display Ashes and Diamonds. Party intellectuals were dissatisfied with making Maciek Chełmicki the main character of the film. It was then that Andrzejewski himself, who–with the support of his fellow writers–convinced PZPR activists that the ideological message of the film was correct; without the help of the author of the novel, Wajda's work would have never been released. The official screening took place on 7 July 1958, after which Ashes and Diamonds could be distributed in cinemas. Despite the protests of Aleksander Ford, who demanded that the authorities ban the film, its official premiere took place on 3 October 1958. Nevertheless, due to the still existing doubts about its message, Ashes and Diamonds were banned from taking part in the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival. Then Lewiński sent Wajda's work to the Venice Film Festival, where–apart from the main competition–it won the award of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). Reception Ashes and Diamonds was an international success. According to Janina Falkowska, this is Wajda's most recognizable film, and–in the opinion of Marek Hendrykowski–the most important achievement of the Polish Film School, which highlights the director's characteristic style, while dealing with the Second World War. Despite the condemnation of the film by some Communist critics, many supporters of independent Poland identified themselves with the role of Maciek. Cybulski has been compared to James Dean in his performance, which was complemented by the fact that with his appearance, Polish actor personified the contemporary generation of the 1950s. In total, around 1,722,000 spectators watched Ashes and Diamonds during the opening year. Critical reception in Poland Polish film critics generally were delighted with the film adaptation of Andrzejewski's novel. Stanisław Grzelecki assessed Ashes and Diamonds as "a new, outstanding work of Polish film art." According to Krzysztof Teodor Toeplitz, "Ashes and Diamonds is not a brilliant film, but it is certainly a great film". Jerzy Płażewski called Wajda's film "excellent." Several other Polish film and literary critics–Stanisław Grochowiak, Stanisław Lem, Andrzej Wróblewski–also considered Ashes and Diamonds an exceptional work. In the foreground, due to the then-prevailing Communist system, among the issues discussed by critics were attempts at ideological interpretation. The tragic actions of Home Army soldiers, who supposedly unjustly continued their struggle against the new political reality, were pointed out at that time. These voices, however, included Jan Józef Szczepański's opinion, which was devoid of ideological tone. In his opinion,