4 Alternative Street

4 Alternative Street
Block of flats at 3 Marii Grzegorzewskiej Street in Warsaw where the series was shot
Alternatywy 4
Genre
Written by
  • Stanisław Bareja
  • Janusz Płoński
  • Maciej Rybiński
Directed byStanisław Bareja
ComposerJerzy Matuszkiewicz
Country of originPoland
Original languagePolish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Original release
NetworkTVP
Release30 September 1986 (1986-09-30) –
18 January 1987 (1987-01-18)

4 Alternative Street (Polish: Alternatywy 4, [ˌaltɛrnaˈtɨvɨ ˈʧ̑tɛrɨ]) is a Polish comedy TV series that was completed in 1983 and, due to the censorship, first aired only in 1986. Many famous Polish actors appeared in the series. The filming location used in Alternatywy 4 was a residential complex, still in existence at 3 Marii Grzegorzewskiej Street in Warsaw, Poland. The series was a satire of life under the Communist rule in Poland.

The series title is a result of a dispute among local councilors on what to name a new street in the development (in episode 1). Annoyed by the lack of consensus, one of them quips: "There must be some alternative".

The dialogues, which intended to ridicule the absurdities of everyday life of the times, had to be written in a way that they would be approved by the censorship office. Even then, some scenes had to be removed from the final cut. Thirty years after the series was filmed, it underwent a digital reconstruction and the initially deleted scenes were added, after they had been found in the archives of TVP.[1]

In 2005, one of the streets in Ursynów district, where the series plot had taken place, was officially named Alternatywy to commemorate the series.[2] The residential building, where most of the scenes were shot, bears a plaque, that aside from the actual street name (M. Grzegorzewskiej 3) also contains an inscription, "Formerly Alternatywy 4".[3]

Plot

The series revolves around inhabitants of a newly built housing development in Warsaw who won housing assignments after years of patient waiting. They come from various backgrounds and have distinct personalities, and their daily interactions often lead to hilarious encounters. The main character is Stanisław Anioł, a sneaky and cunning estate manager who tries to exert control over every resident. The residents must additionally navigate the challenges of bureaucracy and petty politics to survive. Among the residents are Kotek and Kołek – a crane operator and a doctor who share a similar surname, which leads to them mistakenly being assigned the same apartment to share. There is the street-smart alcoholic Józef Balcerek who tries to hide his criminal machinations from Anioł's watchful gaze. There is the young woman Ewa Majewska, whose only outlet from the banality of her life is working a secret night-shift as a stripper.

The circumstances of the characters are different, but they all experience the bizarre oddities of life in Poland of the time, presented in a satirical way.

Episodes

StoryTitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Przydział (The Assignment)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński30 November 1986 (1986-11-30)
Impatient citizens await the results of the next housing "lottery", a list posting the names of lucky winners who would be entitled to a government-provided apartment in Communist-era Poland. But the lucky winners find that winning a new housing assignment comes with its own set of problems.
2"Przeprowadzka (Moving in)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński7 December 1986 (1986-12-07)
After bureaucratic missteps delay the construction of the housing residents' new home, a well-placed bribe puts the project back on schedule. When the move in day finally arrives, the residents find themselves dealing with new challenges under the watchful eye of their arrogant estate manager.
3"Pierwsza noc (The First Night)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński14 December 1986 (1986-12-14)
A debate among municipal councilors leads to the decision to call the new street “Alternatywy”, rather than naming it after a historical figure. The new tenants located at Alternatywy 4 mingle and try to organize a tenant’s association without alerting their suspicious estate manager.
4"Profesjonaliści (The Professionals)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński21 December 1986 (1986-12-21)
As the residents settle in, they are visited by opportunistic handymen seeking to correct the building’s shoddy construction work. The estate manager continues to spy on the residents and has begun reading their mail. He learns that a prominent Party apparatchik will move into the building.
5"20-ty stopień zasilania (The Blackout)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński24 December 1986 (1986-12-24)
A coal shortage at the power plant causes an outage at Alternatywy 4 during a cold spell. The resourceful residents take matters into their own hands by repurposing an old steam locomotive to re-power the building. Meanwhile, the estate manager takes advantage of an American academic visiting from Harvard.
6"Gołębie (The Pigeons)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński28 December 1986 (1986-12-28)
The estate manager enlists some residents to spy on other residents. When an alcoholic refuses to cooperate, the manager forges a letter summoning him for government-mandated rehab. The alcoholic relents, but is distracted when his pigeons are scared off by a rogue gunshot.
7"Spisek (The Plot)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński4 January 1987 (1987-01-04)
The residents have had enough of participating in time-consuming building social functions and chores that the manager has mandated. They organize and deliver a petition to the housing association seeking to replace the manager, but are outmaneuvered by the clever manager himself.
8"Wesele (The Wedding)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński11 January 1987 (1987-01-11)
The alcoholic hosts a wedding for a relative and invites the building to celebrate. The manager disrupts the festivities by shutting the power off and mandating all residents attend an impromptu meeting. But the intervention of a Communist apparatchik saves the day.
9"Upadek (The Fall)"Stanislaw BarejaStanisław Bareja, Janusz Płoński and Maciej Rybiński18 January 1987 (1987-01-18)
The estate manager learns of the impending arrival of an international delegation of mayors and sees a chance for advancement. He harasses his residents to prepare a grand welcome for the delegation, but the residents concoct a plan of their own to sabotage the visit and avenge themselves.

Cast

From the Internet Movie Database

  • Roman Wilhelmi as Stanisław Anioł, a former head of a Communist committee who is demoted and becomes an estate manager in a new housing development.
  • Bronisław Pawlik as Dionizy Cichocki, an elderly man who stubbornly fights a bureaucratic mistake that deprives him of his housing assignment.
  • Stanisława Celińska as Bożena Lewicka, a homely teacher struggling to convince her apathetic partner, Zenobiusz Furman, to marry her.
  • Zofia Czerwińska as Zofia Balcerkowa, the abused wife of the criminal and alcoholic Józef Balcerek
  • Bożena Dykiel as Miećka Aniołowa, the estate manager's dutiful wife who helps her husband spy on the housing residents.
  • Kazimierz Kaczor as Zygmunt Kotek, a mobile crane operator assigned to the same apartment as another man with a similar last name.
  • Wojciech Pokora as Docent Zenobiusz Furman, an avid hunter who works as the estate manager's informant and draws the ire of his fellow residents.
  • Witold Pyrkosz as Józef Balcerek, a well-connected street smart criminal and alcoholic with a collection of prized pet pigeons.
  • Mieczysław Voit as Prof. Ryszard Dąb-Rozwadowski, a professor of law and dissident intellectual, who fellow residents often turn to

mediate disputes.

See also

References

  1. ^ ""Alternatywy 4" bez cenzury już wkrótce na ekranach". rozrywka.dziennik.pl (in Polish). 11 September 2014.
  2. ^ UCHWAŁA Nr XLV/1114/2005 RADY MIASTA STOŁECZNEGO WARSZAWY z dnia 27 stycznia 2005 r. w sprawie nadania nazwy ulicom w Dzielnicy Ursynów m.st. Warszawy.. "Dziennik Urzędowy Województwa Mazowieckiego". poz. 55 nr 1356, 2005.
  3. ^ "English: Film Street Alternatywy 4 (Table)". 3 July 2011.