Jan Górski

Focus puller and still photographer. He graduated from technical and mechanical high school and completed photography courses organised at the Feature Film Studio in Łódź.  

He was keen on photography from childhood. He began his work in the WFF [Feature Film Studio] by maintaining the equipment in the Department of Image Technology. After just a few years he was sent to a film set - for the shooting of "W każdą pogodę", 1969 dir. Andrzej Zakrzewski. A year later, while working on the series "Doktor Ewa" by Henryk Kluba, he became a still photographer. Feridun Erol, the assistant director of the TV series, noticed Górski taking private photos on the set with his camera. He asked him to show them to him. They were so good that Erol suggested that Górski, in addition to being the focus puller on the set, should take up photography professionally. „So I started taking stills for films, often for those where I was working as assistant DoP" – Górski recalls.

Combining the roles of still photographer and assistant DoP was not easy, but Górski liked taking stills a lot. Especially as one of his early film still jobs – the "Czarne chmury" film shoot – was published by the RUCH Publishing Company as a series of postcards with images of the main characters. The basis of the series were Górski's film stills.

Soon Górski began to photograph more interesting films – as focus puller and still photographer he began working with director Janusz Majewski on "System", "Markheim", "Okno zabite deskami", "Słona róża" and, above all, on "Królowa Bona". Bona was played by Aleksandra Śląska. After a few days of shooting, when the first control stills came back from the laboratory, Górski realised that Śląska was squinting slightly in each photo. She only looked normal when she was speaking during a dialogue scene. He had to beg her to also speak her lines for his stills. The actress initially responded sarcastically ("Is this a talking still?) but later, when she saw the first effects, her protests ceased.

The work of the still photographer was very stressful at times for Górski. The actors rarely had time to pose, and during filming and rehearsals he could not take photos. So he always had to squeeze in with the camera somehow at the right moment. It was only on the sets of Wojciech Jerzy Has that Górski saw how comfortable his work could be. “With Has, there was time for everything” – says Górski. "Even if the actors did not want to repeat the scene for the film still, Has immediately came to my rescue. He then always said to the actors: "Ladies and gentlemen, please treat the film still as a normal take. I don't want to come back to this anymore."

Górski worked with Has throughout the 1980s. He was due to go to another set to take the stills for "Osioł grający na lirze", but production of the film was suspended on account of the declaration of Martial Law. Then he took the stills for "Nieciekawa historia", "Pismak", "Osobisty pamiętnik grzesznika" and "Niezwykła podróż Baltazara Kobera". "I remember that during the shoot for "Nieciekawa historia" I went up to Has to show him the stills I had chosen from those I had taken" – says Górski. "Has immediately asked me if I also had on me those I had rejected. I had. He looked at both sets. He accepted those I had chosen, but from the discards he took out two more, and added them to the advertising set. But with subsequent films he left the selection just up to me."

While working on "Nieciekawa historia", Has liked one of the photos taken by Górski so much that it ended up on the film poster. It showed Gustaw Holoubek as a professor.

Piotr Śmiałowski

Filmography of Górski as still photographer:

1970 – „Doktor Ewa”

1971 – „Beczka Amontillado”

1971 – „Markheim”

1971 – „Okno zabite deskami”

1971 – „System”

1971 – „5 i ½ Bladego Józka”

1972 – „Skorpion, Panna i Łucznik”

1973 – „Czarne chmury”

1973 – „Ciemna rzeka”

1973 – „Nie będę cię kochać”

1978 – „Życie na gorąco”

1979 – „Kobieta i kobieta”

1979 – „Lekcja martwego języka”

1979 – „Szansa”

1980 – „Królowa Bona”

1982 – „Epitafium dla Barbary Radziwiłłówny”

1982 – „Nieciekawa historia”

1982 – „Słona róża”

1983 – „Mgła”

1983 – „Nie było słońca tej wiosny”

1983 – „Wedle wyroków Twoich…”

1983 – „Wierna rzeka”

1984 – „Kobieta z prowincji”

1984 – „Pismak”

1985 – „Osobisty pamiętnik grzesznika przez niego samego spisany”

1985 – „Sam pośród swoich”

1986 – „Prywatne śledztwo”

1986 – „Przyjaciel wesołego diabła”

1987 – „Cienie” (wespół ze Stefanem Kurzypem)

1987 – „Trójkąt bermudzki”

1988 – „Koniec świata”

1988 – „Niezwykła podróż Baltazara Kobera”

1989 – „Powrót wabiszczura” (wespół ze Sławomirem Klembą)

1989 – „Sztuka kochania” (wespół z Jerzym Kośnikiem)

1991 – „Diabły, diabły”

1991 – „3 dni bez wyroku”