The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer
by Jan Svankmajer
List Price:
Our Price: $18.10
You Save: $11.85 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Director: Jan SvankmajerBrand: Kino International
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 153 minutes
Published: 2005-06-01
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-21
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Kimstim
Movie Reviews of The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer
Movie Review: Collection of Miracles:
Summary: 5 Stars
I may say "groundbreaking", "dark", "visceral", and "superb". I may say, he looks inside my mind, takes the deepest fears that I would never want to be uncovered, turns them into the images hellishly disturbing but mesmerizing and threw them back at me. I may say, in his work, infernal visions of Bosch meet the impossible creations and repetitions of M.C Escher, meet originality, surrealism and dark humor of Luis Bunuel, meet unbearable quiet horror of Edgar Poe, and ETA Hoffman's grotesque combinations of the macabre and realism. I may say it but my words would not give you a slightest idea what you are going to face - you have to see for yourself.
Each and every short I saw were masterpieces but there are few that stand out. "Moznosti dialogu" (1982) aka "Dimensions of Dialogue" (or it could be translated as "Possibilities of Dialogue") is one of my very favorite Svankmajer's short films. It consists of three parts, "Eternal Dialog", "Passionate Dialog", and "Exhausting Dialog". When I watched it, I was thinking about Tennessee Williams' words, "All of us are locked in our loneliness like in the cage". Complete loneliness, inability to communicate, impossibility of dialog and understanding - this is quite a dark opinion of the humanity but how masterfully and wickedly funny it was presented. How incredibly unique and marvelous Svankmajer's vision is. Among many spectacular images, the clay lovemaking scene in the "Passionate Dialog" was perhaps one of the most sensual I've ever seen in the movies. As any genuine work of Art, Svankmajer's little gem fascinates a viewer on many levels. You can try to explain the images and their deep meaning or you can simply sit back and let the fantasy, Art and imagination take you to the amazing world which you will never be able to forget
"Down to the Cellar" was amazing - I also saw "Alice", Svankmajer's outstanding adaptation of Lewis Carroll's story that combines animation and live action and creates a surrealist dream universe of "Alice in Wonderland" and I think that "Down to the Cellar" is a matching piece to "Alice".
The most hilarious and in the same time, the darkest film for me was "Food". If this one would not shock you, I don't know what else would. Are we the creatures that ready to devour everything including ourselves?
Both adaptations of Poe's short stories, "The Fall of the House of Usher" and "The Pit, the Pendulum, and the Hope" are masterpieces of the unspeakable and unbearable fear that is more in the anticipation of horror than in horror itself. The visual solution for both films, the camera movements are unforgettable.
Like I said, each film is a little miracle. I only wish that one more DVD were released, the one that would contain some missing films: "Leonardo's Diary", "Another Kind of Love", "Animated Self-Portraits", and "Jabberwocky".
Summary of The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer
COLLECTED SHORTS OF JAN SVANKMAJER - DVD MovieSimilar DVD Movies
LunacyZeitgeist Films; Release date: 2007-02-20; DVD
Best price: $16.05
Price in other shops:
The Piano Tuner of EarthquakesZeitgeist Films; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $15.66
Price in other shops:
The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993Release date: 2000-08-01; DVD
Best price: $80.68
FaustRelease date: 2003-09-02; DVD
Best price: $69.95
The Exquisite Short Films of Kihachiro KawamotoKino International; Release date: 2008-04-22; DVD
Best price: $18.51
Price in other shops:
Little Otik (Otesanek)Zeitgeist Films; Release date: 2003-01-21; DVD
Best price: $16.36
Price in other shops:
Jiri Barta: Labyrinth of DarknessKino International; Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $14.55
Price in other shops:
Jan Svankmajer: The Ossuary and Other TalesKino International; Release date: 2006-09-12; DVD
Best price: $14.91
Price in other shops:
AliceRelease date: 2000-04-11; Published: 2000-04-01; DVD
Best price: $15.67
Price in other shops:
Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay BrothersZeitgeist Films; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $19.63
Price in other shops: