While horror has its wealth of auteurs, it feels much more rare to see a director devoted to making bespoke, artistic sci-fi movies. Piotr Szulkin directed just six feature films over the course of his career, four between 1980-86.
Those four most prominent features, Szulkin's "Apocalypse Tetralogy," have been collected here by Vinegar Syndrome. Each of the four, in their own ways, reflect Poland's experiences with dictatorial governance, not only under the Nazis, but the USSR and even their own internal struggles.
Golem sees a man hounded by secret police in a techno-future where humanity is punished. War of the Worlds: Next Century brings viewers into a modern Poland in the midst of a martian invasion. But when the Martians leave? Their fascist governance is carried on unabated by the men left in power.
My personal favorite of these films, Ga-Ga: Glory to the Heroes, tells the tale of a prisoner on board a deep space exploration vessel. Sent to his death on a "colonization" mission to a barren planet, he instead finds a well established colony where prisoners like him are welcomed, asked to commit heinous crimes, and then publicly executed as an example to all of the rule of law.
And finally, O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization takes place in a nuclear fallout shelter, where a rapidly dwindling population has turned to religious mania, in the belief that a holy ark will soon arrive to rescue them from their miserable existence. A fascinating, wonderfully realized, and poignant series of science fiction films unlike any other.
Special Features (via vinegarsyndrome.com)
- 2-disc Region Free Set: Blu-ray x2
- Newly restored by Vinegar Syndrome from existing studio masters
- Brand new commentary track with film historian and author Samm Deighan for GOLEM
- Brand new commentary track with film author and critic Michael Brooke for THE WAR OF THE WORLDS: NEXT CENTURY
- "Actually Existing Dystopia: Politics, Delusion and Language in O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILIZATION" (17 min) - a video essay by Jonathan Owen
- "Hard to be a Hero: Piotr Szulkin’s GA-GA: GLORY TO THE HEROES" (21 min) - a video essay by Andrew Nette
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- Newly translated English subtitles
