The Hexer (film)  The Hexer or The Witcher (Polish: "Wiedźmin") is a 2001 Polish fantasy film directed by Marek Brodzki and written by Michał Szczerbic. It stars Michał Żebrowski as Geralt of Rivia. The story is based on the books and stories of "The Witcher" written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The 13-episode television series came out the following year. The film has been described as essentially the then-unreleased television series condensed into a 2-hour film, and received very poor reviews from both fans and critics. The film was the first attempt to depict "The Witcher" universe in the cinema. The television series and the film were loosely based on Andrzej Sapkowski's "The Witcher" ("Wiedźmin") book series. The film had a budget of 19 million Polish zlotys, which was very high for contemporary Polish movies. Similarly, the film's marketing campaign had several times the budget of other Polish films of that time, in an attempt to imitate Hollywood's super-production. The film was aimed not just at science fiction and fantasy fans, but also at a general audience. To that end, its cast included many stars of Polish cinema, the music was composed by a well-known Polish composer, and the film was tied to a number of other promotional campaigns and related products inspired by the Witcher universe, such as toys and games, as well as the first official English translation of "The Witcher". "The Hexer" was the first film directed by Marek Brodzki. The final release was described as the third version of the film, rearranged and shortened. Some fans initially objected to the casting of several major roles. Their protests, reported in the press, led to a meeting between the producers and the cast and fans, which eventually appeased most of the protesters. Citing two major departures from his original script, screenwriter demanded that his name not appear in the closing credits. The film received generally negative reviews after its release and since, with reviewers being generally positive in regard to actors and music, but critical of the plot and special effects. Marcin Kamiński of Filmweb concluded that "it is not a good movie", noting that the plot was chaotic, mixing various adventures and scenes from the book series in a mostly random manner. Kamiński speculated that the film was intended as a glorified trailer for the subsequent television series.