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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Spiral (1978 film)

1978 Polish film by Krzysztof Zanussi

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ7577719 ↗
Source-derived summary

Spiral (Polish: Spirala) is a 1978 Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Zanussi which tells the story of a stranger who turns up at a resort hotel in midwinter, behaves rudely towards other guests and disappears the next day. Found half-frozen in the snow he is taken to hospital where his story is gradually revealed. It was entered into the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Spiral (1978 film)” as 1978 Polish film by Krzysztof Zanussi. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1978—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1978-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Spiral, film and Polish can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1978 Polish film by Krzysztof Zanussi. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7577719. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1978.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Spiral (1978 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Spiral (1978 film) primary sources, Spiral (1978 film) archive and Spiral research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Spiral (1978 film)”?
  2. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Spiral (1978 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.