Jan Svankmajer

[bunuelian]

My selfish reason for starting this thread is to ask: has anyone viewed the Czech dvd of Sílení (2005) who can share whether it's worth ordering from there? Has anyone here seen the film?

I've been exploring Svankmajer's work lately and am utterly blown away. Here is a living master who has consistently produced astounding works of cinema since the '60s, but his name is almost totally unknown in the West. His short films are wonderful, but I think his Alice and Conspirators of Pleasure can stand up straight and proud among the greatest works of Surrealist art.

One of the tragic issues with Svankmajer's films in the U.S. is the inane use of English dubbing. The dubbing on Kino's Faust does massive damage to the film's presentation. The use of reverb on the voice is awful, and though the actor does an admirable job, the use of a single voice for the whole dub is a cost-cutting decision that can only undermine Svankmajer's intention. I'd love to see a dvd with the original soundtracks to Faust and Alice. At least Conspirators does without dialog, which in itself is one of the more wonderful things about his body of work.

[denti alligator]

Are there Czech or other editions of Alice and/or Faust with original soundtracks and English subs? Also, are there DVDs with the shorts missing from the Kino set?

As for the films. Astounding stuff. Can't wait for the new one to hit the Film Forum next month! Sorry I'm not contributing anything more substantial right now.

I would say, however, that Svankmajer isn't completely neglected. I mean, at least there are DVDs available, whatever their shortcomings.

[Ives]

Check out Svankmajer's Little Otik as well. Haunting and hilarious. It's also quite a decent edition (Zeitgeist Video). It includes his 1969 short film The Flat.

He truly is a great artist. I've gone back to his short films time and time again.

[Antoine Doinel]

Svankmajer's Food triology (Jildo) is available for viewing/download here

[Rich Malloy]

There's a thread on the Czech disc of Sileni (very brief thusfar) in the international DVD forum here.

Spec-wise, it looks good, but I'd love to hear more details. And also whether there are any Czech (or other) DVDs with the Czech soundtracks/English subs.

The Beaver prefers the R2/PAL UK release of "Little Otik", which of course doesn't have the ghosting that the incorrectly converted PAL>NTSC transfer from Zeitgeist.

[Antoine Doinel]

Wired (!?) has a profile on Jan Svankmajer.

[MichaelB]

OK, let's try to answer all of these in one post.

1) I have the Czech disc of Šílení (Lunacy), and it's fine - and 100% English-friendly in that it not only has English subtitles on everything (extras included) but also has an English-language menu option. It's also anamorphic, and I didn't notice any significant qualitative differences between the DVD transfer and the 35mm version (resolution aside).

2) The only other Czech DVD of a Å vankmajer film is the one of Otesánek (Little Otík). Purely in terms of paper specs (I haven't personally watched the British or American releases), this is easily the best release of this film, offering numerous extras including deleted scenes, audition footage, trailers, Å vankmajer essays, a printed copy of Eva Å vankmajerová's poster design, and more. It may also be the most multilingual DVD I've ever seen, offering everything (menus, extras, subtitles) in Czech, English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

3) There are no DVD editions of Alice or Faust with Czech-language soundtracks. As far as I'm aware, the Czech versions have only ever been released on VHS (unsubtitled, of course) in the Czech Republic. I should probably note that Faust has no "version originale" as such - both English and Czech soundtracks are post-dubbed, there are no lip-sync issues, and a bilingual friend of mine informs me that there's no essential difference in terms of impact: unless you actually understand Czech well enough to get the verbal references to traditional Czech puppet theatre, you'd be better off with the English and its equivalent references to Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. It is also categorically untrue that the use of a single voice was "a cost-cutting decision" - the Czech version also features a single voice, which was Å vankmajer's plan from the outset. (This makes perfect sense if you read the film in terms of it being a gigantic puppet show). On the other hand, Alice is vastly superior in the original Czech, if only because of those giant close-ups of Alice's mouth.

4) I can confirm that the triple-disc DVD I'm producing for the BFI will definitely contain three shorts not included on any of the Kino discs (as well as duplicating all 23 shorts that they do feature). I also very much hope that there'll be a fourth, but I'm still awaiting signature on the relevant contract.

5) For those who really can't wait, Jabberwocky is included on the Cinema 16 European Short Films compilation (reviewed here), while Leonardo's Diary is on the second French Chaletfilms Å vankmajer compilation. But I would honestly urge holding fire: the BFI disc is imminent (within the first half of this year), and I can already confirm that its transfer of Jabberwocky will be noticeably superior, not least because it's sourced from a new print.

6) The next issue of Vertigo magazine will contain a major feature-cum-interview on/with Å vankmajer, written/conducted by yours truly - I submitted the text this morning after interviewing Å vankmajer by e-mail a couple of weeks ago.

7) I believe there are plans afoot to release some or all of the early features on a UK DVD label, but that's all I know.

[Lino]

Thank you so much for all the info! Good to know that Little Otik is available in a Czech edition that seems to be superior to the UK and US ones, which are both very unsatisfactory.

[Solaris]

His next film will be called Surviving Life.

From Variety:

Master of surrealism Svankmajer, describes this pic as a psychoanalytical comedy about an aging man who escapes into dreams to confront the childhood traumas that make him afraid of living.

"Fear of life is a basic human emotion," he says. "Religion, creativity, love, sex, the accumulation of objects, the quest for fame, money, power are the substitutes with which we attempt to smother that deadly fear. If, as Freud tells us, the purpose of dreams is to fulfill our secret or manifest desires, then surely somewhere deep inside us, that most basic of human desires must be constantly fulfilled: to survive one's own life."

[MichaelB]

I've just revealed a few more details about the upcoming BFI box Jan Å vankmajer: The Complete Short Films here

[MichaelB]

...and the Vertigo interview I mentioned has now been published. It's also available online here, but only to subscribers. But everyone can view the cover, which has a big still from the film.

[petoluk]

3) There are no DVD editions of Alice or Faust with Czech-language soundtracks.

Hi Michael!

Regarding Faust, there is (or was - it's OOP now) a Russian DVD release with Czech-language soundtrack. Pls, see this page for more info.

FYI, that site's got DVD reviews of almost all Svankmajer's shorts, and some of the features.

(Not that it's of any importance, now that the definitive BFI edition is available. )

Cheers!

Peto

[MichaelB]

Regarding Faust, there is (or was - it's OOP now) a Russian DVD release with Czech-language soundtrack.

Thanks for that - I stand corrected. But without English subtitles it's not much use, and I still honestly believe that the English version by Andrew Sachs is the better option for those who don't actually understand Czech.

Original-language purism is all very well, but in this case both the Czech and English versions are equally legitimate, as they were created at the same time. (I do mean to do some more digging into this - I know there were post-production problems due to what turned out to be the terminal ill-health of lead actor Petr ÄŒepek, who died not long afterwards)

(Not that it's of any importance, now that the definitive BFI edition is available.

Well, if anyone wants to put up the money for wet-gated HD transfers from the original 35mm negatives, there's still room for improvement - but I'm reasonably confident that the BFI release should beat all other home video versions hands down for transfer quality. Even though we sometimes had to use the same source materials as the other releases, we gave them an extensive digital clean-up, and the "before" and "after" difference is often quite startling. Keeping everything native PAL helped too - especially as you really don't want to introduce phantom frames with stop-motion animation!

(For the record, Down to the Cellar is my personal favourite transfer on the BFI set - it's damn near flawless - followed by Jabberwocky)

[MichaelB]

There's an absolutely superb piece on Å vankmajer by Marina Warner in today's Guardian - I think this is far and away the longest and most knowledgeable piece on his work ever published in a broadsheet newspaper, or at least a British one.

The print version is the centre-page spread in the Review section, with colour stills, but the online version does at least have the full text. Note that she's wrong about Lunacy being out on a British DVD - in fact, Little Otik was the only British Å vankmajer DVD release until very recently.

[petoluk]

Hi all!

It seems the guys @ the Czech DVD review site dvdfreak.bloudil.cz are working on the reviews of the new BFI edition of Å vankmajer's short films.

Although not accessible from the index yet, here you can already find The Flat compared to all other existing versions (follow the Disc 1 links to access 10 other comparisons)...

Cheers!

Peto

[MichaelB]

Excellent - thanks for that. I know I'm biased (to put it mildly), but on looking at The Flat comparison I don't think there's much doubt which is the best of those three versions!

Ironically, they were all derived from exactly the same Prague-sourced Digibeta master - but the US one is a poor PAL-to-NTSC conversion (disastrous for stop-motion animation), and while the French version is native PAL, I don't believe it's been digitally restored. In fact, in the final still, you can see that the French version has an onscreen blemish that's been removed on the BFI version.

UPDATE: The differences between versions of Jabberwocky are even more dramatic - in this case the BFI version was sourced from a newly-struck print and digitally cleaned-up. I'm especially proud of this transfer as Jabberwocky is one of Å vankmajer's most important shorts.

[petoluk]

Yes, it's seems to me all the existing editions* come from the same masters. Except Jabberwocky (EDIT: You've beaten me to it. ) & J.S. Bach: Fantasy in G Minor, which look really gorgeous on the BFI DVD!

* I've got a feeling that the Japanese releases might come from a different source, as the colouring is quite different from the other editions (see e.g. Leonardo's Diary, The Last Trick & A Quiet Week in the House), and e.g. Castle of Otranto shows more picture on the top & right side (no BFI version there to compare yet)...

Cheers!

Peto

[MichaelB]

Yes, it's seems to me all the existing editions* come from the same masters. Except Jabberwocky & J.S. Bach: Fantasy in G Minor, which look really gorgeous on the BFI DVD!

Well spotted - but the BFI's Down to the Cellar was also sourced from a brand new print, and the telecine was supervised by the original cinematographer. For the record, that's my benchmark on the whole BFI set - I really can't see how that could have been much better.

The official master of J.S.Bach was frankly atrocious, both visually and sonically (there's a loud buzzing that runs most of the way through the soundtrack - check out The Ossuary and Other Tales DVD to hear how bad it was) - but fortunately the BFI had a 35mm print in surprisingly good condition, so I was able to get a new anamorphic transfer from that.

[MichaelB]

DVD Times review of the Å vankmajer box - a four-page epic!

[petoluk]

Hi all!

A few more comparisons of the new BFI set vs. all the other editions can be found here (follow the Disc 2 links to access all of them).

Also, I'd like to bring your attention to an upcoming Japanese LE of Švankmajer's Šílení. Limited to 913 pieces, ridiculously overpriced (as all the Japanese DVDs seem to me), it contains:

1st DVD - Šílení
2nd DVD - Les chimères des Å vankmajer

+ 2 A4 reproductions of Švankmajer's Šílení artwork
+ "Corporal Punishment Cards" sheet

(I'm not 100 % sure, but I'm afraid there will be no English subs.)

Cheers!

Peto

[MichaelB]

I wonder which version of Les Chimères they're releasing?

Until very recently, there were three different versions:

• 80-minute version française;
  58-minute version française;
  58-minute version internationale

The problem with the versions françaises is that they have a continuous French voiceover translation, French title captions and burned-in French subtitles on the film clips featuring dialogue. However, the version internationale has no voiceover at all - not even linking narration - and no onscreen titles. The intention behind that is that international distributors should add their own narration and titles in whatever language was appropriate.

So for the BFI disc we created a fourth version, which was a composite of the two 58-minute cuts, retaining the French narration, ditching the voiceover translation, adding English title captions and two sets of optional English subtitles (normal translation and HOH). That definitely won't be on the Japanese disc (the only master is under my supervision, and I know they haven't requested it), but I wonder what they've done instead?

(Naturally, I initially wanted the longer cut, but I thought the French voiceover would be pretty intolerable with English subtitles thrown into the mix as well - especially as one of the interviewees is speaking English. And I like the symmetry of both the major documentaries being virtually the same length, as they complement each other so well. I also honestly don't recall any significant differences - if I remember rightly, the longer cut has more Eva Å vankmajerová material, but one day I'll sit down and do a proper comparison)

[petoluk]

I wonder which version of Les Chimères they're releasing?

Until very recently, there were three different versions:

• 80-minute version française;
  58-minute version française;
  58-minute version internationale

Hi Michael!

The JPN edition of Les Chimères is also available separately, and according to this page, it should be the 58-minute version. However, they don't say if it's the international one, or the French one...

Cheers!

Peto

[MichaelB]

The longer cut is available on a French DVD from Chaletfilms - though obviously with the French voiceover and no subtitles.

[petoluk]

Hi all!

It seems that dvdfreak.bloudil.cz has tech reviews of all the shorts from the BFI set online now, and they added a Russian Svankmajer collection into the comparisons as well.

BTW, I just noticed that a 3rd set of shorts from the French Chalet Films is already on sale.

However, the only reason to buy it might be an exclusive extra:

Excerpt from an Arte documentary La nuit s'anime: a private visit to Jan and Eva Svankmajer at their exposition in the Museum-Castle of Annecy in 2002.

And a little something to end this post - a picture of Svankmajer's monster from the incredibly dumb Monster from the Arkana Galaxy:





Peto

[MichaelB]

Thanks for that - I hadn't seen that still before!

And just to provide some justification for this thread's position in the New Films forum, here's my Sight & Sound review of Lunacy...