Jerzy Zelnik — Ramesses XIII in "Pharaoh"

In the early 1970s, my mother worked as a kind of “advisor,” or instructor, in the field of mushroom cultivation—a surprisingly respected and specialized profession in Poland at the time. Her work often required visits to mushroom growers in towns and villages around Warsaw, and from time to time I would accompany her.

It’s worth noting that she had neither a private car nor a company vehicle. These trips were therefore made by train, by bus, or sometimes simply by catching whatever transport happened to be available—something quite typical in Poland in those days.

As it turned out, one of the growers we visited was related to Jerzy Zelnik (born 1945). By sheer coincidence, the actor himself happened to be there at the time, and he very kindly agreed to write me a personal dedication and give me his autograph on March 4, 1974.

Jerzy Zelnik

Although Zelnik has appeared in many films and stage productions, he is best known for his role as Ramesses XIII in the famous film Pharaoh, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz--which I had watched before meeting him.

For readers less familiar with Polish cinema, Pharaoh (Faraon) is widely regarded as one of the greatest achievements of Polish filmmaking. This monumental historical epic, set in ancient Egypt, is not merely a spectacle—it is also a sophisticated study of power, politics, and the tension between youthful idealism and an entrenched, conservative system. Many viewers have also interpreted it as a subtle reflection on political realities in communist-era Eastern Europe.

The film was very well received both in Poland and internationally, including in the United States, where some critics hailed it as a masterpiece and one of the finest historical films ever made. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Many years later, the renowned director Martin Scorsese recognized Pharaoh as one of the masterpieces of Polish cinema. In 2014, he selected it for presentation in the United States and Canada as part of the retrospective Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, helping to introduce this remarkable film to a new international audience.

Author: Jarosław Roland Kruk / Wikipedia, licence: CC-BY-SA-3.0

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