Celluloid Diaries: Top 18 best fantastical films from Czechoslovakia

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Top 18 best fantastical films from Czechoslovakia

best fantastical films from czechoslovakia

This month, the Offscreen film festival in Brussels, Belgium, brings a retrospective of eighteen Czech films from the 60s and 70s, from lyrical pearls, over historic parables to atypical fairy tale adaptations of Cinderella, The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. Director Juraj Herz of dark masterpieces like The Cremator and Morgiana is a festival guest, along with stop-motion filmmaker Jiri Barta.

Here are the eighteen best fantastical films from Czechoslovakia according to Offscreen...

Baron Prasil


Karel Zeman's playful virtuosity lends itself perfectly to the classic tale of Baron Munchausen. Making the impossible a reality, the "Czech Meliès" places the actors in wonderfully inventive animated decors and brings the Baron's improbable tales to life like never before. A highlight in Zeman's oeuvre.

baron prasil

Beauty and the Beast


Beauty, as popular wisdom will have it, is in the eye of the beholder. But here, that beholder is a mythical monster that forbids its prized possession to return its gaze. Beauty and the Beast is a dreamlike and ethereal adaptation that draws out the uncanny qualities of the original story and pities the antihero his inner turmoil.

beauty and the beast czechoslovakia

Case for a Rookie Hangman


How can a man explain he is not a rabbit when he’s got no proof to the contrary? Taking the question to absurd heights in a freewheeling spin on Gulliver’s Travels, Jurácek presses the sore spots of bureaucracy in the guise of a mesmerizingly surreal tale that blends nostalgia with political commentary.

case for a rookie hangman

Ferat Vampire


Vampire mythology is taken for a spin by adding themes of technological anxiety and a critique of consumer culture. Like a horse powered Nosferatu, race car Ferat drains the blood of any victim unlucky enough to get behind its steering wheel. A film that's not only profoundly weird but also scary and fun.

ferat vampire

Krysar - The Pied Piper


Barta gives a dark twist to the classic folktale of The Pied Piper of Hamelin: a corrupt and materialistic city distorted into an expressionistic tableau populated by cubist characters. This one-of-a-kind stop-motion fairy tale adaptation is hailed as one of the masterpieces of puppet animation.

krysar the pied piper

Marketa Lazarova


The chaos and anarchy of the dark Middle Ages were seldom as strikingly rendered to the screen as in this cinematographic masterpiece on the struggle between two rival clans. Often cited as the best Czech film ever made, grab the chance to see this mystic, hallucinatory classic on the big screen.

marketa lazarova

Morgiana


The blackest of black, the ultimate shade of noir, the high priestess of Gothic supreme: veils, coffins and the petrifying eyelashes of its leading ladies included. No label quite sums up the baroque magnificence of Morgiana. Ensnares fully with a story of madness, betrayal and hallucination-inducing poison.

morgiana

Passage


A businessman can't seem to find his way home when he wanders into a serpentine shopping mall where time has stopped. The bizarre characters he meets have no intention of helping him either. Herz deals a hand of massive psychosexual terror and claims this film as his second favorite after The Cremator.

passage czech movie

The Cat Who Wore Sunglasses


The circus comes to town in this vibrant and deliciously jazzy treat with Technicolor inserts! National comedy icon Jan Werich leads the dance as the magician stirring up trouble in a small, stuck-up village. Following in tow are a beautiful trapeze artist and her mischievous cat with a very special gift.

the cat who wore sunglasses

The Cremator


The horrifying professional cremator in Herz's masterpiece would make a great Halloween character, and he'd be a knock-out. This baffling and darkly humoristic tale of a deranged institutional figure is made up of dizzy strokes of expressionist folly and is as disturbing as it is aesthetically gratifying.

the cremator

The Golden Fern


Based on an "indigenous" fairytale, this is an exquisitely dark and brooding piece of folklore by one of the great directors of the Czech New Wave. The titular fern plays a pivotal role in a young man's life whose ambition leads him to a crossroads between two very different women, and two competing destinies.

the golden fern

The Little Mermaid


The pain and beauty of unrequited love marvelously combine in one of the most breathtaking and obscure examples of the Czech fairytale cinema, where staggering art and costume design vie with an equally brilliant electronic score. A pearl from the deep indeed.

the little mermaid czech movie

The Ninth Heart


"A fanciful rediscovery" is one way of putting it. A key fairytale in the oeuvre of The Dark Baron. Herz riffs on the concept of 'seeing anew with childlike wonder' in a concoction that features a pouty-lipped princess, a brave vagrant, a maleficent evildoer and nine children's hearts!

the ninth heart

The Party and the Guests


Buñuel's surrealist legacy lives on in the utterly "magical" urban environment of Prague, but while the scathing jokery of our party does bear resemblance to that of the master, it is a sharp-toothed beast of its own. The Party and the Guests is a top entry in the "subversion-through-comedy" category of the Eastern Bloc.

the party and the guests

Three Nuts for Cinderella


A princess is no damsel in distress, not necessarily. Is there a fairytale character better suited to a narrative of female empowerment than Cinderella, working her way up from the dust she was raised in? This loveable rewriting thrills with a tomboy heroine who is very much in charge of her happy ending.

three nuts for cinderella

Toys in the Attic


An old suitcase in a dusty attic is the home of an eclectic collection of toys. When the beautiful doll Buttercup is abducted, her friends organize a search party and go on an adventure that’s filled with danger and intrigue. A stop-motion gem that is bound to captivate the minds of both young and old.

toys in the attic

Valerie and her Week of Wonders


The quintessential gem in the canon of Czech surrealism. Valerie dreams a young girl's dream where menacing and lecherous men lurk behind every corner and crave her unspoiled flesh. The spirit of the Poetic avant-garde soars in this predominantly visual world that is all color and texture and splendor.

valerie and her week of wonders

Witches' Hammer


Based on a series of actual witch trials in the 17th century, this shocking film is gorgeously shot in stark black and white, thus mirroring the moral schism of its characters. Both a genre film and a political fable, its anticlerical message hides a barely veiled critique of the totalitarian regime.

witches' hammer

Which of these movies are you looking forward to seeing?

32 comments:

  1. I've actually seen one of those! Three Nuts for Cinderella.
    I will look for Marketa Lazarova though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't think I've ever seen a C film. I could not even name any of their beers, and yet I've tasted a few...

    ReplyDelete
  3. As a movie connoisseur, I would love to see these :)

    I wish you a wonderful weekend :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. The recent past has seen the inclusion of Asian-Americans as well. More and more multicultural short films are being made on how these diverse groups adapt to each other and their day to day struggle to carve out an identity. movies free

    ReplyDelete
  5. as a matter of fact observed one of those! Three Nuts for Cinderella.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This survival film indicated how imperative monitoring your surroundings is. Likewise in a catastrophe ridden world it demonstrates how there will be individuals that will take control any way they see fit. GOMOVIES: Watch Movies Online Free

    ReplyDelete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You simply need to know how to pick the best film download benefit on the web and here are a few hints videomate free download

    ReplyDelete
  9. This actually comes in two forms as well: physical and digital. First we'll touch on the traditional physical form. This simply means cabinets and shelves. 123movies.one

    ReplyDelete
  10. These pictures WOW! I want to see all of them right now lol.
    Happy Independence Day Wishes

    ReplyDelete
  11. I advise you to pay attention on https://domyhomework.guru/blog/cause-effect-essay . Here you can read more about writing cause and effect essay and get a high grade

    ReplyDelete
  12. We have sell some products of different custom boxes.it is very useful and very low price please visits this site thanks and please share this post with your friends. toys under

    ReplyDelete

  13. شركة اصباغ الكويت اصباغ الكويت
    شراء اثاث مستعمل الكويت شركة شراء اثاث مستعمل الكويت
    فني كهربائي منازل الكويت كهربائي منازل بالكويت

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hello
    We are professional traders, earning on forex and binary for investors weekly, will love to tell you all more about our investment platform where you can invest funds as little as $200 and start earning $2000 weekly, alot of people has benefited from this investment offer before and during this convid-19 virus, if you passing through financial difficulties due to this coronavirus and you need help paying bills simply choose a suitable investment plan for yourself and start making profit weekly

    $500 to earn $5,000 in 7 days
    $1000 to earn $10000 in 7 days
    $5000 to earn $50000 in 7 days

    To Start your investment now contact Via whatsapp: (+12166263236)
    email: carlose78910@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. ED is a real medical condition that can be treated. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with the erectile dysfunction physicians in Atlanta, GA at Priority Men’s Medical Center.erectile dysfunction physicians in Atlanta, GA

    ReplyDelete
  16. Capuchon voltooid met een rubber.
    Mouw- en broekspijpen voltooid met een gebreide manchetten, waardoor het beschermende pak een betere dichtheid heeft.
    FacebookACCOUNTShttps://www.facebook.com/Rode-Overalls-110746388168860
    Materiaal: SMS 100% polypropyleen 50 g / m2
    Beschikbare kleuren: wit
    Maat: XL-XXL
    Verpakking: 50 stuks
    Prijs: € 1,60 Blauwe Overall

    ReplyDelete
  17. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this article together. I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worth it! Feel free to visit my website;

    ReplyDelete
  18. If you have any recommendations, please let me know.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Appreciate it! Feel free to visit my website;

    ReplyDelete
  20. This article was written by a real thinking writer without a doubt.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks and Best of luck to your next Blog in future.

    ReplyDelete

  22. That's why it's very hard to find, but I'm very fortunate to read your writing.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks for your excellent blog and giving great kind of information.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Very nice blog and i am really very happy to visit your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Now I fianlly found which I actually want.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I will check your blog everyday to learn something new from your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is very interesting, Lot of a skilled blogger here. Keep on writing

    ReplyDelete
  28. Thank you for this wonderful blog. Good job! Definitely a good blog,

    ReplyDelete
  29. I want you to thank for your time of this wonderful read! Excellent job!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. You made some good points. Great blog you made here. Keep it up

    ReplyDelete
  31. This website has very good content. I did enjoyed reading it!

    ReplyDelete
  32. A really good post indeed, Very thankful to you Keep on writing

    ReplyDelete