The Hourglass Sanatorium

The Hourglass Sanatorium

124 mins | Drama, Fantasy | Dec. 12, 1973

A young man named Josef visits a dilapidated Sanatorium to see his father Jakob. On his arrival, a sinister doctor informs him that his father had stopped breathing but hasn't died yet, perhaps due to Josef's arrival which may have halted time in the sanatorium. Josef undertakes a strange journey through the many rooms of the sanatorium, each which conjures worlds composed of his memories, dreams and nightmares.

The Hourglass Sanatorium

124 mins | Drama, Fantasy | Dec. 12, 1973

The Hourglass Sanatorium
A young man named Josef visits a dilapidated Sanatorium to see his father Jakob. On his arrival, a sinister doctor informs him that his father had stopped breathing but hasn't died yet, perhaps due to Josef's arrival which may have halted time in the sanatorium. Josef undertakes a strange journey through the many rooms of the sanatorium, each which conjures worlds composed of his memories, dreams and nightmares.
IMDb rating 7.5
Producers Zespół Filmowy Silesia
Original title Sanatorium pod klepsydrą
Directors Andrzej Reiter, W. Pawlowski, Alicja Kluba, Halina Garus, Wojciech Has
Writers Roman Pytel, Anatol Stern, Wojciech Has, Bruno Schulz

Cast

Jan Nowicki

as Józef

Tadeusz Kondrat

as Jakub

Irena Orska

as Józef's Mother

Halina Kowalska

as Adela

Gustaw Holoubek

as Dr. Gotard

Mieczysław Voit

as Blind Conductor

Bożena Adamek

as Bianka

Ludwik Benoit

as Szloma

Henryk Boukołowski

as Fireman

Seweryn Dalecki

as Teodor

Julian Jabczyński

as Dignitary

Jerzy Przybylski

as Mr. Voss

Wiktor Sadecki

as Dignitary

Tadeusz Schmidt

as Officer

Szymon Szurmiej

as Jewish Man Reciting False Qoheleth's Verses

Jan Szurmiej

as Instructive Jewish Man

Michał Szwejlich

as Jewish Man by the Ladder

Paweł Unrug

as Ornithologist

Filip Zylber

as Rudolf

Marek Barbasiewicz

as Waiter

Jerzy Bekker

as Wax Figure of Napoleon III

Jerzy Braszka

as Wax Figure of Leatherstocking

Zofia Bajuk

as Wax Figure of Queen Elizabeth

Emir Buczacki

as Wax Figure of Benito Juarez

Andrzej Herder

as Wax Figure of Buffalo Bill

Jolanta Hanisz

as Bianka's Mother

Jerzy Janeczek

as Wax Figure of Luigi Lucheni

Leszek Kowalewski

as Wax Figure of a Young Genius

Mirosława Lombardo

as Wax Figure of Queen Draga

Irena Malkiewicz

as Lady in Black

Bolesław Mierzejewski

as Wax Figure of Franz Joseph I

Włodzimierz Nowak

as Wax Figure of Archduke Maximilian

Stanisław Olczyk

as Wax Figure of Victor Emmanuel

Józef Łodyński

as Majordomo in Panopticon

Czesław Piaskowski

as Wax Figure of Otto von Bismarck

P. Podgórski

as Wax Figure of Maximilien de Robespierre

Wladyslaw Sitko

as Wax Figure of Alfred Dreyfus

Waldemar Gawlik

as Nameless Man (uncredited)

Jolanta Jackowska

as Wax Figure of Charlotte Corday (uncredited)

Alicja Kluba

as Wax Figure of George Sand (uncredited)

Leopold Rene Nowak

as Rudy / Ptak (uncredited)

Jerzy Trela

as Wesolek (uncredited)

Stanisław Tylczyński

as Wax Figure of Thomas Edison (uncredited)

Wojciech Standełło

as Jew Interlocutor in Restaurant

Stefania Staszewska

as Jewish Woman (uncredited)

Gołda Tencer

as Jewish Woman (uncredited)

Irena Izykowska

as Bearded Woman at Final Party (uncredited)