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The Decalogue (Complete Set) | 
| Actors: Maria Pakulnis, Anna Polony
Studio: Facets Video
Category: Video
List Price: $99.95
Buy Used: $17.31
You Save: $82.64 (83%)
New (5) Used (7) Collectible (3) from $17.31
Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 26018
Format: Box Set, Color, Original Recording Reissued, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Subtitled), Polish (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Region: 0
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 584 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1565802756
UPC: 736899374532
EAN: 9781565802759
ASIN: B00004KHDU
Theatrical Release Date: 1988
Release Date: August 19, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential video
Superlatives abound when describing Krzysztof Kieslowski's The Decalogue, a series of 10 one-hour dramas originally made for Polish TV between 1988 and 1989 and seen throughout the world in film festivals and cinematheque and museum programs. Though each episode is inspired by one of the Ten Commandments of the Bible, these are not Sunday school fables illustrating some simplistic moral lesson--the connections to the individual commandments are not always obvious and are often downright curious--but powerful, profound stories of love and loss, faith and fear. Kieslowski explores ordinary people flailing through inner torments, hard decisions, and shattering revelations, grounding his stories in the faces of their deeply human characters. Each episode is self-contained, from "Decalogue I" ("I Am the Lord Thy God"), the touching story of a boy who starts asking the hard questions of life from his rationalist father and religious aunt, to "Decalogue X" ("Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Goods"), a comic tale of estranged brothers who bond through a winding ordeal involving their father's priceless stamp collection. There are stories of tragedy and triumph, both expansive and intimate, some profoundly moving and others delicately shaded--but all are warmed by Kieslowski's sympathetic direction and his eye for resonant, fragile imagery. Initially drawn together by location--the series is set in a dreary Warsaw apartment complex--a web of associations forms as characters pass through other stories, sometimes only briefly, and themes reverberate through the series. The Decalogue is ultimately a personal spiritual investigation into the soul of man, a work of quiet attention and deep emotion marked by astounding images and vivid characters. Each volume is also available individually on VHS. --Sean Axmaker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 45 more reviews...
 Good series September 19, 2008
Cosmoetica (New York, USA)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Art that can claim greatness deals with complex issues in complex ways. If the answers or questions posed were simple they could be framed in a single sentence, or a ten second film, then the art would not be its own best explanation. This thought stuck with me as I watched Krzystof Kielowski's complex and fascinating, if flawed, The Decalogue, illuminating aspects of the Ten Commandments from the third, transitional phase of his career, which included this 1988-89 Polish television series, filmed in 1987 and 1988, as well as the two subsequent feature films derived from episodes five and six, A Short Film About Killing and A Short Film About Love. Kielowski's filmic career can be divided into four parts. The first was his career as a documentarian, the second was his early fictive films, and the fourth and final part was his final films- The Double Life Of Veronique and the Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, Red). The Decalogue (Dekalog), released on three DVDs by Facets Video, after a decade and a half in the wilderness, is where Kielowski's potential for greatness first had more than a few flickering moments. No, unlike many critics who declare the whole series a masterpiece, I'll say it's certainly it's not. It has a few excellent to great episodes, a few good solid ones, and some mediocre ones, but without this proving ground, his later masterpieces would not have been possible.
The series is not a simplistic set of parables nor morality plays, but short stories, snapshots of Poland two decades ago. Yet, so many critics, then and now, got and get so much about the series wrong. Regarding episode two, Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert writes, `The film is about their separate moral challenges, and not about the two of them locked together by one problem.' This is absolutely wrong. The doctor has no moral challenge; he violates his ethical responsibility. The reason he does so is interesting, but his is not the problem the film is about. That Ebert conflates the two says something about his own beliefs, but nothing of the film. He then writes, of episode nine, `She did the wrong thing (adultery) and the right one (ending it); his spying was a violation of her trust- and then there is an outcome where pure chance almost leads to a death, which was avoidable if either had been more honest.' Well, no. There is no chance- pure or not, in the lover's pursuit of the wife nor in the husband's decision to suicide, and Ebert wholly misses the importance of the husband's impotence and the male ego. In the Christian Science Monitor, critic David Sterritt claimed the cinematography was `expressive,' even though it is the antithesis of that, as it is very static. Perhaps he confused these films with the Three Colors Trilogy? Of course, just as literary critics can be subject to off the rack blurbery, so can film critics, many of whom were as dense as Ebert and Sterritt.
But, it's not just American critics who miss out on the film's import. A Polish-Canadian film scholar named Christopher Garbowski, wrote in his book, Krzysztof Kieslowski's Decalogue Series, that the characters share a conscious or half-conscious desire to `transcend the details of their existence.' Again, wrong! Simply desiring a move away from one's lot is not in and of itself `transcendence.' When I read such things I sometimes wonder if a) the critics have even seen or read whatever thing it is they're reviewing, and b) do they even know the definitions of half the words they use? Yet, to be fair, critics are not the only ones who can botch assessments of works of art. The great American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick offered this treacle about The Decalogue: `These films have the very real ability to dramatize their ideas rather than just talking about them....They do this with such dazzling skill, you never see the ideas coming and don't realize until much later how profoundly they have reached your heart.' One of the very reasons this series fails the `masterpiece' litmus test is because there are too many times you can see exactly what is coming. The most obvious times are in episodes one, five, and eight, where the ends are known within the first few minutes, even though determinism is not central to the series as a whole, which refutes the argument that this blatant obviousness was intentional.
The Decalogue is its own best explanation, but what it conveys is not always the best it could be. Such is the lot of all art. But, without its failures and successes, the greatness that Kielowski achieved in his final portion of his career would not have been so sublime. Failure and success can thus be both complex and simple. Discerning the two from the two is called criticism.
Engages The Mind June 30, 2008
Kurt Harding (Boerne TX)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Had it not been for a friend who has the time and the intellectual curiosity to seek out films like these, I would still remain blissfully ignorant that The Decalogue even existed. But thanks to her, I have something new to evangelize to friends and acquaintances.
I am not going to rehash the stories here. Other reviewers have done so, some in great detail. What I will say is that Krzysztof Kieslowski's masterpiece is a fascinating and often spellbinding set that engages the mind and stays with you long after you put it back in the box. The films are spiritual without being overtly religious and the viewer is forced to consider all the vagaries of the human experience. Zbigniew Preisner's penetrating and often melancholy score adds permanence to the impression made on the viewer by these remarkable films.
Though sometimes you may have to think hard about what the connection between a particular commandment and a particular story is, the connection is there even if that connection is tenuous. I like all the films to a certain degree, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Decalogue Ten. Title of least favorite would go to Decalogue Three.
As at least one reviewer said, you may find it useful to listen to Roger Ebert's commentary on this set before you begin viewing. I don't usually put much stock in a five-star review if only a couple of reviews of an item have been written. But in this case, with more than sixty reviews written by such a disparate group, near-unanimity actually means something. The Decalogue is one of the most thought-provoking film sequences I have ever seen, and is a set I will watch many times more.
The mark of good films? They stay with you June 24, 2008
Scott FS (Sacramento, CA United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
At the present time, there are upwards of sixty reviews of this series of 10 films made for Polish television by the director Krzysztof Kieslowski. There are individual reviews for individual episodes, and, as could be expected, some episodes are stronger than others.
I'm going to comment on the whole package. I do agree with some of the reviewers that the quality of the films leaves something to be desired. However, the fact that these films are even available at all tempers my criticisms on the film quality. They are often dark with details hard to see (and is it ever sunny in Poland?) but they are watchable, and the setting (the iconic communist monolithic apartment complexes) as well as the cinematography is certainly more than OK, and inspired many times. The film quality doesn't detract from the stories at all. You'll get the message(s).
As far as the writing, the themes, the subject matter, well, you'll never see qualities exhibited by this series anywhere near American television ('The Mole' or 'Farmer Wants a Wife, anyone?). Serious, brooding, thought-provoking; this is television that you just can't expect to see anywhere on commercial television in the United States, sad to say.
Highly recommended. Buy a copy. You'll want your friends to watch at least a couple of the episodes. As I mentioned in this review's headline, this series will stay with you. Maybe one day the series will be remastered and the quality improved. Still, it's worth the price.
A Meditation on Morality February 22, 2008
Breyel (MALAYSIA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Decalogue" is a series of ten short films set in a block of towering flats in modern Warsaw. Co-written by Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz for Polish television in the late 1980s, the ten one-hour-long episodes explore each of the Ten Commandments, although many of the Commandments actually overlap one another.
The series is profoundly meditative, without being boring. The actors are remarkably believable, especially when Kieslowski relies on close-ups of the face; the soul of their character is practically laid bare. Very intimate. I was particularly struck by the guardian angel or witness - a young man (Artur Barcis) - who appears in eight of the episodes, just before a Commandment is broken.
It's hard to say which episodes are the best. Each one projects a powerful moral message, forcing you to consider both sides of the issue and to realise these time-honoured laws have many ramifications in our daily lives, even today. My personal favourites include episodes 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10.
Roger Ebert's commentary at the beginning is an excellent primer to those unfamiliar with Kieslowski and the synopsis behind "Decalogue", and I would recommend viewing it before the series.
Lastly, one need not understand the Polish language or culture to appreciate "Decalogue". For that matter one need not come from a Judeo-Christian background. "Decalogue" is a film full of emotion and intelligence that can be universally understood and appreciated by all. Absolutely beautiful!!!
I would also recommend Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy (Blue / White / Red).
This might be the pinnacle of achivement in all film history February 8, 2008
a patriot (the Bronx)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I once read a quote from (Bronx born film maker) Stanley Kubrick reagarding the Decalogue, in which he refers to these films' ability to "convey thier meanings so purely". I didn't understand what Kubrick meant before I saw the 10 short films but after viewing them I understood and agreed with him.
These films created feelings within me that no words could describe. They touched me profoundly on a subconscious level. I was haunted by the memories of these films for months. No other film viewing experience has ever affected me like this.
In my opinion, the only other film in history that is close to being as profound as the Decalogue is 2001: a Space Odyssey. I should add that Roger Ebert considers the Decalogue one of the ten best films of all time.
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