The Warsaw uprising of 1944 has been brought to life in a riveting new film. Cinematographers have added color and sound to black and white film taken by the Polish Resistance during the revolt against the Nazis. The filmmakers hope it will help trace some of the heroes caught on camera.

Warsaw, Poland – Rebels crouch behind barricades, dodging enemy fire. Rivers of fire belch from flamethrowers. Women and children dash across bombed-out ruins. Men pull a corpse out of rubble.

The scenes are as riveting as any Hollywood war movie. But they are snippets of historical footage from the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, enhanced by modern coloring and sound techniques — and turned into a film.

Image by kjd on flickr.com

The only purely fictional elements are voiceovers presenting an imagined narrative that stitches together the footage: Two brothers scour the streets of the Polish city tasked with filming the 1944 rebellion of Warsaw residents against their Nazi occupiers, commenting on what they witness, from soup kitchens to scenes of destruction.

It makes for a mesmerizing account of the fierce house-to-house fighting against the German army that began on Aug. 1 and ended 63 days later with the insurgents surrendering, following the deaths of some 200,000 rebels and residents. “Warsaw Rising” is cobbled together from black-and-white silent footage of crews that the Polish resistance Home Army sent fanning through the city to chronicle the uprising. Cinematographers hired by the Warsaw Rising Museum added coloration and sound that give a real-life feel, while modern editing techniques provide a polished, fast-paced narrative.

The museum released the trailer of the film last month as part of the observances of the anniversary of the launch of the doomed struggle. The movie hits cinemas —in Poland and abroad — next year, before the uprising’s 70th anniversary.

Meanwhile, the museum has posted the trailer on its website in an effort to identify people in the movie. Some have already been found, still living. One is a smiling fighter filmed in a trophy German helmet and uniform, toting a captured machine gun and ammunition: Witold Kiezun, now 91, remains active in Warsaw as a professor of economics and management.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a88n2oBX74

Museum historians and film experts spent two years creating the 90-minute movie. Film director Jan Komasa produced the story line, while sound director Bartosz Putkiewicz oversaw the brothers’ dialogue and the matching sound and music.

Authenticity was paramount. Filmmakers recorded sound at a firing range shooting from the same kinds of weapons seen in the film. Lip-reading experts studied the footage, allowing actors to give people in the movie a voice. Historians consulted surviving fighters and pored through thousands of old pictures to get the right color and shade in every garment, object and place.

The footage is pretty much as real as things can get. Can’t wait to see this movie next year!

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)