Rating: 
Summary: Great early Polanski, who usurps control of your DVD player
Review: A fascinating, suspensful film debut for Roman Polanski, who already shows great promise with his amazingly original camera angles and creative shots. However, Criterion allowed Polanski to dictate the terms of the disc in which the step back/forward function is disabled. This is maddening, especially if one misses a subtitle or two when pondering some of his amazing shots.Another complaint I have is about the subtitles. I don't speak Polish, but it seems to me there is a lot of spoken dialogue that is not translated into English. I can recall several instances when the characters speak, but no subtitles appear. A harmless error, or a glaring mistake? I don't have an answer. This doesn't detract from the movie itself, which is excellent. Five stars would have been given if not for these flaws. However, I do hope Criterion does not repeat the very rude mistake of disabling disc functions in any other future editions of their releases. Another reviewer got it right: "Polanski controls his set, not my DVD player."
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Looking Transfer to DVD
Review: A remarkably satisfying disc that gives viewers a crisp, virtually flawless transfer as well as lots of extras. Criterion should not, however, have agreed to Polanski's request disabling the search/forward and reverse functions. A truly dumb move that Criterion had best not repeat in future. Polanski gets to control his set, not my remote.
Rating: 
Summary: CMON
Review: I am a Roman Polanski fan, but this movie, despite its lingering and sometime elegant photography, has no coherent center -- not sure if it was meant to be an art film or a piece of art, because it does not have any decipherable narrative that pulls you along. Roman would develop his considerable gifts with much more palatable, and I will admit, commercial fare like Rosemary's Baby and the lovely Tess.
Rating: 
Summary: The DVD will taint your appreciation of the movie.
Review: I have to say that the pretentious move of the Director to disable DVD navigation is so irritating that it distracts from the movie, and may create in you a desire to fire the disc against the wall. What do DVD controls have to do with the movie anyway? Is it supposed to make us feel like we're at the theatre? Well, we're not. And unless Roman Polanski is willing to buy me a 52 inch TV set to go along with the experience, I wish he'd keep his hands off. Further, I don't see it mentioned anywhere that in addition to disabling the scan features, the resume function is also gone. So, let's say, you have to go to the bathroom; answer the phone; exit the building due to a fire alarm; whatever. Well, make sure you use Pause, and leave it that way, or else the disc will start over. If you accidentally push Stop, which is what I do, the disc will start from the beginning and you'll lose your place. And you can't scan to find it. So, I guess you're supposed to watch the movie all over again. This is punishment for being a Modern Viewing Audience, plain and simple. Stupid!! As for the film, it was okay. It would've been more enjoyable if I could watch it the way I like. Might've even watched it again. Frankly, I thought the Shorts stunk. A great addition for hardcore fans but, to me, most of them were just obnoxious. One tip for you if you do get the DVD: some Sony DVD players have an "instant replay" feature, and this actually *does* work, I figured out after the fact. So if you need to back up, everytime you push this button the movie will jump back 10 seconds. Don't tell this to Roman Polanski, though. ;O)
Rating:
Summary: A Movie for its' Time
Review: I recently saw "Knife in the Water" for the first time. It was in Polish with subtitles which always means that the viewer has to watch intently. That was OK because the actors all acted intently. This is one of those European-style movies of the 1960's where people confront themselves. Some of these movies do so in often outlandish settings. However, the setting in "Knife in the Water" was so casual that I was beginning to wonder what could possibly happen to create a meaningful story. I was gradually able to understand how the setting was able to work out quite well.
The plot, for lack of a better term, has a couple in their 30's pick up a 19 year-old hitchhiker. They do so after a near-disasterous "run-in" and the relationship between husband and hitchhiker becomes the focus of our attention. The couple is on their way to a Sunday outing in their sailboat. Hitchhiking is so bad on a Sunday (apparently few private cars in Poland and the truckers take the day off) that the couple invites the hitchhiker to join them. This is about the point where I started to wonder, "Where the heck is this movie going?" However, the husband starts acting like a ship's captain treating the boy like a servant and he, in turns asserts his independence. This friction is what carries the movie. That may not sound like much but the subtlety of the script, direction and acting makes for a very introspective movie. It explores the relationships of one to another (although these people should have realized early on that they didn't belong together). The conflict escalates later in the movie and we are witness to the extreme examples of our inability to properly relate to one another. I had figured out a couple of different ways for the movie to end but neither of them were used. The actual ending left the picture unended. A choice needed to be made; what was the right one? In essence, the director left that up to the audience to decide.
If this film is not noteworthy for anything else, it is important as the first film by the talented director, Roman Polanski. After seeing his recent movie, "The Pianist", I was reminded what a genius Polanski is. Much of that genius is present in "Knife in the Water" although this movie will be more limited in its' appeal. If you like the writings of Camus and Sartre or the films of Bergman, this should be quite an enjoyable film to watch. If you find that stuff boring or irrelevant, you'll probably react the same way to "Knife in the Water". Personally, I liked it.
Rating: 
Summary: I give this movie 3 1/2 stars...it's pretty good
Review: I watched this movie last night, with subtitles which made it harder to watch the facial expressions etc. I liked it, didn't love it. Not nearly as captivating as Rosemary's baby, which I give 5 stars. A married couple pick up a young hitch hiker and then take him sailing on their boat, all the while seeming not to like him. The husband belittles him, the hitch hiker seems a little mentally "off" and the tension builds as these people keep toying with each other, esp. after the appearance of a very large knife. It is interesting...there just seems to be something missing...I guess that I really never cared about any of the characters much. The husband seems like a jerk, the wife seems cold and the hitch hiker is a bit psycho. I would have been disappointed had I paid for it, one viewing was enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping...
Review: Isn't it peculiar that a film without overly dramatic twists, cliffhangers, devoid of needless talk, noise, and special effects can be so appealing, enticing, and beautiful... Body language, particularly gestures and glances, play crucial roles here. The most is said when nothing is spoken. The film is both serene and haunting. It leaves an unforgettable, yet intangible, impression that I remember very distinctly today, over 5 years after seeing it. This is an experience not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Roman Polanski's first film
Review: Knife in the Water features some great camerawork and manages to evoke an astonishing amount of tension in certain scenes. I can level no real complaints against it aesthetically, save that less is translated than I would've liked. But the ending is not particularly satisfying and the conflict is not played out as dramatically as you're led to believe. The DVD package is decent, though you'll no doubt be able to find better prices for it than here. You get an interview with Roman Polanski and his cinematographer, then a second disc of short films. Some of these are bit taxing on one's patience (i.e. When Angels Fall and The Fat and the Lean), but others are quite brilliant (The Lamp and Mammals). I'd say this is a positive treasure trove if you're a big fan of the director.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars but with 1 major complaint
Review: Polanski's classic is one of my all time favorite films and Criterion has done a fine job transferring it to DVD, hence the 5-star rating. Viewers should know, however, that at the request of the director, Criterion has disabled the step frame function as well as the ability to scan forward or backward. Only the chapter up and down feature is still functional as well as the ability to place the program in still frame without single frame advance or reverse. A liner note on the inside of the package alerts viewers only to the missing step frame feature but not to the fact that these other features have ALSO been disabled. And there is no mention made of ANY of these missing features anywhere on the outside of the packaging. Needless to say, not being able to scan forward or backward is a major inconvenience since it's impossible to review a scene without returning all the way to the beginning of the chapter. This is especially unfortunate with a subtitled film. If a line of dialogue flies by while you're busy admiring the visuals, you're out of luck since there's no easy way to back up quickly. All of this might have been less objectionable if the DVD had been more heavily chaptered, but alas, that is not the case, either. Let's hope that this is one very peculiar concession to a director that is not repeated any time soon.
Rating:
Summary: A subtle study on vanity
Review: Roman Polanski directed his first feature film in a hale mood: we are sure of what's going on but the characters seem to be too anxious to reflect on their own behavior. The competition is based on a woman (Christine) and she lets the two men become more and more dangerous to each other. It's a subtle study on vanity. As we become more and more involved, the characters seem to become more vulnerable: they gain their own complexity never losing a truly human resemblance with each other. In Polish.
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