Quick Summary: Despite a bumpy opening, The Deluge Redivivus delivers a swashbuckling adventure in a historical milieu.

Title: The Deluge Redivivus (Potop Redivivus)

Release: 2014

Director: Jerzy Hoffman

Starring:

Daniel Olbrychski (Andrzej Kmicic)

Małgorzata Braunek (Olenka Billewiczowna)

Tadeusz Łomniki (Michał Wołodyjowski)

Kazimierz Wichniarz (Jan Onufry Zagłoba)

Leszek Teleszynski (Bogusław Razidwiłł)

The Deluge Redivivus is the 2014 remastered and recut version of the 1974 Polish-Soviet drama The Deluge. Based on a series of novels by Henryk Sienkiewicz (best known to English speakers for the perennially popular Quo Vadis), the original version of this historical epic had a running time of more than five hours. The 2014 cut, at just under three hours long, proves to be an entertaining, swashbuckling adventure story, though there are some noticeable editing scars and the opening is a confusing mess.

The deluge of the title is the 17th Century Swedish invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. Our hero, Andrzej Kmicic (Daniel Olbrychski), is a wild, irresponsible young nobleman. He is betrothed to patriotic, virtuous Olenka (Małgorzata Braunek), who loves him but hates his violent tendencies. At the same time, Kmicic, who serves the house of Radziwiłł, finds out that Prince Bogusław Radziwiłł (Leszek Teleszynski) intends to go over to the Swedish side. Kmicic finds himself navigating a complex web of conflicting loyalties and obligations.

The film itself is a lot of fun - beautifully choreographed battle scenes feature literally hundreds of participants in colourful uniforms. There are sword fights and explosions aplenty, as well as a gorgeous sequence with a sled in the woods. The secondary characters are very likeable, perhaps moreso than the main characters. Cheerful, daring, and surprisingly clever, petty noble Zagłoba (Kazimierz Wichniarz) provides lots of comic relief. Meanwhile, the honourable, moral Colonel Michał Wołodyjowski (Tadeusz Łomniki) provides a chivalrous counterpoint to Kmicic, demonstrating that it is possible to be a warrior without being a brute.

Visually, the film resembles both the work of Sergio Leone and that of Akira Kurosawa. The use of light, colour, and open space is striking. The costuming is exquisite and lush, with every named character having multiple outfits over the course of the film. The acting is a bit over-the-top, but suits the genre admirably.

The film, at least in the recut form in which I saw it, does have some major flaws. Some of these problems are probably due to the shortening of the movie for the 2014 release. For instance, there are a number of occasions with very abrupt transitions, where events seem to be skipped or severely shortened. Despite being the main antagonist, Prince Bogusław doesn't appear until about a third of he way into the movie, which may also be a result of the edits. However, the main problem I observed - that the opening half-hour is extremely confusing (I still don't know what happened!) - seems to have been part of the original film.

Don't let the flaws deter you, however. If you can make it through the bumpy first half hour, your reward will be more than two hours of fun and excitement, as well as some truly beautiful visuals.