Release Date: 7 Dec 2015This specially priced, Limited Edition 3-DVD set comprises three extraordinary features from a golden age of Eastern European cinema which came to be known as the 'Czechoslovak New Wave'. This brief period, from circa 1963 to 1969, produced an astonishing sequence of films that made a huge impact on world cinema.
These three integral works of that most creative period were made in the most difficult of circumstances under the gaze of Government censors, yet achieved a miraculous and subversive marriage of content and form. Now, fifty years on, the films remain as remarkable as ever.
The set includes:
A Blonde in Love / Lásky jedné plavovlásky (Miloš Forman, 1965)
Widely regarded as one of the great films of the 60s, this bittersweet romance unfolds as a wry critique of life under totalitarianism. Forman’s sweetly seductive Oscar®-nominated feature remains a subtle and beautifully observed social satire.
The Party and the Guests / O slavnosti a hostech (Jan Němec, 1966)
Considered the most politically dangerous film made during the Czech New Wave - and subsequently "banned forever" - Němec's film is a biting satire of authoritarianism and conformity. The film's universal relevance continues to this day.
Larks on a String / Skřivánci na niti (Jiří Menzel, 1969)
Menzel's audacious, long-banned political comedy is set in a scrap metal yard where political dissidents are interned for 're-education'. A powerful commentary on totalitarianism and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit.
Limited Edition 3 x DVD Box Set with special features:
• The Party and the Guests – a filmed appreciation by Peter Hames.
• Larks on a String – Jiří Menzel: 7 Questions, an idiosyncratic reflection on the film and its history, shot by the director.
• Presented in digital transfers with restored picture and sound.
• New and improved English subtitle translations.
• Booklets with each film, featuring essays by author/film programmer Peter Hames, and writer, editor and film
historian Michael Brooke. Larks on a String also features an introduction by DoP Jaromír Šofr.
The Czechoslovak New Wave Collection Vol. 1 is also available (which features Jan Němec's acclaimed Diamonds of the Night, Ivan Passer's touching Intimate Lighting and Juraj Herz's chilling The Cremator).
A Blonde in Love, The Party and the Guests and Larks on a String are also available as individual releases.
"The Czech New Wave is perhaps one of the richest cinemas of the 20th century... A generation of Czech filmmakers gave us some of the most ingenious, original, innovative and most beautiful films in the entire history of cinema" MUBI
A Blonde in Love
1966 Oscar® Nomination / Best Foreign Language Film
Empire magazine / 100 Best Films of World Cinema
New York Times / Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
1965 Venice Film Festival / CIDALAC Award
"If I had to pick just one film, it would be A Blonde in Love"
Ken Loach, Movie Heaven - The Guardian
“A small gem... indescribably exact, touching and funny”
Tom Milne, Time Out Film Guide
"A keystone of the Czech New Wave... political bite, deft humour and a warm but unblinkered view of humanity"
Philip Kemp, Total Film
The Party and the Guests
Voted as one of the 'Best Films of the 1960s'
by The New York Times critics
"An acute piece of historical fore-sight, and a marvellous idea" - Time Out
"Widely considered Němec’s most politically charged film...
the movie works spectacularly well as an allegory for the dark side of political utopianism" Film Comment
"An extraordinary allegory... evocative of Kafka or Dostoevsky" International Film Guide
Larks on a String
Winner: Golden Bear / Berlin Film Festival 1990
"This long-suppressed Czechoslovak film offers a trenchant blend of playfulness and political satire"
Janet Maslin, New York Times
"Larks on a String looks totalitarianism straight in the eye and, instead of spitting, laughs" Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
"Light and sunny, buoyant and dangerously lyrical" LA Times
