Ścibor-Rylski, Aleksander

(1928-1983)

   Chiefly known as the scriptwriter of Andrzej Wajda's films Man of Marble (1977) and Man of Iron (1981), Ścibor-Rylski was also a director of popular films, playwright, prose writer, and the literary director of the film units Rytm (1955-1965) and Pryzmat (1972-1978). The first script he produced for Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Shadow (1956), was followed by scripts for Stanisław Lenartowicz (Pills for Aurelia, 1958), Witold Lesiewicz (Year One, 1960), Stanisław Bareja (Touch of the Night, 1961), and Wajda (Ashes, 1965), among others. In the 1960s, Ścibor-Rylski also directed a series of action-oriented films based on his own scripts. He started with a marital tragicomedy, Their Everyday Life (Ich dzień powszedni, 1963), starring Zbigniew Cybulski, Aleksandra Śląska, and Pola Raksa. His "Eastern," Wolves' Echoes (Wilcze echa, 1968), a transplant of the Western genre, became popular among audiences, as was his earlier suspense drama set toward the end of the war, The Murderer Leaves a Trail (Morderca zostawia ślad, 1967). In the 1970s, Ścibor-Rylski returned to scripting films for others, among them Andrzej Trzos-Rastawiecki's quasi-documentary crime film Leprosy (Trąd, 1971) and Jan Rybkowski's historical film The Nest (1974). The documentary film by Andrzej Kotkowski and Jerzy Sztwiertnia, The Man from a Drawer: Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski (Człowiek z szuflady: Aleksander Ścibor-Rylski, 1993), provides insights into his life.

   Other films (as director): Late Afternoon (Późnepopołudnie, 1964), Tomorrow Mexico (Jutro Meksyk, 1965), Neighbors (Sąsiedzi, 1969).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof