Poland's official submission to the 1976's Oscar to the Best Foreign Language Film category.
In 2000, writer-director Andrzej Wajda has released a director's cut of this movie with several erotic scenes deleted. Wajda told that when he looked at the scene of an orgy, he thought, "I do not like this scene." He explained that when the film was made, at the time of the Solidarity movement, including such a scene "was an act of great courage. It was a form of rebellion against the official censors. Today, I am certain, this scene does not bring anything (to the film). Cinema of today is flooded with eroticism. I do not need to shock by this means."
But actor Daniel Olbrychski, who co-starred in the film and appeared in the deleted scene, was quoted as saying, "I regret very much that Wajda cut the orgy scene. It marked a milestone in the history of Polish film."
Much challenging was the orgy scene in the garden of Kessler's palace, which also featured female textile workers as extras. And because it was cold, they were 'warmed up' with a little alcohol. "They were so into the atmosphere that they undressed more than they should have," recalled Andrzej Halinski, 2nd stage designer. "And no one was going to let naked ladies run around on the set - in front of onlookers besieging the fence from outside. In the end, three-quarters of the material went in the bin because it was unsuitable for the screen. And from behind the fence the ladies were shouting that the filmmakers were pigs."