Knife in the Water

Released Mar 9, 1962

1h 34m

Drama

List

97%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

85%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) nearly run over a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz). Inviting the young man onto the boat with them, Andrzej begins to subtly torment him; the hitchhiker responds by making overtures toward Krystyna. When the hitchhiker is accidentally knocked overboard, the husband's panic results in unexpected consequences. This was the first feature directed by Roman Polanski.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered May 17

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Max

Watch Knife in the Water with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Variety Staff

Variety

Middle-aged cocksureness, arrogance and incomprehension versus teenage revolt, with a young woman as a sort of arbiter, is the theme of this lively and inventive little pic.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Polanski's first feature, a model of economic, imaginative film-making which, in many ways, he has hardly improved upon since.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

Polanski arrived on the scene with an almost super-human knack for tension; one of the great directorial debuts in cinema's history.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 1, 2006

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Polanski presents, in the key of grounded suspense, an observation on the struggle of social classes, but navigates irregular tides where the tension comes and goes with the breeze. Full review in Spanish

Rated: 6/10

Apr 27, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Polanski's first great film of many.

Rated: 4/4

Mar 20, 2022

Full Review

Jonathan Miller

The New York Review of Books

Polanski has played a cool trick by taking this ordinarily social squabble out of the city and putting it down in the middle of a watery nowhere.

Mar 12, 2018

Full Review

Read all reviews

pierce k

Although the movie takes place mostly on the boat in the middle of the ocean, there are some good scenes and acting performances in this film. so i think this film deserves a 4.5 out of 5.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/11/23

Full Review

G B

I haven't seen any other movie with only three actors and probably extremely low budget that was this great. A simple story and such great execution. It shows how much humanity lost by moving the entire film industry to Hollywood, sacrificing everything for money.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/30/23

Full Review

Shioka O

Polanski's early polish work. Great cinematography beautifully filmed. I like the use of its score, makes it thrilling yet somewhat lighthearted. The story is run by only the three people, and all of them are unlikeable, but the confident lady is the core as the yacht name suggests.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Christopher B

Early Polanski, that is a wonderful black and white psychological thriller with wonderful camera work. Tension builds very subtitle throughout, finally exploding near the climax. Great acting and wonderful cinematography really elevate this film and make Knife in the Water a must see in Polanski's work. This is a great example of how less is more and how even three people on a tiny boat can create such thick and heavy suspense and create a complex and moody atmosphere!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/02/22

Full Review

dave s

Roman Polanksi made his feature length film debut with Knife in the Water, a film that pits the arrogance of an older generation against the rebellious nature of the younger generation. When a couple on their way to a day of boating invite a brash young hitchhiker to join them, the resulting chain of events causes each to reexamine themselves. While the film does have some small issues (the motivation of the characters is sometimes questionable, especially towards the end, and there are continuity problems that seem inevitable when shooting on water), the movie remains taut and distinctly uncomfortable throughout, an impressive debut for Polanski.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

david l

Knife in the Water represents one of the better directorial debuts as Polanski's directing here is remarkable and the entire movie is very strong. Yes, the storyline is far from brainy as it's rather simple and straightforward, but the execution of it was that of a killer mood full of suspense. The character dynamics here are interesting to follow, but mainly the visuals are mesmerizing as many shots here are wallpaper-worthy how artistic and beautifully composed they are.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Roman Polanski

Director

Leon Niemczyk

Andrzej

Jolanta Umecka

Krystyna

Zygmunt Malanowicz

Young Boy

Roman Polanski

Writer

Jakub Goldberg

Writer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

94%

89%

Jules and Jim

67%

61%

Walk on the Wild Side

100%

78%

The Young One

0%

58%

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

93%

87%

A Kind of Loving

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Now Streaming: Jane the Virgin, Arrow, American Psycho, And More

View more photos

Synopsis

On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) nearly run over a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz). Inviting the young man onto the boat with them, Andrzej begins to subtly torment him; the hitchhiker responds by making overtures toward Krystyna. When the hitchhiker is accidentally knocked overboard, the husband's panic results in unexpected consequences. This was the first feature directed by Roman Polanski.

Director: Roman Polanski
Screenwriter: Roman Polanski, Jakub Goldberg, Jerzy Skolimowski
Distributor: Fox, Criterion Collection
Production Co: Zespół Filmowy "Kamera" [pl]
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Polish
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 9, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 21, 2009
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

Most Popular at Home Now