Danton

The film depicts the dramatic clash between two central figures of the French Revolution: Danton and Robespierre, at the time of the escalating Jacobin terror that, in 1794, led Danton to the guillotine. In Paris, tension is rising – food is scarce, and within the revolutionaries' camp, conflict intensifies. Robespierre, initially resisting pressure from politicians within the Committee, takes successive steps to suppress Danton's influence. First, he takes away his newspaper – the voice of the Dantonists – and then, after a personal meeting, orders his immediate arrest on charges of hostility toward the government, before his opponent can gather supporters. Danton, while defending his position, clearly admits: "I would rather be beheaded than become an executioner." The film is an adaptation of Stanisława Przybyszewska’s 1929 play *The Danton Case*, which Andrzej Wajda first staged at the Warsaw Teatr Powszechny in 1975, transforming the theatrical tension into a cinematic portrayal of political games and the moral choices of an individual faced with tyranny.