Filmography:
- 1979 – Direct Connection (TV film; episode of the Family Situations TV series). A quarrelling couple receives a mysterious phone call from a woman calling for help. They both try to figure out who the woman is and how to help her. The stressful situation reconciles the couple.
- 1981 – Vabank. Warsaw in the 1930s. Kwinto, an experienced safecracker, is released from prison after serving his sentence. He decides to take revenge on Kramer, who once handed him over to the police and is now a successful banker. A graceful, superbly produced retro crime comedy.
- 1983 – Sexmission (screenplay written with Jolanta Hartwig and Pavel Hajny). Two men undergo hibernation in 1991. They wake up in 2044, in an underground world of women. This new state was created after a nuclear war in which all men died out. A hilarious comedy in which a lot is said about the situation of the country at the time, all under the pretext of fantasy.
- 1984 – Vabank 2 – the retort. A continuation of Kwinto’s story. The safecracker is again fighting the evil Kramer, who has managed to escape from prison. A comedy full of unexpected twists and classy verbal and situational jokes.
- 1987 – Kingsajz (screenplay written with Jolanta Hartwig). In the fairytale realm of Szuflandia (Drawerland), there are dwarves who dream of becoming tall and venturing to the world of people. Some of them manage to escape thanks to an extraordinary mixture. A fairy tale comedy full of black humour with bitter overtones and a not-so-optimistic ending.
- 1989 – Deja Vu (produced by Poland and the USSR; based on a short story by Juliusz Machulski; screenplay written with Aleksander Borodiański). In 1925, the Prohibition Period, American gangster Mick Nitsch escapes to Odessa from the mob that sentenced him to death. Johnny Pollack follows him. This is how the amusing adventures of the film’s protagonists begin. A criminal comedy in which the director combined Eisenstein’s cinema with an American gangster film.
- 1991 – V.I.P. (a Polish-Belgian-French co-production). A young composer gets involved in a big smuggling affair with international criminals who – officially – are high-positioned citizens. An action film set between Warsaw and Paris.
- 1992 – Szwadron (Squadron, a co-production by Poland, France, Belgium and Ukraine; screenplay based on short stories by Stanisław Rembek: Przekazana Sztafeta (The Passed-over Baton) and Igła Wojewody (The Governor’s Needle). In 1863, Russian Baron Yeremin volunteers to join a dragoon squadron to impress a lady who rejected him. The January Uprising has just broken out and the baron is on his way to the battlefield. This image of the Polish uprising is shown from the Russian point of view.
- 1995 – Girl Guide (screenplay based on Michał Szczepański’s novel). A young English philology student is visited by a beautiful girl. He wants to learn English as soon as possible because he is about to marry an American woman. Unfortunately, the fiancé turns out to be a very suspicious person and the couple gets involved in an international spying scandal.
- 1995 – Matki, Żony i Kochanki (Mothers, Wives and Lovers, TV series: 12 episodes; screenplay written together with Paweł Trzaska, Zdena Sisova and Krzysztof Zatorski). The TV series tells the story of the lives of four thirty-year-old nurses – their successes, failures, professional problems, love, and marital infidelity.
- 1997 – Kiler (screenplay by Piotr Wereśniak). The story of the film takes place in the contemporary environment of the ‘elite’ of so-called organised crime. Taxi driver Jerzy Kiler is mistakenly taken for a dangerous assassin for hire. Good pacing, a perfect script and satirical observations of Polish customs ensured the film’s great success.
- 1998 – Matki, Żony i Kochanki (series 2: 10 episodes; director and screenplay with Ryszard Zatorski). More adventures of the series’ four heroines.
- 1999 – Kilerów Dwóch (Two Kilers, screenplay with Ryszard Zatorski). Kiler’s sequel. Jerzy Kiler, a former taxi driver, sets up a charitable foundation to support the state budget. Unfortunately, gangsters in prison hire assassins to kill him.
- 2001 – Money Is Not Everything (screenplay by Jarosław Sokół). A rich businessman and producer of cheap wine becomes a hostage to the inhabitants of the former state farms. A comedy with bitter overtones.
- 2002 – Superproduction (script written together with Jarosław Sokoł). An uncompromising film critic is forced to write a screenplay and direct a film. Now, he himself learns about the problems faced by filmmakers.
- 2004 – Vinci. After being released from the prison, Cuma gathers a team of burglars to steal a painting by Leonardo da Vinci – Lady with an Ermine from the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow. A criminal comedy full of surprising twists and turns.
- 2005 – Sushi (screenplay written with Jarosław Sokół; part of the film Solidarity, Solidarity). The film producer receives a proposal to make a short film about the Solidarity movement. Consisting of 13 etudes, it received the Houston Award at the WorldFest Independent Film Festival in 2006.
- 2008 – How Much Does a Trojan Horse Weigh? In line with her wish, the film’s protagonist is transported from 1999 to 1987. She encounters her previous husband and her daughter is yet to be born. This fact causes numerous humorous situations.
- 2010 – Kołysanka (Lullaby, an adaptation of Adam Dobrzycki’s script). In a certain village in the Masuria region, people suddenly disappear only to soon re-appear. It might have something to do with the Makarewicz family but the local police have no evidence. Looking at the Makarewiczs, the viewer has no doubt that this is a vampire film.
Awards
1981
- Award for directorial debut at the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk
1982
- Award at the International Crime Film Festival in Cattolica
- Diploma of the Jury and Award of the Central Committee of ZMS in Karlovy Vary
- Special Award at the International Film Festival in Manila
- Golden Stick for best comedy at the Vevey International Comedy Film Festival (Switzerland)
- Special Jury Award at the West Berlin International Film Festival
1983
- Second Award of the Minister of Culture and Art
1984
- Grand Prix at the International Comedy Film Festival in Marseille.
1984
- Main Prize of the Jury and Golden Talar (POLKINO award) at the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk
- Warsaw Mermaid – award of the Film Critic’s Club of the Polish Journalists’ Association in the feature film category
1985
- Złota Kaczka (Golden Duck) in the category: best Polish film of 1984;
1990
- Award of the Chairman of the Cinematography Committee.
1992
- Award of the President of Gdynia at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
1995
- Grand Prix at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
1998
- Złota Kaczka (awarded by Film magazine) in the category: best Polish film of the year 1997
1999
- Golden Grenade at the Comedy Film Festival in Lubomierz.
2003
- Golden Grenade at the Comedy Film Festival in Lubomierz
2004
- Screenplay award at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
1989
- Special Jury Award at the International Fantastic Film Festival in Avoriaz.
2008
- Special Złota Kaczka awarded by a vote by readers by Film magazine on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Polish cinema in the Polish Comedy of the Century category.
2010
- Award for directing at the Odessa International Film Festival.
School etudes:
1976 – Parallax
1977 – Gorączka Mleka (Milk Fever); Wolna Sobota (Free Saturday)
TV theatre:
1995 – Jury
1996 – Komedia Amerykańska (American Comedy) (created by Adolf Nowaczyński);
1998 – Od Czasu do Czasu (From Time to Time) (created by Alan Ayckbourn);
2003 – 19. Południk (19th Meridian)
As a theatre director:
1996 – Humbug (created by Jan Machulski), director and text editor, Ochota Theatre in Warsaw;
2003 – Czego Nie Widać (What You Can’t See) (created by Michael Frayn), Powszechny Theatre in Warsaw.
Juliusz Machulski also starred in the films: 1974 – Katastrofa (in the series The Most Important Day of Life, director: Ryszard Ber); 1975 – Personel (director: Krzysztof Kieślowski); 1977 – Index (premiere: 1981; director: Janusz Kijowski); 1979 – Lekcja Martwego Języka (director: Janusz Majewski); 1980 – Constans (director: Krzysztof Zanussi); 1982 – Królowa Bona (episode 3; director: Janusz Majewski); 1980 – W biały dzień (director: Edward Żebrowski); 1988 – Zabij mnie glino (director: Jacek Bromski). In his own films: Matki, Żony i Kochanki series, Kilerów dwóch, Superprodukcja and in documentary films: 1994 – Machul (production and screenplay: Iwonna Łękawa), Chłopcy z Targowej (The Boys from Targowa) (director and screenplay: Krzysztof Bukowski).
Originally written in Polish by Halina Olczak-Moraczewska, August 2004 updated in September 2009, filmography added in October 2010, translated from English to Polish by PG, July 2019.