WARSAW: Polish film director and producer Janusz Morgenstern died in Warsaw on Tuesday morning. He was 88.
Born in 1922 in Mikulińce, near Ternopil, now in Ukraine, Morgenstern graduated from the State Film School in Łódź. He was one of Andrzej Wajda’s closest collaborators and worked as his assistant director on Kanał (1956), Ashes and Diamonds (1958) and Lotna (1959). On Ashes and Diamonds, he is credited with suggesting Zbigniew Cybulski for the lead role and with coming up with one of the film’s best-known scenes, in which glasses of alcohol are set alight.
Morgenstern made his directing debut with Do widzenia, do jutra (Goodbye, See You Tomorrow) in 1960. His later films included Jowita (1967), Trzeba zabić tę miłość (We Have to Kill This Love, 1972) and Mniejsze zło (Lesser of Two Evils, 2009). He also directed the popular television series Stawka większa niż życie (More Than Life at Stake), Kolumbowie (Columbuses) and Polskie drogi (Polish Roads).
His honours included the Gloria Artis Gold Medal in 2005 and the Polish Film Academy’s Eagle award for lifetime achievement in 2008. In 2010, he received the Platinum Lion for his life’s work at the Polish Feature Film Festival in Gdynia.