130 The Shop on Main Street

[Martha]

The Shop on Main Street



An inept Czech peasant is torn between greed and guilt when the Nazi-backed bosses of his town appoint him “Aryan controller” of an old Jewish widow’s button shop. Humor and tragedy fuse in this scathing exploration of one cowardly man’s complicity in the horrors of a totalitarian regime. Made near the height of Soviet oppression in Czechoslovakia, The Shop on Main Street features intense editing and camera work which won it the Academy Award™ for Best Foreign Film in 1965.

Disc Features

- New digital transfer
- U.S. theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- Optimal image quality: RSDL dual-layer edition

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[jorencain]

If you've never seen this film, you need to go rent or buy it NOW. I just watched it for the second time and was completely blown away by it again. Jozef Kroner does such a great job acting in this film; from his comedic Hitler impersonation to being a disgruntled average Joe to feeling the weight and seriousnouss of the circumstances that he's become a part of. Truly great. Although there are so many movies that deal with WW2, Nazi's, etc, this one has a unique vantage point on what was going on in Europe to those who began as innocent bystanders and were forced to become involved in what was happening, one way or the other.

I loved the way the tension mounted throughout the film, as well as the camera probing around the room at the end, searching for Brtko. I've never seen a sense of shame and disgust captured on film so perfectly before.

Is there anything else by these directors worth looking into?

[Billy Liar]

I didn't feel any tension untill the end to be honest, the feeling I gained was one of warmth and understanding. But it all culminated in one of the most heart wrenching endings I've ever seen. The way the camera searches him out is as you've said is sublime.

It was on at my local cinema, which was nice.

[jorencain]

I didn't feel any tension untill the end to be honest, the feeling I gained was one of warmth and understanding.

I think what I mean is that you know where it's all heading, and the position that Brtko is putting himself in, particularly by becoming more understanding over the course of the film, creates the tension. At the opening of the film he is depicted as a sort of bumbling idiot, but by the end he is much more understanding, compassionate, and outspoken, which is, of course, diametrically opposed to what he "should" be as the Aryan controller of the shop. I guess knowing that this was a doomed relationship created the tension for me, and it all came to a head at the end.

[cafeman]

I think what I mean is that you know where it's all heading

I may be a stupid idealist, but I never saw it coming, which in turn made the movie unbearable.

I said it before, and I say it again without hesitation, this is the best movie in the collection for me. But I find that it`s best to go into it without any expectations.

[jbeall]

Just finished watching this, and I was blown away. I certainly didn't expect what finally happened. Absolutely shattering, and the film deserves props for eschewing the cop-out endings that one often sees in films dealing with the Holocaust.


As a film, the camera work was phenomenal. I really like Czech New Wave, and the level of sophistication in camera angles and movements was still stunning.

[malcolm1980]

I was also blown away by this film. I was haunted by the ending for quite a while.

Are they gonna rerelease this with a new edition?

[Napoleon]

Are they gonna rerelease this with a new edition?

Do they need to? Its a very decent release (albeit lower tier) of a film that they didn't and never will make much money on.

[malcolm1980]

I ask because I would hate to buy something only to find out there's going to be a 2-disc collector's edition coming up. I don't mind having a barebones/1-disc movie but if there's a better release out there, I'd buy that one.

[Napoleon]

This and the other Czech/Eastern Europe releases are unlikely to be improved in the near future. To be honest the picture quality (by far the most important area) is excellent on them all and doesn't leave much scope for improvement.

Titles revisitted have so far fallen into the following categories:

*Been obviously sub-standard
*Been Out of print
*Has had an improved restoration become available and/or upper tier price with negligable extras
*Been surpassed by another release
*Been The Third Man

Although you can never be 100% sure, if a release doesn't fit any of these you can buy in confidence.

[eez28]

I ask because I would hate to buy something only to find out there's going to be a 2-disc collector's edition coming up. I don't mind having a barebones/1-disc movie but if there's a better release out there, I'd buy that one.

The great thing about criterion dvd's are that if a newer edition is on the way you can sell the original edition and still make decent money off of it. That has happened for me on every re-issue they have had. It takes ebay folks (for some reason) a while to realize that a newer edition of something is on the way.

[tryavna]

Also, as a rule of thumb, the earlier titles are far more likely to get a re-release. I mean, how many post-#120 spine numbers have ever received -- or even need -- a re-release? I guess Grey Garedns (#125) sort of counts. By and large, the only Criterions that desperately need re-releasing are pre-#100 -- unless you count the incorrect aspect ratios of Discreet Charm and Gertrud. From what we can tell, the current top contenders for re-release are High and Low, Andrei Rublev, and perhaps the P&P films (Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, Peeping Tom, and IKWIG). If I were you, those would be the only discs I'd consciously hold off buying at the present, for fear of upcoming re-issue. Others may have other suggestions, though.

Since you've asked this question before, you might want to compile a list early on, rather than re-asking this question for each specific title you're interested in.

[knives]

This knocked my socks off. I wasn't really expecting anything from it and hadn't even read the summary. The first thing I'm really grateful for is the set up period at the beginning. had they dropped right into the whole holocaust aspect of the film it would have been less interesting and also probably wouldn't have aged so well. An other big thing that stood out to me, and this is rather insulting the film though i found it to be great, was that the film played out like Schindler's List, but without any of the stuff that makes that film fall flat. The ending especially stood out as more honest and frightening than anything in the better known film. The way the lead played out that massive internal battle was like a horrorshow ballet. He has to convince himself so powerfully that he is doing the right thing that he manages to undergo a physical transformation. An other scene that was perfect in how it captured the horror of the situation was the introduction of the Jew lover concept. Having it come from the brother who was basically the world's biggest buffoon in his earlier scenes added that level of eeriness to the thing. A real human monster.

[aox]

One of my favorite films, and I can't understand why it doesn't get more praise (it's essentially off the radar entirely). If you skipped this, it's a shame.

Do people dislike it? What are arguments against it? Do people think it borders melodrama or something? I realize that in 2010, a sort of cinematic holocaust fatigue has fallen down among cinephiles and many consider it (with all due respect to the actual event) a tired subject, but this movie really shouldn't be missed.

While Criterion should be commended for releasing it to begin with, and I am grateful, I am afraid that its stature guarantees that it is far back in line for an upgrade.

[skuhn8]

One of my favorite films, and I can't understand why it doesn't get more praise (it's essentially off the radar entirely). If you skipped this, it's a shame.

Do people dislike it? What are arguments against it? Do people think it borders melodrama or something? I realize that in 2010, a sort of cinematic holocaust fatigue has fallen down among cinephiles and many consider it (with all due respect to the actual event) a tired subject, but this movie really shouldn't be missed.

While Criterion should be commended for releasing it to begin with, and I am grateful, I am afraid that its stature guarantees that it is far back in line for an upgrade.

9.1/10 here at the forum, positive posts above--for a dvd that came out about 10 years ago this is a pretty decent showing. Even got 8/10 for features--don't remember the trailer being that mind-blowing.

[jindianajonz]

I watched this film last night and agree with everyone that said it is excellent. It made me want to create a MyCriterion list of Excellent but Obscure Criterion Titles just so I could put this one at the top.

One question though: Does anyone know what the symbol was on the soldiers armbands and on the monument that was built? It looked like a vertical version of Adenoid Hynkel's Double-Cross. I had thought this symbol was just made up by Chaplin; was it actually used by the Nazis?

[Matt]

I believe that's the Cross of Lorraine. It has a Slovakian national significance, but I don't know much more than that.

[jindianajonz]

Thank you, Wikipedia shows that this indeed is what it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_lorraine" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ironically, it was apparently used as a symbol by the free French forces during WWII as well as being a part of the Slovakian Coat of Arms adopted by the nationalist Slovaks that supported the Germans.

[movielocke]

This is a fascinating and stunning film. The screenplay and performances are just tremendous and the photography is as gorgeous as I've come to expect from the Czech New Wave. The ending is particularly interesting and I think it is deliberately problematic, tremendously problematic. For one, I'm reminded of Shoah and all the insistence of the locals of small towns throughout Europe who insisted they didn't know anything or weren't a part of anything that happened.

Spoiler

And then look at the incredibly public round up and transportation of the Jews at the end of the film. Sure, no one knew anything, Oy. And look at the whole concept of an Aryan Controller for a shop implies how thoroughly the nazi's involved the community into their schemes. In a sense this redistribution entices someone who may have qualms into being a participant and eventually an enforcer of the Nazi ideology. And although Britko's stipend is portrayed humorously that the Jewish community are shaking themselves down to protect the old woman Rozalie, his accepting the money is a mechanism of enforcement of the new order. He's a participant, an eager participant when it comes down to money. This film, like so many others, puts the lie to all the claims of ignorance and non-participation by the civilians.

And the film goes to lengths to let us understand that Brtko is a participant, you could certainly read the ending of the film, with his murder of Rozalie as a symbol for his own complicity in the crimes of the nazis--the murder indicates his guilt. And perhaps the murder was a mercy, but Brtko's reaction of taking his own life seems to confirm the view that he couldn't live with himself when he saw the final result of the outcome of the nazi regime.

But at the same time, suicide, for all it's finality, lacks accountability. Perhaps there were Aryan Controllers who were so distraught about the way things went that they suicided, but I somehow doubt it, most, I imagine, survived the war and retained possession of the assets and capital redistributed to them. it is only Brtko who is guilty on behalf of the community, in a sense. On the other hand, the murder and suicide caught me off guard; while watching the film, I was thinking the final scene would be set shortly after the war, when someone comes in, buys something and asks, "wasn't this once a Jewish shop?" with Brtko replying, "No, it's always been mine, it's always been in my family." On the other hand, perhaps that sort of ending is too pessimistic, compared to the optimistic idea that 'good people' would definitely rather kill themselves than be participants in an atrocity like the holocaust?

[FrauBlucher]

I watched this this evening. And agree with all about what a great film The Shop on Main Street is. I felt all kinds of emotions watching this. It has a humor that reminds me of Chaplin, even though Tono mentions Chaplin after he puts on the hat, I felt there was more to the connection to Chaplin than in the look of the hat but also in Tono's maneurisms, movements, along with his naivete and sadness. I also think Tono has a similarity to Umberto D, partially because of the dogs but also because they seem lost within their worlds and are looking for identities.

There is also a tension that simmers. What was going to happen; when were the Nazi's and Fascists going to do the inevitable? The building of the tower was the perverbial clock ticking to that inevitability.

I wasn't bothered by the ending in terms of what Tono did because

Spoiler

I took away his suicide was for his guilt of accidently murdering Rozália. For no other reason then he would never be able to live with that on his conscious

I do hope Criterion gives us an up-grade for this film. The cinematography is lovely and the DVD looks quite good, which bolds well for a terrific blu ray. Plus, it could use some supplements. I would love to know more about the production and the actors.

[AtlantaFella]

I do hope Criterion gives us an up-grade for this film. The cinematography is lovely and the DVD looks quite good, which bolds well for a terrific blu ray. Plus, it could use some supplements. I would love to know more about the production and the actors.

Finally seeing this film for the first time about a year after that last post. I could not agree more that this amazing, devastating work of art needs a Blu-ray upgrade and should also be offered via streaming so that as many people can see it as possible. This is just one of those incredible films that must be preserved and kept alive.

[MichaelB]

It's currently being restored by the Czech National Film Archive as part of an ongoing project to create 4K masters of the greatest Czech films. They've already done Marketa Lazarová, The Firemen's Ball, Closely Observed Trains and All My Good Countrymen, and on the strength of those four restorations I'd say it was in the safest possible hands.

[Lemmy Caution]

It really is a great film.
I've recced it to a number of friends and a few have also been blown away.
I should give it a 3rd watch and comment in detail after I do so.
This is an easy to overlook from CC, and imo it's one of the best.
Definitely my favorite form the Czech New Wave.
Especially on first watch I really didn't know where the film was heading or how things would be resolved and the film impressed me with its choices. Not a misstep in the screenplay.
And the acting and camerawork are wonderful as well.

Like many in this thread, I'd rec that everyone here should see this great film.
Ed: that'd be great if a better edition becomes available.

[FrauBlucher]

It's currently being restored by the Czech National Film Archive as part of an ongoing project to create 4K masters of the greatest Czech films. They've already done Marketa Lazarová, The Firemen's Ball, Closely Observed Trains and All My Good Countrymen, and on the strength of those four restorations I'd say it was in the safest possible hands.

This bodes well for a CC blu ray in a year or two.

[AtlantaFella]

It's currently being restored by the Czech National Film Archive as part of an ongoing project to create 4K masters of the greatest Czech films. They've already done Marketa Lazarová, The Firemen's Ball, Closely Observed Trains and All My Good Countrymen, and on the strength of those four restorations I'd say it was in the safest possible hands.

Excellent news! Thanks for this welcome update.