Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

Overview · Where to watch · Cast & crew · Reviews

Touched with the fire and rebellion of a new generation of Polish film makers

A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.

Released: 1958-10-03
Genres: Drama, War, Romance
Runtime: 1h 43m
Status: Released
TMDB rating: 7.4/10 from 290 votes

Directed by Andrzej Wajda.

Top cast

Zbigniew Cybulski as Maciek Chełmicki
Ewa Krzyżewska as Krystyna Rozbicka
Wacław Zastrzeżynski as Szczuka
Adam Pawlikowski as Andrzej Kossecki
Bogumił Kobiela as Drewnowski
Jan Ciecierski as Porter
Stanisław Milski as Pieniążek
Artur Młodnicki as Kotowicz
Halina Kwiatkowska as Staniewiczowa
Ignacy Machowski as Waga

Full cast & crew

Where to watch Ashes and Diamonds

United States: stream on HBO Max Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, HBO Max; watch free on Kanopy; rent on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home; buy on Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Canada: stream on Criterion Channel; rent on Apple TV Store; buy on Apple TV Store

Movies like Ashes and Diamonds

If you enjoyed Ashes and Diamonds, these movies have a similar feel:

Can't decide what to watch?

FlickPicker recommends movies from your own taste and the services you subscribe to, and Pick Together lets a whole group vote on tonight's pick. Try the free random movie generator, find movies with AI, or browse trending movies.

Download FlickPicker on the App Store Explore the iPhone app