Ingmar Bergman’s questions of morality intersecting with the aesthetic of Stanley Kubrick or Robert Bresson.

Krzysztof Kieslowski’s 10-hour Polish miniseries “The Decalogue” has often been rightfully praised as being one of the best films ever made. The film probably best resembles Ingmar Bergman’s questions of morality intersecting with the aesthetic of Stanley Kubrick or Robert Bresson.

But such comparisons do not even come close to the emotional and artistic zenith that Kieslowski reaches in his massive canvas.

The director tells each of his self-contained, one-hour morality tales without being didactic, while making full use of the filmic medium. He relies on images and sound, refusing to tell his stories with unnecessary dialogue.

As best noted by Kubrick, Kieslowski has “the very rare ability to dramatize their ideas rather than just talking about them.”

The episodes revolve around each of the Ten Commandments. This premise almost by nature dooms an artistic piece to pick a moral high ground, much like a Sunday School special along the lines of “Davey and Goliath.” But Kieslowski views morality in a much more realistic, complex manner.

The first episode, for instance, is based around the commandment of not honoring false gods. A father and his genius son use a computer to calculate when a local pond will freeze so children will be able to safely skate upon it. They firmly place their faith in the computer and, even though they are portrayed as incredibly smart, this faith leads to a simplification of nature and tragedy occurs.

This could be interpreted as being didactic because Kieslowski (or God, if you prefer) is punishing his characters for their misplaced faith. But what Kieslowski is really doing is commenting on the abstraction of any belief.

Included in the three-disc set are an interview/introduction with Roger Ebert (basically him reading his “Great Movies” essay), three documentaries on Kieslowski and a booklet with an introduction written by Kieslowski and an interview with his co-screenwriter.

The set could have included a better video and audio treatment and some commentaries, preferably from Kieslowski scholar Annette Insdorf. The series deserves the stellar treatment that Kieslowski’s second masterpiece, “The Three Colors Trilogy,” was given.

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