Watch The Old Fairy Tale: When the Sun Was God For Free

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This is a Polish film which is all about a ruthless despot's attempts to crush a rebel army by enlisting the help of the Vikings. I'm not quite sure how historically accurate this is, but frankly who cares? It may not be a Hollywood spectacular but the hacking and slashing were enough to divert my attention and the complex plot is not unlike that great TV show, Game Of Thrones. It does come with subtitles intact though, so those dimwits who can't read and watch simultaneously can look elsewhere. Everyone else will probably enjoy a decent throwback to when our leaders were corrupt, life was cheap and barbarism ruled the day. Hmm... Maybe not that much of a throwback after all... 6/10

Mr. Jerzy Hoffman proved with this film that he has been and still remains to be one of the three greatest Polish film directors, along with Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kislowski. This film was made with the obvious attempt to repeat the winning formula of Hoffman's super hit Ogniem I Miezcem (1999)- the theme is again about Poland's heroic past, the actors are more or less the same - Polish mega stars Zebrowski, Olbrychski, Zborowski, as well as Ukrainian star Bohdan Stupka and the Russian rising female star Maria Aleksandrova (she is somehow connected with Aleksander Domogarow who played one of the main roles in Ogniem I Mieczem - so, the principle of inviting as many OiM stars as possible worked out). And it worked. The film tells about the pre-Christian history of Poland, where there were many disparate tribes, and one of those was ruled by a bloody and ferocious chief Popel. He didn't hesitate to murderer all his relatives and his nephew only to stay a chief as long as possible. He is the merciless ruler, but there are people who challenge him. Among them is the brave archer Ziemowit, and he is the one who openly fights against Popel. It is not necessary to retell the whole story here, only keep in mind that this is a breathtaking film, with bloody battles, viking raids, pagan rituals, some sweet love story, beautiful nature and excellent sense of humor. Do watch it.

It wasn't the best movie ever, but it was not bad. For non-polish people it could be a little weird.Film by Jerzy Hoffman based on the book "Stara Basn" written by Jozef Ignacy Kraszewski. The story of 'When the Sun was God An Ancient Tale' is happening one hundred years before the christening of Poland in the world of magic and pagan witchcraft, where the gods take active parts in the lives of ordinary men.In this powerful tale, the fates of the characters interlace in an everlasting fight between the good and the evil and in the human passions of love, hatred and the greed for power. In the land of Polan people, the power belongs to the cruel prince Popiel, who according to a legend was finally eaten by mice... He is set to ensure the succession of his son and will do it by all means including plotting, scheming and murdering.Casting was good. You can see all of the popular polish actors. And maybe I liked it because didn't read the book (required in all polish schools).

This could be interesting, historical film if made properly, but it definitely isn't. Oldest polish legend is base of original novel. But you see not much of it in this movie and it's not so easy to understand even for polish who know original. Sadly weakest side is actors' play. This is typical curse of every high-budget (as for polish movies - 10-15 mln.$). Best actors don't try to be professional but they think that this is just prize for being best-known people in polish entertainment, so no need to put any effort if you paid part of cast already. Overall - weak, boring and acted poorly. It looks like C-class US production. 2/10. If you want some interesting polish production look for lower budget, but much better made movies.