Rest in Peace: Andrzej Żuławski
John Squires
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For a true artist, commercial and critical success plays second fiddle to creative fulfillment, and if you’ve seen the 1981 horror film Possession, you surely picked up on the fact that it was made by an artist not concerned with appealing to the masses. It was directed by Andrzej Żuławski, and we’re sad to report that the Polish filmmaker passed away today.
Żuławski came onto the scene with The Third Part of the Night in 1971, and it didn’t take long for him to make a name for himself. His controversial second feature, The Devil, was banned by the Communist government in Poland, and troubles with Polish authorities continued throughout much of his career. He moved to France in the late ’80s, where he made a handful of movies during the ’90s and into the 2000s.
After a 15-year hiatus, Żuławski returned to the director’s chair for last year’s Cosmos, which nabbed him a Best Direction award at Switzerland’s Locarno International Film Festival. The French-language thriller, shot in 2014, was released in France last December. It was his thirteenth feature.
Andrzej Żuławski died at a hospital in Warsaw after a long battle with cancer. He was 75.
We here at Dread Central offer our sincerest of condolences to Andrzej’s family, friends, and constituents.
Categorized:News
