criterionforum.org

Juraj Herz's Oil Lamps is now up on Second Run's website as an April release.

• Oil Lamps (Petrolejove lampy, 1971) presented from a new 4K restoration by the Czech National Film Archive.
• A Projection Booth commentary with film historians Mike White, Kat Ellinger and Jonathan Owen.
• Conversation on a Train (Rozhovor ve vlaku, 1947): An early short Czech public information film on the perils of alcohol and STDs.
• Trailer.
• Booklet with new writing on the film by author and Czech cinema expert Peter Hames.
• New English subtitle translation.
• World premiere on Blu-ray.
• Region Free (A/B/C) Blu-ray.

April 21

really thrilled this is getting a release, I found it particularly tricky to track down for the 1971 project. I'm enjoying Second Run getting ahold of as many of these directors' filmographies as they can - Herz, Peter Solan, Karel Kachyna, Wojtech Jasny, etc. keep it coming!

Bikey wrote: Thu Apr 17, 2025 5:57 pm Beaver review

There's a slighly weird aside in Gary's review flagging up that I'm not involved with this release, but there was no good reason to expect me to be - I'm really not that familiar with this film, and indeed watched it for the first time a week ago.

And Jonathan Owen's credentials are rock-solid - quite aside from having an excellent book to his name (Avant-Garde to New Wave: Czechoslovak Cinema, Surrealism and the Sixties, which I warmly recommend) he's one of the tiny handful of native English speakers in this field who actually knows Czech well enough to translate it professionally - my own Czech is rudimentary by comparison.

Nominating this for best cover art for the 2025 All Labels Matter survey.

brundlefly wrote: Fri Apr 18, 2025 3:59 pm Nominating this for best cover art for the 2025 All Labels Matter survey.

Seconding!

"Second Run’s new Blu-ray release does justice to this underseen masterwork [...]
For fans of Czech New Wave, European art cinema, or unsettling character studies like Cries and Whispers or The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, OIL LAMPS is an essential rediscovery. It’s a film of smothered passion, exquisite detail, and a slow descent into spiritual ruin — and this handsome Blu-ray edition is the perfect way to experience its quiet, haunting power."
Cinemas Online

Does anyone know much about The Ninth Heart? Wonder if that will come onto Second Run's radar.

It's included in the second All the Haunts Be Ours set

swo17 wrote: Sun May 11, 2025 8:40 pm It's included in the second All the Haunts Be Ours set

Thanks, looks awesome but pricey, even when on sale! Vol 1 looks amazing too

"Second Run’s disc is the most impressive looking Juraj Herz Blu-ray to date"
Lead, double-page review by Michael Brooke in the latest Sight and Sound

"Derived from a recent 4K restoration of the original 35mm camera and sound negatives and looks spotless"
DVD Compare

"A harrowing, multi-layered period drama, brilliantly cast and directed [...] Second Run’s HD restored print looks exquisite"

A 5-star review at The Arts Desk