I posted on here a couple of weeks ago, saying I'd tracked down the 3-DVD version of this book, and had ordered one.
A couple of members here have contacted me, asking for further details. So, here goes ...
It seems that, at various times, you could order:
i) just the book, with no DVDs
ii) the book, with one DVD compliation of 30 short animated films
iii) just the one DVD of 30 short animated films
iv) the book, with three DVDs of 76 short animated films
This last version is the one I ordered, from cdmusic.cz - they are the only outlet I've found, that has this full 3-DVD version in stock, but there may be others who have it.
Like every other Central and East European outlet I've dealt with, the package arrived very quickly - just 4 days, to London - and was very, VERY securely wrapped.
The book itself is hardback, about 12 inches by 9, and has an embossed cover. It looks a bit like those books that are missing their dust-cover, and reminds me very much of a desk diary. (It's the same uniform presentation as previous NFA Czech film catalogues.)
The book's title is 'Czech Animated Film I' - suggesting further volumes might follow. I really hope so!
The 3 DVDs are housed in thin, flexible plastic wallets, like transparent square envelopes - two of these are simply stuck to the inside of the book's back hard cover, the third is stuck on the page opposite. Individual cases, like the nicely-designed one that the compilation DVD had, would've been nice, but that's a minor quibble.
The films all have optional English subtitles, where required. The picture quality is as good as you can expect, for films made on tiny budgets 80 years ago. It's certainly as good as it's likely to get - I can't really see a BD release anytime soon. (But I may be wrong.)
The book is more of a detailed catalogue than a narrative history of Czech animation, but that's as expected. The whole thing is 99.9% English-friendly. There's a handful (8) of Czech photo captions that aren't translated, because there's a different set of photos in the corresponding English version of that particular section*.
It's 111 pages, with 16 colour photos and 80 b&w. It says '1,000 copies' - I assume that refers to
all copies of the book, regardless of how it's 'bundled' with the DVD options.
The
Contents page reads as follows:
pages 9-10 Foreword (one page in Czech, and one page for the English translation)
pages 11-20 Essay - 'The Beginnings of Czech Animated- and Trick- Film' (5 pages Czech, and then English translation - *8 different illustrations in each)
pages 21-26 Introductory Note - a sort of project 'mission statement' - (3 pages Czech, and then English translation)
pages 27 Abbreviations - a
very thorough list of abbreviations used in the catalogue - (Czech, with English translation alongside each entry)
pages 29-100 Catalogue of 153 Czech animated films, with full production details, synopses, etc. - (Czech, and then English translation alongside each entry)
pages 100-111 Various indices - (Czech, and then English translation)
More detail than most of us will ever need, but it's evident that the Czech National Film Archive is attempting to create the definitive catalogue, here - I'd say they've done it! The 153 films are all those that are known to exist from this period.
The book catalogues in detail all of these 153 films. The 3 DVD set features 72 of them - the single compilation DVD features 30 of these 72.
The '3-DVD plus book' combo cost me $90, before postage.
It's fairly expensive, but if you want the full set of films, in addition to the book, I suppose it's good value. You do get a lot of animation for your money.
DVD 1: 1925-1931 -24 films, 151 min.
DVD 2: 1932-1936 -30 films, 128 min.
DVD 3: 1937-1945 -22 films, 135 min.
The single compilation:
DVD: 1925-1945 - 30 films, 172min.
With the full set, what you're paying for are the extra 42 films. It sort of depends on how much of a sad completist you are. (Well, I bought it!)
You can get the single compilation DVD at cd.music.cz for about £15/$24. I don't think they sell the 'book-only', or the 'book/compilation DVD' options.
However, Terry-posters.com, another very reliable Czech outlet, does have the 'book/compilation DVD' option, for about £15/$24 - very good value!
They also have the book alone, for about £8/$13.
I hope that covers everything.
