Czechoslovakia, 1966
Length / The Miraculous Virgin:
Blu-Ray (24fps): 97 minutes
DVD (25fps): 93 minutes
Length / Special features: 46 minutes
Sound /
Blu-Ray:
2.0 Dual Mono LPCM (48khz/24-bit)
Sound /
DVD: 2.0 Dual Mono
Black and white
Original aspect ratio:
1.37:1
Language: Slovak
Subtitles: English
Blu-Ray: BD50
/ 1080 / 24fps / Region ABC
DVD: PAL / DVD9 / 25 fps / Region 0
Blu-Ray RRP: £19.99
DVD RRP: £12.99
Release Date: 20 August 2018
Second Run DVD 123 / SRBD 014
DVD |
Blu-Ray |
|---|
Surrealism was arguably the most important artistic movement of the 20th century in Slovakia as it challenged both cultural and political establishments. From The Sun in a Net director Štefan Uher, The Miraculous Virgin is an exquisite, surreal, mystery drama set in the art scene of the 1960s became one of Slovak cinema’s most admired and controversial works.
Centring on the ‘dream’ figure of Anabella (Knife in the Water’s Jolanta Umecka) who casts her spell on a group of young artists, and the film, through its embracing of fantasy and imagination, becomes a provocation to those only concerned with the material world.
Available on region-free Blu-Ray and DVD, The Miraculous Virgin also includes Štefan Uher’s breathtaking 1959 short film Marked by Darkness (Poznačení tmou), plus 'The Story of The Miraculous Virgin', an all new documentary on the film, the talents behind it and its legacy, produced by the Slovak Film Institute; archival promotional documentary ' Looking for Anabella' on the search for the titular lead, and a 16-page booklet with new essay on the film by Michal Michalovič.
• Presented from a brand new 2K restoration of the film from original materials by the Slovak Film Institute.
• Marked by Darkness (Poznačení tmou) - Štefan Uher’s breathtaking 1959 short film.
• The Story of 'The Miraculous Virgin': an all new documentary on the film, the talents behind it and its legacy, produced by the Slovak Film Institute.
• Looking for Anabella: an archival documentary on the search for the titular lead.
• Trailer.
• 16-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michal Michalovič.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• World premiere on Blu-ray.
• Region Free (A/B/C) Blu-ray.
• Region Free (Region '0') DVD.
Directed by Štefan Uher
Screenplay – Dominik Tatarka based on his novel
Cinematography - Stanislav Szomolányi
Music - Ilja Zeljenka
Editor - Maximilián Remeň
Art Director - Anton Krajčovič
Sound - Milan K. Némethy
Assistant director - Eduard Grečner
Main Cast
Jolanta Umecka - Anabella
Ladislav Mrkvička - Tristan
Otakar Janda - Havran (Raven)
Rudolf Thrún - Rafaj
Štefan Bobota – Vilo
Karol Béla- Gallo
Štefan Uher's acclaimed film The Sun in a Net
is also available from Second Run.
Other classics of Slovak cinema are also available.
"The boundaries between reality and fantasy suddenly cease to exist" Minsk Film Festival
"An undeniably beautiful, interesting, and unique film, that shows us the wonders of imagination" Bonjour Tristesse
"The first Czech or Slovak film of the 1960s to expore the common inheritance of Surrealism"
Peter Hames, Czech and Slovak Cinema
"The Miraculous Virgin is gorgeously fluid, its surrealism expressed most acutely not in the screenplay or the editing, but in the camerawork... The effect is one of constant astonishment, and the shots are like minor miracles [...] every image stirring and exciting, an immersive experience that deserves far more recognition than it has received... The film is poetry, hard to capture in prose"
Wonders in the Dark
