Acclaimed Polish director Andrzej Żuławski has passed away at age 75 after a long battle with cancer, according to his son, who wrote about the director’s illness on Facebook. Żuławski is perhaps best known to the horror community for his 1981 film Possession, which starred Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani.
Żuławski didn’t write or direct a staggering number of films but the ones he did were met with controversy, acclaim, and have become cult classics in their own right. Films like The Devil and The Third Part of the Night received much praise. Critic Janusz Wroblewski stated, “(His death) is a great loss for Polish and world cinema,” according to Euronews.
Director Guillermo del Toro spoke about this loss, saying that he was asked by Żuławski’s producer to design a monster for his next film.
We send our condolences to his friends and family.
Zulawski's producer had approached me to design a monster for the master in his next movie. I wanted to work w him so much…
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) February 17, 2016