three weeks. The original book is often deemed to be nationalistic and Ukrainophobic, especially in Ukraine. The movie, on the other hand, has been praised for its depiction of Ukraine and Ukrainians as "vivid rather than monochromatic; they are multi-dimensional, eliciting more than one feeling of, say, fascination or dislike". However, some Polish reviewers felt that the movie emphasized the Cossacks' successes and positive traits but diminished those of the Poles in the spirit of political correctness. The director was aware of the controversies and the criticism. He was quoted as saying, "Sienkiewicz's book is still considered anti-Ukrainian by some Ukrainians. I understand that problem, but when I was in Kiev at a conference of Ukrainian intellectuals... many people with whom I spoke had read the novel closely and they quoted whole passages where Sienkiewicz criticized the Polish nobles as strongly as the Cossacks. For both sides it was clear that the result of this tragic conflict was the eventual demise of both the Commonwealth and the Sich. I am well aware that the film may agitate those in Ukraine who blame everything on the Poles, and in Poland those who blame all that was bad on the Ukrainians. My film will certainly not convince any radicals.... My film finishes with the final words of Sienkiewicz's novel: 'Hatred poisoned the hearts of two brother nations'". Political background Although the original novel is the first part of the Trilogy, the film was the last part of Hoffman's version of the trilogy to be made, following The Deluge, which was filmed in 1974, and Colonel Wolodyjowski, which was filmed in 1969. This might have been due to political tension between Polish People's Republic and Ukrainian SSR, as filming a novel taking up a politically loaded subject of Polish-Ukrainian relations (another stalled film project was Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol) was deemed undesired by the Soviet Union. Box office The film turned out to be a box office success grossing PLN 105,089,363 ($26,366,071) against a budget of PLN 24,000,000 ($8,000,000). See also The Deluge Colonel Wolodyjowski References External links 1999 films 1990s historical films Epic films based on actual events Polish historical films 1990s Polish-language films Ukrainian-language films 1990s Turkish-language films Films based on works by Henryk Sienkiewicz Films about religious violence Films about Orthodoxy Films set in the 1640s Films set in the 1650s Films set in Ukraine Films set in Poland