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Release: July 24, 2017

$7.99

Description

Often described as the Czech Méliès , visionary filmmaker Karel Zeman has been a profound influence on whole generations of film artists from Jan vankmajer to Tim Burton, the Quay Brothers to Terry Gilliam, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Wes Anderson. His ground-breaking innovations in the use of live-action and animation mark him as one of the great masters of 20th Century fantasy cinema, ranking alongside his more celebrated Western counterparts Willis O Brien and Ray Harryhausen. The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (Baron Prá il) is perhaps Zeman s most beloved achievement. Still regarded as the finest film adaptation of Gottfried August Bürger s outlandish tales of Baron Munchausen (made famous in his 1786 book), Zeman s wildly inventive and outrageously fun take on the incredible adventures of the bragging Baron come to life in a film celebrating the courage and imagination of dreamers and poets. With its mind-bending melding of live-action, animation and extraordinary matte work, Zeman has crafted a timeless work that continues to astonish. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1961) presented from a new 4K restoration from original materials by the Karel Zeman Museum and the Czech National Film Archive Film Adventurer Karel Zeman (2015, 97 mins): feature length documentary on the life, work and influence of Karel Zeman with contributions from Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton, Koji Yamamura and others New and exclusive filmed appreciation by writer, editor and film historian Michael Brooke. Karel Zeman and the World featurette The Birth of a Film Legend featurette Why Zeman Made the Film featurette The Cast Zeman's Special Effects Techniques Karel Zeman: The Legend Continues featurette Booklet featuring a new essay on the film by journalist and critic Graham Williamson New and improved English subtitle translation. Original Czech soundtrack in Dual Mono 24-bit LPCM audio …AND MORE

Release: May 12, 2026

$7.99

Description

Czech director Otakar Vávra's astonishing mix of Film Noir, Thriller and Atomic Bomb Sci-Fi KRAKATIT, 1948, N.F.A., 101 min. "Long wandering," a voice whispers in the brain of a man staggering along a misty riverbank, the night as fog-shrouded as his shattered mind. Czech director Otakar Vávra's astonishing KRAKATIT is a literal fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s Film Noir, paranoid thriller and speculative atomic-bomb Sci-Fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he's invented a proto-nuclear weapon -- and the mystery of what's happened to the formula for it. The film has overtones of Rudolph Maté's classic Noir D.O.A. (seriously-ill man racing against the clock), 1940s Orson Welles films like THE STRANGER and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (stunning deep-focus B&W photography, atmosphere of surreal paranoia), and Hitchcock's SPELLBOUND (distorted dream sequences). Karel Höger delivers an unforgettable performance in the lead, grasping at his own memories like a walking ghost. Based on a 1924 novel by famed sci-fi author Karel Čapek (who invented the word "robot" in his play R.U.R.), the film's unique structure of memories within memories within flashbacks are like Russian nesting dolls -- all shot by DOP Václav Hanuš in some of the most remarkable B&W images since NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. Long wandering, indeed. Beautifully restored in 4K by the Národní filmový archiv (NFA) in Prague in collaboration with the National Film Institute (NFI) in Hungary. Deaf Crocodile is thrilled to present the first-ever 4K UHD + Blu-ray release for this overlooked classic of Czech cinema and World Noir, co-presented with the Comeback Company. In Czech with English subtitles. Bonus Materials 1st ever World 4K UHD + Blu-ray release New restoration from original 35mm nitrate negative in 4K New essay by Czech film scholar Jonathan Owen New essay by film critic Walter Chaw New visual essay by film scholar Clayton Dillard Video interview on the film’s restoration w/ Tereza Frodlová, Restoration and Curatorship, Národní filmový archiv, Prague New artwork by Beth Morris Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie with FIdelity in Motion Cast & Crew Actors: Karel Höger Director: Otakar Vávra

Release: May 12, 2026

$7.99

Description

Czech director Otakar Vávra's astonishing mix of Film Noir, Thriller and Atomic Bomb Sci-Fi KRAKATIT, 1948, N.F.A., 101 min. "Long wandering," a voice whispers in the brain of a man staggering along a misty riverbank, the night as fog-shrouded as his shattered mind. Czech director Otakar Vávra's astonishing KRAKATIT is a literal fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s Film Noir, paranoid thriller and speculative atomic-bomb Sci-Fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he's invented a proto-nuclear weapon -- and the mystery of what's happened to the formula for it. The film has overtones of Rudolph Maté's classic Noir D.O.A. (seriously-ill man racing against the clock), 1940s Orson Welles films like THE STRANGER and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (stunning deep-focus B&W photography, atmosphere of surreal paranoia), and Hitchcock's SPELLBOUND (distorted dream sequences). Karel Höger delivers an unforgettable performance in the lead, grasping at his own memories like a walking ghost. Based on a 1924 novel by famed sci-fi author Karel Čapek (who invented the word "robot" in his play R.U.R.), the film's unique structure of memories within memories within flashbacks are like Russian nesting dolls -- all shot by DOP Václav Hanuš in some of the most remarkable B&W images since NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. Long wandering, indeed. Beautifully restored in 4K by the Národní filmový archiv (NFA) in Prague in collaboration with the National Film Institute (NFI) in Hungary. Deaf Crocodile is thrilled to present the first-ever 4K UHD + Blu-ray release for this overlooked classic of Czech cinema and World Noir, co-presented with the Comeback Company. In Czech with English subtitles. Bonus Materials 1st ever World 4K UHD + Blu-ray release New restoration from original 35mm nitrate negative in 4K New essay by Czech film scholar Jonathan Owen New essay by film critic Walter Chaw New visual essay by film scholar Clayton Dillard Video interview on the film’s restoration w/ Tereza Frodlová, Restoration and Curatorship, Národní filmový archiv, Prague New artwork by Beth Morris Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie with FIdelity in Motion Cast & Crew Actors: Karel Höger Director: Otakar Vávra