The driving creative force behind "The Decalogue" was Krzysztof Kieslowski, who co-wrote and directed all 10 episodes, which are inspired by the Ten Commandants. But the biblical origins of the idea for the episodes notwithstanding, the cycle is humanistic rather than religious.
Each episode is a little under an hour long, and each tells a self-contained story that is essentially independent of the other nine episodes in the cycle. In terms of narrative, it would do no harm to watch the 10 episodes in random order. But I believe Kieslowski intended that the episodes be seen in sequence, and I think it's no accident that the first episode seems the saddest to me, while the last one seems the most humorous.
The individual storylines vary, but I think what makes them so compelling is that they involve moral and ethical issues. Some episodes have familiar themes, such as abortion, capital punishment, and Holocaust-era behavior, but I would say that Kieslowski keeps things interesting by taking a somewhat more oblique approach to these important topics than we ordinarily get. Other episodes seem to me more offbeat, such as an edgy one on the Electra complex, or one that tells a curious tale about a peeping Tom.
But if you're expecting "The Decalogue" to recount simpleminded stories that invariably illustrate a clear-cut differentiation between right and wrong, you'll be disappointed. I found the episodes ambiguous and tricky to interpret, and I believe Kieslowski intended them to provoke thought and discussion.
On DVD, "The Decalogue" comes as a three-disc set that opens with a 16-minute introduction by film critic Roger Ebert that was made in 2001. I found his overview of the cycle helpful, and he makes a few interesting general comments. For example, he claims, "There was not a moment when the characters talk about specific Commandments or moral issues. Instead, they're absorbed in trying to deal with real-life ethical challenges in their own day-to-day existence."
The third disc in "The Decalogue" set contains three bonus materials. The one I found most interesting is the 42-minute 1988 session where Kieslowski responds to questions tossed at him by 15 or so members of the Polish entertainment press. It felt to me as though the filmmaker and the press behaved like adversaries, and the mood of the session was mostly combative.
Another of the bonus materials on the third disc is a 13-minute appreciation of Kieslowski by 13 of his colleagues that was made in 1998. (The filmmaker died in 1996 at age 54.) There's also a bonus material where Kieslowski is interviewed for about three minutes on the set where he is directing the second episode of "The Decalogue." I found these two bonus materials only mildly interesting.
"The Decalogue" DVD set also comes with a 20-page booklet, six pages of which are devoted to a 1990 essay by Kieslowski. I found this provided some useful insights into the filmmaker's thinking. For example, he writes, "To understand where you are in the present, it is necessary to retrace the steps of your life and isolate the parts played by necessity, free will, and pure chance."
Below I've listed all the special features of "The Decalogue" DVD set.
DVD Details:
- Three-Disc Set Released August 19, 2003
- Total Feature Run Time: 9 Hours 44 Minutes (10 Episodes)
- Full-Screen (1.33:1), Color
- MPAA Rating: Not Rated
- Polish Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
- English Subtitles
- Roger Ebert Introduction to "The Decalogue" (16 min.)
- On the Set of "The Decalogue" (3 min. 26 sec.)
- Kieslowski Meets the Press (42 min.)
- Kieslowski: Known and Unknown (13 min.)
- 20-Page Booklet
