While The SaragossaManuscript boasts some of
Poland’s most respected ‘serious’
actors/actresses, it also contains numerous of Poland’s
finest
‘comedy’ players making its cast list really second
to none. Even
in cameo supporting roles are actors of the quality of Wladyslaw
Golas (Kapitan Sowa/Dzieciol), making the film so rich and amusing
wherever you look.
Zbigniew Cybulski -
Alphonse Van Worden
Originally, a one-time
famous theatre actor Zbigniew Wójcik was penned to play the
role of Aphonse Van Worden, but his tragic suicide shortly before
production began prevented this. Next a French actor was found to
play the main role, but after 3 days of shooting it became obvious
that he was neither French nor a professional actor. Over this time,
Zbigniew Cybulski was increasingly hanging around set supposedly as a
casual observer. Finally when it was proposed to Cybulski to take
over the lead role, the decision turned out to be inspired as he
transformed the role from that of a romantic into bungling, doubting,
and much more modern lead. While he is often compared to James Dean
because of his role as Maciek in Andrzej Wajda’s Diamonds and
Ashes
that pigeonholed him as a young, rebellious romantic, Cybulski had a
hard time destroying that image to prove that he in fact had a much
wider range. He was a method actor who mentioned Brando or Olivier as
his models. With Cybulski the idea of a Polish movie star was born as
he became a heartthrob for many young female viewers. His mature
roles had a touch of self-irony to them, making him a true modern
actor but at the same time frustrating the expectations of viewers.
Cybulski appears in The Saragossa Manuscript without his
characteristic dark glasses which needed due to poor eyesight caused
considerable trouble when shooting the riding scenes. He was also
known for his unpunctuality, inability to get up early, and a habit
of jumping on moving trains. He died tragically when falling from a
moving train that he was unsuccessfully attempting to jump onto.
Andrzej Wajda’s most avant-garde movie All for Sale is a
tribute
metafilm to Cybulski.
 Iga Cembrzynska
–
Princess Emina
Iga Cembrzynska was in
the last year of her acting school when approached to play the role
of Princess Emina. Many years later, Has admitted that he had no
doubt she was meant for this part when he saw her try on her costume
and it was only later that he was also pleasantly surprised to find
her as talented as she was pretty. Cembrzynska has admitted that at
the time the dress and the lesbian kissing scene were extremely
risqué and challenging for her. Before going to the acting
school, Cembrzynska trained in playing the piano. She always said
that singing was her first love before acting, the best proof of this
being the flamboyant credits to Hydrozagatka (Polish cult film, a
mock sociorealism Superman) by her husband director Andrzej
Kondratiuk, in which she sings and shouts the opening credits direct
into the camera. Cembrzynska and Kondratiuk now live in the country
where they have plenty of cats and dogs and where they make films
that are arguably one of the most significant contribution to
contemporary Polish counter-cinema.
Gustaw Holoubek - Pedro
Velasquez
Another Krakow man in the film born and bred, most
famous for his beautiful and gentle voice that had a tendency to
hypnotise viewers into complete submission. His recent death was a
day of national mourning all over Poland. Holoubek was the Polish
Olivier and although he could never have Sir in front of his name,
many have often referred to him as a true gentleman both on and off
the screen and stage. He was one of Has’ favourite actors
appearing
in his Noose (Petla), Farewells (Pozegnania), Goodbye to the Past
(Rozstanie), One Room Tenants (Wspolny Pokoj), How to be Loved (Jak
byc kochana), The Codes (Szyfry), The Hour-Glass Sanatorium
(Sanatorium pod Klepsydra), The Doll (Lalka).
Leon Niemczyk
–
Avadoro
Before appearing in Saragossa, he won the general acclaim
of the public and critics in Polanski’s Knife in the Water
(Noz w
wodzie). This was not the only good movie he made. Niemczyk played in
over 500 movies in Poland and abroad (mostly the former Soviet
block). He was also a war veteran and a real hero awarded for his
involvement in the opposition front. He fought under general George
Patton in the 444 Battalion of the USA army during WWII. He lived in
Lodz for most of his career where he also played one of his last
roles in David Lynch’s Inland Empire. He was said to like
women and
Japanese cars.
Bogumil Kobiela
–
Toledo
Studied acting together with his best friend Cybuski. They
worked in the famous Gdansk theatre Bim-Bom, whose sharp satire was
mostly aimed at the absurd of the then current political system. One
of the greatest comedy actors of Polish post-war cinema, his
experimental humour can only be compared to the likes of Peter Cook
and Dudley Moore. In one of his self-directed semi-documentaries
entitled Kobiela on the Beach, he parades on the beach in his skiing
gear in the biggest Polish seaside resort – Sopot, to the
wonder
and amazement of holidaymakers and beachcombers. On the Saragossa
set, he is interestingly yet another Krakow guy born and bred. Just
like Cybulski, he died tragically in the 60s in a car crash. He
remains a cult figure and inspiration for many young comedy actors in
Poland.
Zdzislaw Maklakiewicz
- Roque Busqueros
Another war hero on the set actively involved in
Warsaw uprising and in the right wing army in WWII. After the Warsaw
uprising, he was taken captive and sent to a German work camp from
which he returned to Poland in 1945. He studied both acting and
directing. He was one of the most famous character actors whose face
will always be associated with the absurd and the grotesque of Polish
comedies of the 70s. He died tragically beaten up to death near
Europe Hotel in Warsaw after a hard drinking session in 1977. He
often co-acted with his best friend and drinking buddy, Jan
Himilsbach, for example in a Polish cult comedy Cruise (Rejs) where
most of the humour was actually improvised on the set in the heat of
Polish summer and under the influence of a couple of beers, and in
many Kondratiuk’s movies (Cembrzynska’s husband).
In one of them,
Wniebowzieci (1972), they play two simple guys who win a lottery and
decide to spend all their money on flying from one town to the next.
Still, this is a bitter-sweet comedy without a happy-end, as was
Maklakiewicz’s life.
Beata Tyszkiewicz
–
Rebeca
Once married to one of
the most famous Polish directors and Oscar winners, Andrzej Wajda,
Tyszkiewicz is now a member of the jury in Celebrity Dancing,
reflecting the changes that have taken place in the Polish reality.
She is often called the First Lady of Polish cinema due to her
impressive credentials but also to her very aristocratic beauty and
behaviour. She is therefore mostly known for playing the parts of
beautiful yet aloof ladies of noble birth (including that of the
title role in Has’ other movie The Doll). So, she did not get
her
part in Saragossa only thanks to her impressive bust. In fact, most
of the Polish actresses on the set proved in their later careers that
there was more to them than beauty.
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Alphonse
Van Worden
Emina
Frasquita
Pedro Velasquez
Gaspar Soarez
Zibelda
Frasquita's Husband
Toledo
Camilla
Inez Moro
Van Worden Sr.
Lopez Soarez
Mrs Van Worden
Pena Flor
Roque Busqueros
Avadoro
Hermit/Sultan
Cabalist
Pacheco
Inezilla
Rebeca
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Zbigniew
Cybulski
Iga Cembrzyńska
Elzbieta Czyzewska
Gustaw Holoubek
Stanisław Igar
Stanisława (Joanna) Jedryka
Janusz Klosinski
Bogumil Kobiela
Barbara Krafftowna
Jadwiga Krawczyk
Slawomir Lindner
Krzysztof Litwin
Miroslawa Lombardo
Jan Machulski
Zdzislaw Maklakiewicz
Leon Niemczyk
Kazimierz Opalinski
Adam Pawlikowski
Franciszek Pieczka
Pola Raksa
Beata Tyszkiewicz
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“I
love the
Saragossa Manuscript…exceptional” - Luis Bunuel
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