# The Promised Land (1975 film)
**The Promised Land** (*Ziemia obiecana*) is a 1974 Polish historical drama directed by [Andrzej Wajda](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrzej-wajda), adapted from [Władysław Reymont](https://www.edgepedia.org/w-adys-aw-reymont)'s novel of the same name, which follows three friends, a Pole, a German, and a Jew, as they build a textile factory in the rapidly industrializing city of Łódź at the end of the 19th century. It premiered in Polish cinemas on 21 February 1975 and went on to win the Golden Lions at the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk, the Golden Hugo in Chicago, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) • [2](https://wajda.pl/film/ziemia-obiecana/) • [3](https://www.fina.gov.pl/wydarzenia/w-50-rocznice-premiery/ziemia-obiecana-rez-andrzej-wajda/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and screenwriter | Andrzej Wajda, from his own screenplay based on Reymont's novel[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) |
| Production year and premiere | Produced 1974; premiered 21 February 1975 in Warsaw[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) |
| Running times | 179 minutes (original version), 200 minutes (television serial), 138 minutes (2000 re-edit)[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) |
| Principal cast | Daniel Olbrychski (Karol Borowiecki), Wojciech Pszoniak (Moryc Welt), Andrzej Seweryn (Maks Baum), Kalina Jędrusik, Anna Nehrebecka, Bożena Dykiel, Franciszek Pieczka[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Witold Sobociński, Edward Kłosiński, and Wacław Dybowski; music Wojciech Kilar; scenography Tadeusz Kosarewicz[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) |
| Major honors | Golden Lions Gdańsk 1975; Golden Hugo Chicago 1975; Golden Medal Moscow 1975; Oscar nomination 1976[2](https://wajda.pl/film/ziemia-obiecana/) |
| Box office | More than 6.5 million cinema admissions in the premiere year[4](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/) |
## Spoilers
### Story and setting
The film is set in Łódź, the cradle of the Polish textile industry, at the end of the 19th century. Three friends of different backgrounds, the Polish aristocrat Karol Borowiecki, the Jewish businessman Moryc Welt, and the German industrial heir Maks Baum, pool their resources to build their own textile factory in a city where, as the film presents it, entrepreneurial people without scruples can make a fortune.[5](https://pisf.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Polish_Cinema_Classics.pdf) • [6](https://repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=en%2Fnode%2F8570)
To raise capital, Borowiecki extracts advance information about an imminent rise in the cotton tariff from his lover Lucy Zuckerowa, the wife of a business rival.[3](https://www.fina.gov.pl/wydarzenia/w-50-rocznice-premiery/ziemia-obiecana-rez-andrzej-wajda/) The friends use shady dealings and dubious credit to open the factory, but Borowiecki's affairs bring the venture to ruin: the betrayed husband has the uninsured factory burned down. Borowiecki then breaks off his engagement with Anka and marries Mada Müller, daughter of the richest manufacturer, to gain control of the greatest capital in Łódź.[5](https://pisf.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Polish_Cinema_Classics.pdf) In the final sequence he suppresses a weavers' strike at his own factory by ordering shots fired into the crowd.[7](https://www.akademiapolskiegofilmu.pl/pl/historia-polskiego-filmu/filmy/ziemia-obiecana/108)
## Production
Wajda led the Zespół Filmowy "X" production unit, founded in February 1972, with Barbara Pec-Ślesicka as production chief.[8](https://www.sfp.org.pl/magazyn_filmowy%2C135.MF_05_2022_www.pdf) Dissatisfied with an earlier script, he wrote his own screenplay between 1971 and 1973, and shooting began in February 1974 in Łódź itself.[4](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/) The film's visual authenticity drew on the city's well-preserved former factory buildings, used as locations by the three directors of photography.[9](https://lodzcityoffilm.com/en/filmy/the-promised-land/) More than fifty actors appeared in the film, with over a hundred extras; the role of Karol was cast for Daniel Olbrychski from the start.[4](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/) Wojciech Kilar composed the score.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/)
The novel's source dates matter for the adaptation: Reymont's story appeared in installments in *Kurier Codzienny* in 1897 and 1898 and was published as a book in 1899.[4](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/) Wajda's film was the second screen adaptation, following a pre-war silent version from 1927 directed by Aleksander Hertz and Zbigniew Gniazdowski.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/)
## Reception and awards
The film won the Grand Prix "Golden Lions of Gdańsk" at the 1975 Polish Film Festival, along with awards for Wojciech Pszoniak's leading male role, Tadeusz Kosarewicz's scenography, and Wojciech Kilar's music.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) International honors followed in the same year: the Golden Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival and the Golden Medal at the Moscow International Film Festival.[2](https://wajda.pl/film/ziemia-obiecana/) In 1976 it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[3](https://www.fina.gov.pl/wydarzenia/w-50-rocznice-premiery/ziemia-obiecana-rez-andrzej-wajda/) Later recognitions include the Golden Duck for the best film of the 50 years of *Film* magazine in 1997 and 2007, and Diamond Lions for the best music of the festival's 40 years at Gdynia in 2015.[2](https://wajda.pl/film/ziemia-obiecana/)
Audience response was strong from the start: the premiere took place on 21 February 1975 at the Relax cinema in Warsaw, and the film sold more than 6.5 million tickets in its premiere year.[4](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/) Some critics objected to its obscenity and departures from the novel, but it still took the principal Polish awards.[4](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/)
## Standing in Polish cinema
In 2015 the film was named the best Polish film of all time in a poll organized by the Museum of Cinematography in Łódź together with the University of Łódź.[10](https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/historia-z-ipn/214285,50-lat-temu-odbyla-sie-premiera-Ziemi-obiecanej-w-rezyserii-Andrzeja-Wajdy.html) Commentators have read it as a portrait of the birth of 20th-century capitalism, comparable in vision to [Fritz Lang](https://www.edgepedia.org/fritz-lang)'s *[Metropolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/metropolis-1927-film)* (1927) and [Paul Thomas Anderson](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-thomas-anderson)'s *There Will Be Blood* (2007), and as a criticism of industrialization and capitalist greed.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) • [9](https://lodzcityoffilm.com/en/filmy/the-promised-land/) Its political resonance in 1974 was immediate: a film about industrial development and the exploitation of workers appeared while worker strikes earlier in the decade had already been suppressed, and more were to come.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/)
The film has circulated in several versions. Besides the 179-minute theatrical cut and the 200-minute four-part television serial, Wajda prepared a shorter 138-minute re-edit released in 2000.[1](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/) A 2K restoration was completed in 2012.[5](https://pisf.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Polish_Cinema_Classics.pdf) Later re-edits have also removed some of the film's erotic content, a change that has drawn concern from film-heritage scholars, since the film has repeatedly been voted the best Polish film of all time.[11](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01439685.2025.2574099)
## References
1. [Ziemia obiecana, Filmoteka Narodowa – Instytut Audiowizualny](https://www.fina.gov.pl/lista-polskiego-dziedzictwa-filmowego/ziemia-obiecana/)
2. [Ziemia obiecana, Andrzej Wajda (Fundacja Kyoto-Kraków)](https://wajda.pl/film/ziemia-obiecana/)
3. [„Ziemia Obiecana”, reż. Andrzej Wajda, w 50. rocznicę premiery, FINA](https://www.fina.gov.pl/wydarzenia/w-50-rocznice-premiery/ziemia-obiecana-rez-andrzej-wajda/)
4. [Pół wieku „Ziemi obiecanej”, Muzeum Kinematografii w Łodzi](https://muzeumkinematografii.pl/lista-wystaw/pol-wieku-ziemi-obiecanej/)
5. [The Promised Land / Ziemia obiecana, Polish Cinema Classics, PISF](https://pisf.pl/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Polish_Cinema_Classics.pdf)
6. [Ziemia obiecana, Repozytorium Cyfrowe Filmoteki Narodowej](https://repozytorium.fn.org.pl/?q=en%2Fnode%2F8570)
7. [Ziemia obiecana, Akademia Polskiego Filmu](https://www.akademiapolskiegofilmu.pl/pl/historia-polskiego-filmu/filmy/ziemia-obiecana/108)
8. [50. rocznica powstania Zespołu Filmowego „X”, Magazyn Filmowy](https://www.sfp.org.pl/magazyn_filmowy%2C135.MF_05_2022_www.pdf)
9. [The Promised Land, Łódź City of Film UNESCO EC1](https://lodzcityoffilm.com/en/filmy/the-promised-land/)
10. [50 lat temu odbyła się premiera „Ziemi obiecanej”, Historia z IPN](https://ipn.gov.pl/pl/historia-z-ipn/214285,50-lat-temu-odbyla-sie-premiera-Ziemi-obiecanej-w-rezyserii-Andrzeja-Wajdy.html)
11. [The Role of Film Archives in Creating Canons of Eastern European Cinema, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01439685.2025.2574099)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › Historical dramas and epics › Titles M to Z › Titles M to Sa*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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