S. directorial debut, Flight of the Spruce Goose (1985), which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. He became a member of the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America that same year.

In 1986, Majewski collaborated with Ronald Biggs, the infamous fugitive from the Great Train Robbery, to develop the screenplay for Prisoner of Rio (1989), filmed at Pinewood Studios and released by Columbia Pictures-TriStar. The film featured Hans Zimmer's debut as a composer.

In 1992, Majewski directed Gospel According to Harry, which starred Viggo Mortensen and was described by Toronto International Film Festival director Piers Handling as "a visionary film poem." His foray into opera began with the staging of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Ubu Rex (1993), winning multiple awards including the Golden Mask and Golden Orpheus.

He has written the story and co-produced Julian Schnabel’s Basquiat (1995), which was honored at the Venice Film Festival and featured performances by Jeffrey Wright, Willem Dafoe, and David Bowie.

Majewski’s works often blend cinematic, operatic, and visual elements. His autobiographical opera The Roe’s Room (1997) won acclaim for its innovative storytelling and visuals. The film adaptation was praised by Time Out London as "limpidly beautiful" and by The Washington Post as possessing "ravaging intensity."

His experimental film Wojaczek (1999) {{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |date=2001-03-31 |title=FILM FESTIVAL REVIEWS; A Poet Whose Death Wish Eventually Comes True |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/31/movies/film-festival-reviews-a-poet-whose-death-wish-eventually-comes-true.html?searchResultPosition= |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} received over 20 international awards and was hailed by The New York Times as a "virtuoso achievement." In 2000, Majewski released Angelus,{{Cite web |last=Koehler |first=Robert |date=2002-02-25 |title=Angelus |url=https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/angelus-1200551162/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Pendleton |first=Reece |date=2007-09-14 |title=Angelus |url=https://chicagoreader.com/film-tv/angelus/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}} a film blending mysticism and history, which won the Fellini Award.

Majewski’s works have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Louvre, and the Venice Biennale. In 2006, MoMA hosted a major retrospective titled Lech Majewski: Conjuring the Moving Image, curated by Laurence Kardish.

His video art series Blood of a Poet premiered at MoMA in 2006 and became part of the 52nd Venice Biennale. The work was later reassembled into the film Glass Lips (2007),{{Cite web |last=Musetto |first=V. A. |date=2007-11-09 |title=IT'S QUITE A MOUTHFUL |url=https://nypost.com/2007/11/09/its-quite-a-mouthful/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Musetto |first=V. A. |date=2007-12-30 |title=AND THE BEST FILMS OF 2007 ARE . . . |url=https://nypost.com/2007/12/30/and-the-best-films-of-2007-are/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |language=en-US}} praised by The New York Times for its "hypnotic expressiveness."{{Cite news |last=Catsoulis |first=Jeannette |date=2007-11-07 |title=Telling a Tale of Torment, Wordlessly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/07/movies/07bloo.html |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

Majewski’s 2011 film The Mill and the Cross,{{Cite web |last=Musetto |first=V. A. |date=2011-09-14 |title=Artful film should 'Cross' your mind |url=https://nypost.com/2011/09/14/artful-film-should-cross-your-mind/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Neil |date=2011-02-09 |title=The Mill & the Cross: Berlin Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mill-cross-berlin-review-97627/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} starring Rutger Hauer, Charlotte Rampling, and Michael York, was based on Pieter Bruegel’s painting The Way to Calvary and received critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival. Roger Ebert described it as a "film of great beauty and attention before which words fall silent."{{Cite web |title=A film before which words fall silent movie review (2011) {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-mill-and-the-cross-2011 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=www.rogerebert.com |language=en-US}}

His subsequent works include Onirica / Field of Dogs {{Cite web |author=T. H. R. Staff |date=2014-03-27 |title=Field of Dogs: Filmart Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/field-dogs-filmart-review-691633/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}} (2014), a contemporary adaptation of Dante’s Divine Comedy, and Valley of the Gods (2019),{{Cite web |last=Caranicas |first=Peter |date=2019-09-05 |title=Lech Majewski to Receive Camerimage Directing Award |url=https://variety.com/2019/artisans/markets-festivals/josh-hartnett-john-malkovich-director-and-writer-lech-majewski-to-receive-camerimage-directing-award-1203325374/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Valley of the Gods movie review (2020) {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/valley-of-the-gods-movie-review-2020 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=www.rogerebert.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=2016-03-25 |title=Berenice Marlohe, Keir Dullea Join 'Valley of the Gods' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/berenice-marlohe-keir-dullea-valley-of-the-gods-1201739004/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} featuring John Malkovich and Josh Hartnett. The latter was noted for its "grand visual sweep" by critic Peter Sobczynski.

In addition to filmmaking, Majewski has written multiple novels, essays, and librettos. Between 2015 and 2020, a 15-volume edition of his writings was published by Rebis and the National Center for Culture Poland.

Majewski’s distinctive approach to storytelling, blending philosophy, visual poetry, and historical references, has earned him a unique place in contemporary art and cinema. His contributions to film, theater, and visual art continue to be celebrated globally through retrospectives and academic studies.

• The Annunciation (Zwiastowanie) (1978) writer/director
• The Knight (Rycerz) (1980) writer/director
• The Flight of the Spruce Goose (Lot Świerkowej Gęsi) (1986) writer/director/producer
• Prisoner of Rio (Więzień Rio) (1988), produced between England and Brazil, a fictionalized story of Ronnie Biggs, mastermind of The Great Train Robbery of 1963 writer/director/producer
• The Gospel According to Harry (Ewangelia według Harry'ego) (1992) writer/director/producer
• Basquiat (developed project, eventually credited as co-writer and co-producer) (1996) writer/producer
• The Roe's Room (Pokój Saren) (1998) writer/director/producer/composer/set designer
• Accident (Wypadek) (1998) writer/director/producer
• Wojaczek (aka Life Hurts) (1999) writer/director/editor
• Angelus (2001) writer/director/set designer/composer/editor
• The Garden of Earthly Delights (2004) writer/director/producer/composer
• Glass Lips (2007) (feature film version of the Blood of a Poet installation (2006)) writer/director/producer/cinematographer/ editor/composer
• The Mill and the Cross (2011) writer/director/producer/cinematographer/set designer/editor/composer
• Field of Dogs / Onirica (2014) writer/director/producer/cinematographer/set designer/editor/composer
• Valley of the Gods (2019){{cite news|url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/majewskis-latest-film-the-valley-of-the-gods-and-its-all-star-cast-to-premiere-at-gdynia-film-festival-7668 |title=Majewski's latest film The Valley of the Gods and its all-star cast to premiere at Gdynia film festival |access-date=2019-09-18}} writer/director/producer/cinematographer/set designer/editor/composer
• Brigitte Bardot Forever (Brigitte Bardot cudowna) (2021){{Cite web |last=Calnan2022-05-17T15:42:00+01:00 |first=Ellie |title=Phoenix Worldwide boards Lech Majewski's 'Brigitte Bardot Forever' |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/phoenix-worldwide-boards-lech-majewskis-brigitte-bardot-forever/5170683.article |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Screen |language=en}} writer/director/producer/cinematographer/set designer/editor/composer

• Ubu Rex (1995)  director
• Carmen (1995)  director/producer
• Pokój Saren (1996)  composer/librettist/director/producer/set designer/choreographer
• Carmen (2002)  director/producer
• Harnasie / King Roger (2008) director/set designer

• [http://www.lechmajewski.com/ Personal home page]
• {{IMDb name|id=0538107|name=Lech Majewski}}
• [http://www.lechmajewski.com/assets/images/portrait01_d.jpg Photograph]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070323171930/http://gfx.filmweb.pl/p/343/po.57133.jpg another photograph]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927231011/http://www.zak-gallery.com/files/file_16_artist_file_en.pdf biography]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927064825/http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/Jan_Feb_07/majewski.htm Lech Majewski: Conjuring the Moving Image] (Vancouver)
• [http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2006/LechMajewski.html Lech Majewski: Conjuring the Moving Image] (New York)
• [http://www.internationalfilmcircuit.com/majewski/index.html International Film Circuit, inc.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100311180517/http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/2007-1/issue5/ar-majewski.html Film Series: Cigarettes and cinema]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070121012049/http://www.zak-gallery.com/exhibitions.php?section=current ŻAK Gallery - Blood of a Poet installation]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061017172353/http://www.mcnblogs.com/reeler/archives/2006/05/moma_retrospective_celebrates_nyc_transplant_majewski.html The Reeler May 4 2006]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130501103906/http://lechmajewski.art.pl/ Personal Polish Home Page]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131102234124/http://www.culture.pl/web/english/resources-film-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/lech-j-majewski culture.pl]
• [http://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php/115648 filmpolski.pl]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/19980613232039/http://www.gapp.pl/sol/lechmaj/ Lech Majewski personal site]
• [http://www.epoznan.pl/index.php?section=kultura&subsection=wydarzenie&id=8077 epoznan.pl]

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Category:Living people

Category:1953 births

Category:People from Katowice

Category:Polish film directors

Category:Polish cinematographers

Category:Polish screenwriters

Category:Polish film producers

Category:Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw alumni