The surreal atmosphere of the film is enhanced by
Jerzy Skarzynski's set design. There are moments (as in the final scenes of the story)
when what we see is strongly reminiscent of paintings by Picasso, Dali, or Goya, all of
them Spaniards, by the way. The Oriental decorations are just slightly too Oriental,
the Baroque is slightly too Baroque. The Caballist's castle
is a charming eclectic ruin sufficiently unreal to promote an aura of mystery. As to Venta
Quemada, the haunted inn, its exterior is pure Goya, its interior either an Oriental serai
or a similarly Goyan hovel. Even the Hermit's chapel is skull-like with its two-windowed
facade.
The surrealism of the
set extends to its natural elements. The trees of Sierra Morena have been produced to
match the gallows and the heaps of skulls. Sierra Morena itself is not Sierra Morena at
all. For one thing, no movie producer in Socialist countries could possibly afford
extensive shooting on location in a Western country. More importantly, to disguise the
Częstochowa Plateau as a mountain range in Spain was a further signal sent to, at least,
the Polish audience who could not be fooled, that the whole thing was a hoax.
"Saragossa," as it appears in numerous scenes in the
movie, was built from the scratch. It was much easier to adapt a small Polish town to play
"Madrid" as Poland's and Spain's common Roman-Catholic heritage ensured a wealth
of interesting Baroque church architecture.
The surreal atmosphere of the film is enhanced by
Jerzy Skarzynski's set design. There are moments (as in the final scenes of the story)
when what we see is strongly reminiscent of paintings by Picasso, Dali, or Goya, all of
them Spaniards, by the way. The Oriental decorations are just slightly too Oriental,
the Baroque is slightly too Baroque. 
The Caballist's castle
is a charming eclectic ruin sufficiently unreal to promote an aura of mystery. As to Venta
Quemada, the haunted inn, its exterior is pure Goya, its interior either an Oriental serai
or a similarly Goyan hovel. Even the Hermit's chapel is skull-like with its two-windowed
facade.
The surrealism of the
set extends to its natural elements. The trees of Sierra Morena have been produced to
match the gallows and the heaps of skulls. Sierra Morena itself is not Sierra Morena at
all. For one thing, no movie producer in Socialist countries could possibly afford
extensive shooting on location in a Western country. More importantly, to disguise the
Częstochowa Plateau as a mountain range in Spain was a further signal sent to, at least,
the Polish audience who could not be fooled, that the whole thing was a hoax.
"Saragossa," as it appears in numerous scenes in the
movie, was built from the scratch. It was much easier to adapt a small Polish town to play
"Madrid" as Poland's and Spain's common Roman-Catholic heritage ensured a wealth
of interesting Baroque church architecture.