MovieWorld_ws: Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave: Perlicky na dne / Pearls of the Deep (1965), Sedmikrasky / Daisies (1966), O slavnosti a hostech / A Report on the Party and the Guests (1966), Navrat ztraceneho syna / The Return of the Prodigal Son (1967), Rozmarne leto / Capricious Summer (1968), Zert / The Joke (1969) 4 x DVD9 Criterion Collection

понедельник, 10 апреля 2017 г.

Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave: Perlicky na dne / Pearls of the Deep (1965), Sedmikrasky / Daisies (1966), O slavnosti a hostech / A Report on the Party and the Guests (1966), Navrat ztraceneho syna / The Return of the Prodigal Son (1967), Rozmarne leto / Capricious Summer (1968), Zert / The Joke (1969) 4 x DVD9 Criterion Collection

The political situation in the Czechoslovakia in the '60s was to some extent a boon to local filmmakers, since they had ready access to resources (with no producers to woo), and an endless source of inspiration in the pervasive bureaucratic madness. The Czech films in the years leading up to the late-'60s' "Prague spring" are at once satirical and celebratory, embracing the nation's Bohemian roots and dark sense of humor, while also acknowledging the hellishness of the system. But these films didn't escape censorship entirely; many were banned almost as soon as they were made. The movement toward a more expressive, low-to-the-ground cinema came later to Czechoslovakia than it did to other European countries, but it's a miracle that artists facing such scrutiny were ever able to produce work as varied and innovative as the six features in Eclipse's remarkable, essential Pearls Of The Czech New Wave box set.