Zbigniew Cybulski

Zbigniew Cybulski

Born: November 3, 1927
Died: January 8, 1967
in Kniaże, Polska
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zbigniew Cybulski Polish pronunciation: [ˈzbiɡɲɛf t͡sɨˈbulskʲi] (November 3, 1927 – January 8, 1967) was a Polish actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland.

Zbigniew Cybulski was born November 3, 1927 in a small village of Kniaże near Śniatyń, Poland (now a part of Sniatyn Raion, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine). After World War II he joined the Theatre Academy in Kraków. He graduated in 1953 and moved to Gdańsk, where he made his stage debut in Leon Schiller's Wybrzeże Theatre. Also, with his friend Bogumił Kobiela, Cybulski founded a famous student theatre, the Bim-Bom. In the early 1960s, Cybulski moved to Warsaw, where he shortly joined the Kabaret Wagabunda. He also appeared on stage at the Ateneum Theatre, one of the most modern and least conservative Warsaw-based theatres of the epoch.

However, Cybulski is best remembered as a screen actor. He first appeared in a 1954 film Kariera as an extra. His first major role came in 1958, when he played in Kazimierz Kutz's Krzyż Walecznych. The same year he also appeared as one of the main characters in Andrzej Wajda's Ashes and Diamonds and Aleksander Ford's The Eighth Day of the Week based on a short story by Marek Hłasko. From then on Cybulski was seen as one of the most notable actors of the Polish Film School and one of the "young and wrathful", as his generation of actors were called at the time.

His most famous films, apart from Ashes and Diamonds, include Wojciech Has' The Saragossa Manuscript. He also acted in numerous television plays, including some based on works by Truman Capote, Anton Chekhov and Jerzy Andrzejewski.

Cybulski died in an accident at a Wrocław Główny railway station on January 8, 1967, on his way from the film set. As he jumped on the speeding train (as he often did), he slipped on the steps, fell under the train, and was run over. Before the accident he said goodbye to Marlene Dietrich, a personal friend of his, who was a passenger on the train. He was buried in Katowice.

Movies for Zbigniew Cybulski...

Zbyszek
Title: Zbyszek
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 11, 1969
Type: Movie
Dedicated to tragically deceased actor Zbigniew Cybulski, the film creates a subjective biography of its subject by linking together scenes from his movies.
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Jowita
Title: Jowita
Character: Edward Księżak
Released: September 29, 1967
Type: Movie
Marek is a promising athlete having his share of affairs with women. One day at masquerade ball he meets a an enigmatic Jowita and becomes obsessed with her, even when he finds seemingly true love in Agnieszka.
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The Killer Leaves a Trace
Title: The Killer Leaves a Trace
Character: Rodecki
Released: August 18, 1967
Type: Movie
In the last days of WW2, Polish military looks for the murderer of prosecutor responsible for storing Gestapo files.
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Full Ahead
Title: Full Ahead
Character: Janek
Released: April 14, 1967
Type: Movie
Two friends from army meet in a harbour and start to reminisce about their adventures.
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The Codes
Title: The Codes
Character: Maciek
Released: December 25, 1966
Type: Movie
An elderly man returns to Poland to find his long-lost son, missing since World War II. In his quest the man is forced to contemplate the elusive and coded nature of truth itself.
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Iluzja
Title: Iluzja
Character: Lover
Released: December 25, 1966
Type: Movie
A man is fascinated by a woman in a club. Obsessed with dreams about her, he begins to follow the path of his imagination.
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Master
Title: Master
Character: Director
Released: October 7, 1966
Type: Movie
A young actor preparing for the part of Macbeth recalls his wartime memories connected with his mentor.
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Christmas Eve
Title: Christmas Eve
Character: Zapała's Friend
Released: April 9, 1966
Type: Movie
A man's surreal search for a woman named Eva on Christmas Eve.
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Tomorrow Mexico
Title: Tomorrow Mexico
Character: Paweł Jańczak
Released: February 11, 1966
Type: Movie
A disqualified trainer of water jumpers starts work in the province, where he discovers Majka's talent.
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Alone in the City
Title: Alone in the City
Character: Konrad Ferenc
Released: December 25, 1965
Type: Movie
Because of having a one-day plane delay, Konrad has to spend 24 hours wandering around Warsaw, visiting old friends and meeting some new ones.
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Salto
Title: Salto
Character: Kowalski Malinowski
Released: June 10, 1965
Type: Movie
A man jumps off a moving train and goes to a small town to face its inhabitants, who seem familiar, but odd.
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Penguin
Title: Penguin
Character: Łukasz
Released: April 18, 1965
Type: Movie
A shy student falls in love and is involved in a kidnapping plot.
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The Saragossa Manuscript
Title: The Saragossa Manuscript
Character: Alfonse Van Worden
Released: February 9, 1965
Type: Movie
During the Napoleonic wars, a Spanish officer and an opposing officer find a book written by the former's grandfather.
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To Love
Title: To Love
Character: Fredrik
Released: November 20, 1964
Type: Movie
A widowed woman undergoes a true sexual awakening in this provocative drama. The change comes after her husband of 10 years suddenly dies. During their marriage she never felt a thing during sex. Then she meets a lively Pole and begins an affair. Suddenly she finds herself feeling a great deal, and happiness ensues.
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Giuseppe in Warsaw
Title: Giuseppe in Warsaw
Character: Staszek
Released: August 7, 1964
Type: Movie
The Italian soldier Giuseppe Santucci, on his way home from the Russian front has his machine gun stolen in Warsaw. Afraid of consequences, he stays in Warsaw and occupies a flat of the Polish girl Maria, whom he suspects of stealing weapon. Maria indeed is an active member of the Polish resistance, contrary to her brother, Staszek, a painter, who only wants a calm living. In a course of events Giuseppe falls in love and, along with Staszek, becomes a hero of the Polish resistance.
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No More Divorces
Title: No More Divorces
Character: Gruszka (Segment 3)
Released: February 25, 1964
Type: Movie
Three short segments about love.
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Silence
Title: Silence
Character: Roman
Released: September 7, 1963
Type: Movie
Set in a small Polish town just after the war, the story of an unruly teenager who constantly taunts the old priest. One day the youth has a horrible accident, which the villagers call divine punishment.
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The Criminal and the Lady
Title: The Criminal and the Lady
Character: Jan Ziętek
Released: July 8, 1963
Type: Movie
Young Małgorzata leads a very boring life as a cashier. One day a robber riddles her bank car with bullets, kills the driver and two security guards and takes the money. The police finds out that the stolen banknotes are being spent at a fashionable spa resort. The only way to find the criminal is to favor Małgorzata with a seaside holiday in the company of a handsome Captain as her brother.
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Their Everyday Life
Title: Their Everyday Life
Character: Andrzej Siennicki
Released: May 10, 1963
Type: Movie
After a violent quarrel, Nitka leaves her husband Andrzej. He meets a young girl with whom he is getting closer and closer.
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How to Be Loved
Title: How to Be Loved
Character: Wiktor Rawicz
Released: January 11, 1963
Type: Movie
An actress travels from Warsaw to Paris and during the trip reflects on the last few years of her life. It goes back to the German occupation and her hiding of a fellow actor who has supposedly killed a collaborator.
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The Doll
Title: The Doll
Character: Col. Prado Roth / The Rebel
Released: November 7, 1962
Type: Movie
An avant-garde political satire that takes place in a mythical country in South America. The dictator has been replaced by a look-alike revolutionary, and the dictator's wife has been replaced by a robot.
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Spóźnieni przechodnie
Title: Spóźnieni przechodnie
Character: Himself (segment 5)
Released: September 3, 1962
Type: Movie
Five short stories.
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Love at Twenty
Title: Love at Twenty
Character: Zbyszek (segment "Warszawa")
Released: June 22, 1962
Type: Movie
Love at Twenty unites five directors from five different countries to present their different perspectives on what love really is at the age of 20. The episodes are united with the score of Georges Delerue and still photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson.
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Thé a la menthe
Title: Thé a la menthe
Released: January 1, 1962
Type: Movie
A man sits at a cafe in Paris and watches the world go by.
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Goodbye to the Past
Title: Goodbye to the Past
Character: Famous actor
Released: March 23, 1961
Type: Movie
An actress visits her hometown to attend the funeral of her grandfather. She realizes that the places and people from her past differ from her cherished memories.
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Innocent Sorcerers
Title: Innocent Sorcerers
Character: Edmund
Released: December 17, 1960
Type: Movie
A young doctor is tired of being sought by women. One night he meets a young girl who all but forces herself into his room where they talk of morals and love. But he loses her when he goes out to see some friends and then rushes madly around the city after her.
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Good Bye, Till Tomorrow
Title: Good Bye, Till Tomorrow
Character: Jacek
Released: May 25, 1960
Type: Movie
Jacek is a handsome, charming young Pole who belongs to a drama company. One day, in the streets of Gdansk, he meets Marguerite, a beautiful, charming French girl. He falls for her but the young lady is whimsical...
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Night Train
Title: Night Train
Character: Staszek
Released: September 6, 1959
Type: Movie
Two strangers, Jerzy and Marta, accidentally end up holding tickets for the same sleeping chamber on an overnight train to the Baltic Sea coast. Also on board is Marta's spurned lover, who will not leave her alone. When the police enter the train in search of a murderer on the lam, rumors fly and everything seems to point toward one of the main characters as the culprit.
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Cross of Valor
Title: Cross of Valor
Character: Tadeusz Więcek
Released: March 27, 1959
Type: Movie
Three episodes showing the repercussions of war. A soldier is awarded with the Cross of Valor and vacation to home. But instead of his village, he finds only the charred ruins. A stray dog turns out to be the former guard at Auschwitz. A young widow is hailed as the wife of the hero but dreams of something else.
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Ashes and Diamonds
Title: Ashes and Diamonds
Character: Maciek Chełmicki
Released: October 3, 1958
Type: Movie
A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.
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The Eighth Day of the Week
Title: The Eighth Day of the Week
Character: Piotr Terlecki
Released: August 26, 1958
Type: Movie
Zbigniew Cybulski and Sonja Ziemann play lovers struggling to find happiness and privacy in overcrowded Warsaw. The movie shows an honest picture of life in a war-damaged city, contrasting the characters' difficulties with their dreams of a better life. It was banned in Poland in 1958 and would not be seen anywhere until its European release one year later.
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Koniec nocy
Title: Koniec nocy
Character: Romek Brzozowski
Released: December 21, 1957
Type: Movie
A group of young Łódź hoodlums spends their time shoplifting, partying and drinking heavily, until they are faced with serious consequences of their reckless behaviour.
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Wraki
Title: Wraki
Character: Rafał Grabień
Released: September 2, 1957
Type: Movie
Diver Antoni Barnat is falsely accused of causing an accident underwater that almost led to his fellow diver's death. Interestingly enough, they are both in love with the same girl, Teresa.
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Tajemnica dzikiego szybu
Title: Tajemnica dzikiego szybu
Character: Miner (uncredited)
Released: September 1, 1956
Type: Movie
Two friends think that they've discovered a dangerous spy hiding in a mine shaft.
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Trzy starty
Title: Trzy starty
Character: Mietek Leśniak
Released: October 25, 1955
Type: Movie
Three separate short stories about young athletes who lose their chances of success. Young swimmer - because of unhappy love. Boxer because of a fight with hooligans, for which the judges will disqualify him. But the cyclist must decide for himself what is more important for him: victory or friendship.
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Career
Title: Career
Character: Bus Passenger (uncredited)
Released: March 26, 1955
Type: Movie
Karwowski, son of a pre-war colonel, is transferred from the West to Poland with the task of assembling a spy and diversion network. The task seems to be easy. However, after landing in Poland, it turns out that nobody wants to cooperate with him. Karwowski's "100% reliable" contacts with potential collaborators turn out to be completely outdated.
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A Generation
Title: A Generation
Character: Kostek
Released: January 26, 1955
Type: Movie
Stach is a wayward teen living in squalor on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Guided by an avuncular Communist organizer, he is introduced to the underground resistance—and to the beautiful Dorota. Soon he is engaged in dangerous efforts to fight oppression and indignity, maturing as he assumes responsibility for others’ lives. A coming-of-age story of survival and shattering loss, A Generation delivers a brutal portrait of the human cost of war.