'Hardkor 44': a WW II movie in 'Sin City' and '300' style

2003 Oscar nominee Tomasz Baginski is working on his next big project. This time he along with his colleagues from Platige Image animation studio wants to take us back to the summer of 1944 and throw us in the middle of the Warsaw Uprising.

The movie is entitled "Hardkor 44" and its events take place in Warsaw in 1944. The Polish capital city is still being occupied by the Nazis but as the Soviet army approaches from the east, the uprising begins.

After that point, the storyline stops following real history. Insurgents are lead by a young man named Arnold. Their goal is to stand up to the evil SS commander and in the meantime to intercept the loot he has gathered through robbery and war crimes. What they do not know is Oberführer Wagner has a squad of ... cyborgs at his command.

Furthermore, the movie is set to feature live actors but the surrounding world will be digitally generated in a way similar to Frank Miller classic comics' movie adaptations: "Sin City" or "300". In such a world, the city of Warsaw swarms with war machines and robots and it becomes an even more ominous and infernal place than it really was 65 years ago.

A new approach

"It's a new approach to history-telling. I didn't want to show the uprising in a way we are used to: hopeless cause, miserable deaths in the street watercourses", says Tomasz Baginski, cited by the TVN Warszawa website.

There's a distinct line between good and evil - Polish male and female soldiers are good, pretty and courageous. They are also heavily armed which is obviously contrary to the historical facts. Scar-faced German troops with their malice and blood-hunger are simply opposites. Such a movie, in which everything is black or white with none in the middle, should be understandable to everyone in the world and attract especially young viewers who have grown up on games, comics and science-fiction movies and literature.

"Hardkor 44"'s future depends on financial support which its authors hope to receive from the Polish Film Institute (PISF). Those funds would be spent on the screenplay draft. Then, with the script ready, a search for a sponsor and capable studio can be started. The movie cannot be made in Poland due to lack of technologies necessary to conduct the production. Besides, no Polish movie company or studio is experienced in such venture. That is why people behind the project want to go to Hollywood.

If everything goes well, we should see "Hardkor 44" in theaters in 2012.

Tomasz Baginski is well known for his achievements in the areas of computer graphics and animation. His works include "Katedra" ("The Cathedral") which was nominated for an Oscar in the category of short animated film in 2003 and animated intro to 2007's "The Witcher" PC game.

Visit Platige Studio web site http://www.platige.com for more information.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.