Knights of the Teutonic Order

Knights of the Teutonic Order (Polish: Krzyżacy), also known as Knights of the Black Cross, is a 1960 Polish historical epic film adapted from a 1900 novel by Nobel laureate, Henryk Sienkiewicz. Directed by Aleksander Ford, it is one of the most successful movies in the cinema of Poland. The plot centers on the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War and the climactic Battle of Grunwald in 1410. For the battle scenes, 15,000 extras were hired. The release date of 15 July 1960 was the battle's 550th anniversary. The film attracted huge audiences: it sold 14 million tickets in its first four years of release and had more than thirty million viewers as of 2000, making it the most popular film ever screened in Poland. It was later exported to 46 foreign countries, selling 29.6 milli