Knife in the Water (1962)
A couple driving along a deserted road to a lake almost run over a young man, a student, who flags down the car almost too closely... (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Roman Polanski
Written By: Roman Polanski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Jakub Goldberg
Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Zygmunt Malanowicz, Jolanta Umecka
Genres: Drama, Suspense/Thriller
AKA: Nóz w wodzie
Country: Poland
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Knife in the Water belongs to 44 collections
1. FIPRESCI Prize (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 14 stars)
2. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 171 stars)
3. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 32 stars)
4. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 53 stars)
5. Rotten Tomatoes - over 95% (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 32 stars)
6. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)
7. Directorial debut (collaborative: moderated by djross - 16 stars)
8. 24 hour (or less) timeframe (collaborative: moderated by djross - 24 stars)
9. Doubling The Canon (collaborative - 13 stars)
10. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)
11. The Auteurs World Cup (collaborative - 3 stars)
12. List: Empire's masterpiece picks (public: KasperL - 1 star)
13. Doubling The Canon (2010 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 5 stars)
14. Very Small Cast (collaborative: moderated by shalev - 5 stars)
15. Djross 1962 top ten (public: djross)
16. List: Empire's 100 Best Films of World Cinema (public: KasperL - 17 stars)
17. The Guardian's 1000 films to see before you die (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 31 stars)
18. Djross best directorial debuts (public: djross)
19. They Shoot Pictures ex-Top 1,000 (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 3 stars)
20. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)
21. Coheed's Celluloid Pit (public: Coheed - 1 star)
22. New & sealed (public: majikat)
23. 1962: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
24. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)
25. Best Foreign Film Oscar Nominees (collaborative: moderated by snallygaster - 8 stars)
26. Amos Vogel: Film as a Subversive Art (collaborative: moderated by edsu - 8 stars)
27. The Story of Film: An Odyssey (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 20 stars)
28. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)
29. Bajar (public: escarta)
30. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 30 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
31. List: Filmspotting Ratings Project - Communal Watchlist (public: KasperL)
32. They Shoot Pics (TSPDT) 2014 new additions (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 1 star)
33. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)
34. High contrast black and white cinematography (collaborative: moderated by juandr - 2 stars)
35. İnanılmaz İlk Filmler (public: Ozancan)
36. Edgar Wright 1000 Favorite Movies (Aug 2016) (collaborative: moderated by Aron Ericson - 16 stars)
37. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)
38. Criterion Art House Essentials (public: asperastrum - 4 stars)
39. Djross film as art (public: djross - 3 stars)
40. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 14 stars)
41. Djross Eastern European feature films I have seen (public: djross)
42. The Greatest Movies of All Time - Filmweb's Alternative Top 500 (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
43. Filmin (public: Hadleyreis - 1 star)
44. Djross top 300 movies (2023 edition) (public: djross)
Browse the full list of collections
| Stars | User | Rating | |
| 1 |  |
MartinTeller | 85 84th |
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Superb first feature by Polanski. Remarkable photography, compelling theme, lots of tension. Wouldn't want to see it again, but glad I saw it once.
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| 1 |  |
CinematicESP | 73 26th |
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A nice, subtle exercise in underlying tension, though perhaps a bit too subtle for its own good. Not quite tense enough to be that unsettling.
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| 1 |  |
Stain | 40 23rd |
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I normally love Polanski, but this bores me
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| 1 |  |
Evolution | 70 38th |
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This would be my definition of an empty artsy fartsy film that people have undoubtedly overanalyzed; a few memorable shots though.
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| 1 |  |
ahmed413 | 90 92nd |
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Kudos to Jerzy Skolimowski. And cinematography, mood and atmosphere leave nothing to be desired.
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| 1 |  |
billkerwin | 92 89th |
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Excellent debut film from Polanski, filled with suspense and psychological tension.
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| 1 |  |
closedmouth | 80 68th |
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First act isn't very good, but it develops really nicely. The long take in the fiddlesticks scene is excellent. I liked the realism of the way the boat was handled by the actors, and there was a loose, familiar feel to the relationship between husband and wife. And Polanski's camera, of course.
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| 1 |  |
Bagger | 86 95th |
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The simplest films are often the best. This movie is enjoyable in and of itself, and yet it lends itself so many interpretations and applicabilities that I can't count them. Freudian tensions, youthful aggression, moody fascism - you name it. And still it is just a story about three nameless people on a boatride that is tense as all hell.
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| 1 |  |
thereeldeal | 70 50th |
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Considered Roman Polanski's first triumph, Knife in the Water is still a modest one at that. One of those simple "portrait of life" films, this one portrays a rivalry between a young boy and an older man as they both envy each other's age, joined only by the older man's wife. Conflict and tension arise on a boat, but nothing very serious. It's nice, but lacks the power necessary to make it a great film.
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| Average Percentile 64.48% from 1071 Ratings |  |