''The Codes'' is the English title for ''Szyfry'', a Polish

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

released in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, directed by

Wojciech Has Wojciech Jerzy Has (1 April 1925, Kraków – 3 October 2000, Łódź) was a Polish film director, screenwriter and film producer. Early life and studies Wojciech Jerzy Has was born in Kraków. Has himself was agnostic. However, his family ...

Plot

Tadeusz (

Jan Kreczmar Jan Kreczmar (6 May 1908 in Warsaw - 29 August 1972 in Warsaw) was a Polish theatre and film actor.Jan Kreczmar
at ...

) is a Polish veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

who fled to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

at the end of the war, leaving behind his wife Zofia (

Irena Eichlerówna Irena Eichlerówna (19 April 1908 – 12 September 1990) was a Polish actress. She was considered to be "Poland's Eleonora Duse". Filmography Film * 1933 - '' Wyrok życia'' * 1936 - '' Róża'' * 1938 - '' Krwawa rosa'' * 1948 - '' Ś ...

) and two sons, Maciek (

Zbigniew Cybulski Zbigniew Hubert Cybulski (; 3 November 1927 – 8 January 1967) was a Polish people, Polish actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland. Life Zbigniew Cybulski was born 3 November 192 ...

Directory of World Cinema, Volume 8 edited by Adam Bingham, v. 8 p. 15) and Jedrek, who disappeared when he was 17 years old. Tadeusz returns to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

to discover if Jedrek may be alive. His wife and son Maciek were members of resistance – was it possible that the second son may have been the traitor? During Maciek's struggle to explain to his father their history during

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

, questions arise concerning collaboration with the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

and retribution by the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

. Has pictures the mystical lost boy in a dark fairy-tale forest, full of the war's ghosts and wholesale executions. The hypnotic quality of these excursions foreshadows the mesmerizing passages of Has' later film, ''

The Hour-Glass Sanatorium ''The Hourglass Sanatorium'' ( pl, Sanatorium pod klepsydrą) is a 1973 Polish surrealist film directed by Wojciech Jerzy Has, starring Jan Nowicki, Tadeusz Kondrat, Mieczysław Voit, Halina Kowalska and Gustaw Holoubek. It is also known as ''The ...

''.

Cast

Jan Kreczmar Jan Kreczmar (6 May 1908 in Warsaw - 29 August 1972 in Warsaw) was a Polish theatre and film actor.Jan Kreczmar
at ...

as Tadeusz *

as Maciek *

Ignacy Gogolewski Ignacy Gogolewski (17 June 1931 – 15 May 2022) was a Polish film actor. He appeared in more than 30 films. Selected filmography * '' Three Stories'' (1953) * ''Tonight a City Will Die'' (1961) * ''The Codes'' (1966) * ''Stawka większa niż � ...

as Doctor Gross * Irena Horecka as Aunt Helena * Janusz Klosinski as Antiquary * Adam Dzieszynski as Receptionist in 'Hotel Polski' *

as Zofia *

Janusz Gajos Janusz Gajos (; born 23 September 1939) is a Polish film, television and theatre actor as well as pedagogue and photographer. Professor of Theatre Arts and an Honorary Doctor of the National Film School in Łódź, he is considered one of the gr ...

as White monk *

Barbara Krafftówna Barbara Krafftówna (a.k.a. Barbara Krafft-Seidner; 5 December 1928 – 23 January 2022) was a Polish film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1946 and 2022. She died in Skolimów on 23 January 2022, at the ...

as Jadwiga *

Zofia Merle Zofia Merle (born 30 March 1938) is a Polish character actress. She has made over 75 appearances in film and television. She starred in the 1978 comedy film ''What Will You Do When You Catch Me?''. Filmography * 1961: ''Komedianty'' as Young Actr ...

as Forester's daughter *

Kazimierz Opaliński Kazimierz Opaliński (22 February 1890 – 6 June 1979) was a Polish stage and film actor. He appeared in more than forty films between 1936 and 1975. Selected filmography References External links * 1890 births 1979 deaths Polis ...

as Pieczara *Irena Orska as Neighbor

References

External links

* 1966 films Polish war films Films directed by Wojciech Has 1960s Polish-language films {{Poland-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links