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• Who Wants to Kill Jessie? (Kdo chce zabít Jessii?, 1966) presented from a new HD transfer of best existing materials by the Czech National Film Archive.
• Directive (Direktiva, 1956): An early comic short film by Václav Vorlíček presented from a new HD transfer.
• A Projection Booth commentary with Mike White, Jim Laczkowski and Jonathan Owen.
• A video essay by film historian Michael Brooke on crazy Czech comedies.
• Booklet with new writing by author and Czech cinema expert Jonathan Owen.
• New English subtitle translation.
• World premiere on Blu-ray.
• Region free Blu-ray (A/B/C).

August 25

Yeah, why not?

The garish colours on the cover remind me that Václav Vorlíček very much wanted to make the film in colour, but the technology of the time (or at least that which was available to Barrandov Studios) could only execute a critically important special effect in black and white - the fact that the three comic-strip characters who are accidentally let loose in the real world communicate exclusively in speech bubbles popping on and off above their heads.

I’ve seen this, it’s certainly odd (or “crazy”) with its visualization of comic book/strip conventions in ways that don’t always seem intuitive to the spirit of reading one. I think it’s more successful than a lot of other CNW comedies I’ve seen, but I’m not really a fan of this movement at large

If by CNW you mean Czechoslovak New Wave, Václav Vorlíček and his fellow traveller Oldřich Lipský aren't generally regarded as part of the movement.

Lipský, like František Vláčil and Vojtěch Jasný, was a few years older than the New Wave directors and had learned his craft on the job rather than via film school, and while Vorlíček trained at FAMU and came between Věra Chytilová and Miloš Forman in terms of birthdate, he managed to break into features a fair bit earlier thanks to him spotting that none of his peers wanted to make children's films, and so he opportunistically volunteered, and thereafter largely specialised in mainstream crowd-pleasing comedies (and, later, fairytale films, thanks to the enormous success of Three Wishes for Cinderella).

Fair enough, thanks for the context!

I found this movie a lot of fun back when I watched it for the Czech and/or Slovak list and the whole film has a delightfully anarchic spirit to it although I do hope we can get Lemonade Joe released by someone soon as it’s probably the crown jewel of the kind of 60s and 70s Czech satires/parodies being rereleased right now.

I understand Deaf Crocodile have made enquiries, but the rights are tied up elsewhere.

(Facets? Criterion? Can't think of too many other labels who'd be interested.)

My video intro is called Those Crazy Czechs, runs 47 minutes, and is very extensively illustrated.

Although I do make a point upfront that I'm acutely aware that most viewers won't have seen most (possibly even all bar Jessie) of the films that I discuss, so for the most part clips are taken from the earlier part of the film to avoid spoilers beyond the basic premise. Sometimes I have to go into more narrative detail - I can't really tackle You Are a Widow, Sir! without getting into its brain-swapped veal-constructed assassin subplot, which doesn't achieve full flower until later on - but in general I've stuck to that rule.

Full details at our website

"A stellar presentation of a cult classic, offering a high-quality HD transfer that revitalizes its innovative visuals, and a thoughtful array of extras that provide deep context and historical insight... a definitive package for fans of Czech cinema and genre experimentation. It's strongly recommended"
Beaver

Blueprint Review snuck in a review a couple of weeks ago.

So, it’s another wonderful Czech release from Second Run. Fingers crossed they are planning to release some more blázníve komedie in the future, as I can’t get enough of them.

Reviewed in the latest edition of Cineaste magazine