The smell of autumn.... Independent Witcher Movie is Coming
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The return of the aforementioned Zbigniew Zamachowski, the original Dandelion from the 2001 movie, in Alzur's Legacy was quite surprising to many people. The director actually gives a lot of credit to the movie from 18 years ago, which I definitely agree with, and says that one of the highlights was exactly the performance from Zamachowski. It took months to get in touch with the actor, but Jakub finally managed to convince him to participate.
But let's make it clear – Dandelion will be an episodic character, even though the creators stated during our conversation that Zamachowski will get about a quarter of an hour of total screen time. The reason is very simple – no one is getting paid for creating Alzur's Legacy; everyone's busy with the rest of their lives, Mr. Zamachowski in particular, as he's occupied with his theatre and musical career. Fortunately, Dandelion was one of the characters the actor remembered perfectly after the years. The director recalled that Zamachowski immediately entered the character, remembered the way he behaved, and still knew how to play the lute.
This made me think, though – is there more of a connection going on between Alzur's Legacy and the original Witcher from 2001? Since the same actor returns as Dandelion, can this film be considered a follow-up? In a sense, yes, because the vision of the world presented in the upcoming movie is, for rather obvious reasons, closest to the one we saw in 2001. On the other hand, however, the director emphasized that the first and foremost inspiration for their work was the prose from Andrzej Sapkowski, and this source material took precedence over any of the subsequent adaptations. The Dandelion's role is the extension of the one from the 2001 Witcher, with the difference obviously being that the bard's now much older. Which doesn't stop him (obviously) from being the “indefatigable windbag, buffoon, and wastrel” he's always been, although the years have taken their toll.
A Witcher from the book, a Witcher from the game
Actually, all works based on Sapkowski's prose will have many commonalities – simply because his vision of the world was so concrete and visceral, so precise, that there's not much room for different interpretations of each detail. But still, every artist – a director, developer, or cartoonist – will have a different take on it.
Jakub Nurzynski
Looks like a fun company. Killer sense of humor, too. (photo credit: Cezary Pomykalo)
Hence, there's naturally a degree of visual coherence between the last cinematic interpretation of the books, but it wasn't the paramount assumption during the production. According to the Director, in Alzur's Legacy there will be some very specific references to the work of Marek Brodzki, but it's unlikely anyone apart from the most attentive viewers will be able to spot them. So I'm guessing it's not about a cheap-CGI golden dragon spreading wings in the background at some point.
From the gamers' perspective, another potential source of inspiration seems much more interesting. It is of course the game from CD Projekt RED. They introduce some visual hallmarks that have become synonymous with the image of the witcher, and we can't seem to have it any other way. A good example is the criticism that arose after one of the first posters of The Witcher series from Netflix surfaced, showing Geralt with just one sword. Few people today remember that in the books, Geralt actually carried a single sword, and it were the games that cemented the idea of him always having two. The creators of Alzur's Legacy consciously decided to follow the image from the games.
But we have to remember that otherwise, the film will not take into account the events from the video games. This timeline does not include the return of the White Wolf from the Avalon; we probably won't learn what's become of Ciri and Yennefer either. The screenwriter admitted, however, that some commonalities with The Witcher video game from 2007 will be traceable in terms the way alchemy works; even stronger ties will link the film to the latest Sapkowski's book, Season of Storms, which gives a lot of attention to genetics and the 'witcherhood' in general.
Killing monsters must be tiring. (photo credit: Cezary Pomykalo)
When it comes to the structure of the adventures, on the other hand, or some concrete references to the very form of world-building used by Sapkowski, Alzur's Legacy should hark back to the first short stories the author wrote. There, Sapkowski didn't shy away from establishing his stories within the frameworks of popular legends and tales, such as the inspirations of Snow White visible in The Lesser Evil short. Things should be similar in Alzur's Legacy, where references to, among others, Hansel and Gretel will be apparent. I am very curious about the aptitude exerted by the writers in these cases, because rephrasing Sapkowski's idiosyncratic way of telling a story is a difficult task.
Something Ends, Something Begins
The progress on Alzur's Legacy seems to be solid. The initial editing has been completed, so that's good news. Still, there's plenty to get done: the sound, color grading, special effects, wrapping up post-production, and then watching it a million times over to make sure everything's set.
"Because we love making movies!" (photo credit: Cezary Pomykalo)
The story of the creation of Alzur's Legacy is one of a group of mad enthusiasts, who dreamed about making a movie set in the world of the Witcher, and managed to fulfil that dream only with their own determination and the kindness of others, like-minded people. The entire project is the outcome of the work of dozens of talented individuals, all of whom contributed to make the final outcome something to be remembered. What it's going to be? We'll find out on November 30, when the film premieres on Alzur's Legacy YouTube channel. If any Witcher fans are in Warsaw around that time, they're welcome to join the creators for an official screening during the Fantasy Fare, on the same day – you can learn more on this fanpage.
The adventure, which began in August 2015, is moving towards its conclusion. Hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of work in spare time, a few crowdfunding campaigns, about 100,000 PLN spent on the production and, ultimately, nearly 90 minutes of film. I couldn't help but ask the creators about a sequel, but apparently Alzur's Legacy: Nilfgaard Strikes Back will eternally remain a mere figment of my imagination.
