Slovak Cinema DVD/Blu-ray

[petoluk]

There were boxed sets for the '60s and '40s/'50s collections, but I doubt one could still find them...

[PillowRock]

the Slovenian Films of the 60s or 70s series

Just thought that I would mention that, despite the image above demonstrating the spelling of the Slovak word for Slovak, Slovakia and Slovenia are two different countries.

[swo17]

Yep, that spelling must've messed me up

[feihong]

The Elo Havetta set arrived in the mail today, and I looked at the discs right off the bat. The outside box for this is so anonymous, it does, I feel, very little to sell these wonderful films; it's a bit of a shame, because the imagery on the inside casing is a lot nicer. Still, I don't think the color-coding really helps advertise the movies, either; Celebration in the Botanical Garden's promo images are all toned blue, and Wild Lillies stills are all toned red. Botanical Garden has really boundless color––one of its' very remarkable filmic attributes––and this design really takes away from that. None of it really gets at the essence of what these movies are, and it feels a little like money left on the table, in a sense. Ultimately, though, these are blu rays of Havetta's two feature films, and they include three short films as extra features, so my complaints about design aside, my verdict on the set is, that yes, indeed, it is spectacular.

First of all there are English subtitles on everything; not only the two features, but the three shorts and a documentary––Celebration of a Lonely Palm––profiling Havetta with interviews with lots of his surviving collaborators––all have English subtitles. The subtitles on the features all look to be a little improved over the DVD subs; I'm not being scientific about it, but there are translations for song lyrics in Botanical Garden that I don't recall from the DVD, and there does seem to be a little more explanation of the complicated family relationships in that first film than I remember from the DVD. The booklet accompanying the set is in Slovak, but the second half of the book reproduces the articles about the films and filmmaker in English, adding a lot of value to the set, I think. The sound seemed pretty good. It is mono 2.0, and sounds a little crisper than on the DVDs.

The picture quality is amazing, but I'm afraid I have a little caveat, which shouldn't detract from anyone's enthusiasm for purchasing this set. The quality on these Slovak Film Institute discs has been very high, just as MichaelB says, but there is some variance at the top level worth mentioning. I would compare it to the two poles of quality I see on the first Slovak Film Institute blu ray box set from a couple of years ago. In that set the high-water mark for quality was Birds, Orphans & Fools, which displayed crisp, sizzling film grain at all times. This made for an incredibly sharp picture, precise rendering of action across the frame, and beautiful color separation. The low-water mark for that set was Path Across the Danube. That film still looked pretty good, but there was a higher level of DNR applied in that case, selectively across the scenes, and so there was a little bit of murkiness, a greying of the picture (in that case, the whole movie is relatively grey to begin with, though) especially in closeups, and some ghosting when characters would run or the camera would pan quickly. In this new Havetta set, we have one Birds, Orphans & Fools-quality disc and one a little closer to Path Across the Danube.

Wild Lillies looks amazing. The picture is displayed in a pleasing sepiatone, with very, tight grain structure, giving the film a sharp look. There is some blue–tinted monochrome footage at the beginning that is a bit softer, though it doesn't look like it has excessive DNR, and there is color footage at the very end of the film that is as sharp as the rest of the movie, or as sharp as the disc for Birds, Orphans & Fools. Unfortunately, Celebration in the Botanical Garden suffers from a surreptitious DNR that cranks up and down in intensity throughout the film. There are a couple of scenes that appear to be shot in slight soft focus, and at first I thought that was the condition that was making the film look a little pale and swimmy at times, but at about chapter 2 within the narrative (I think it's chapter stop three of the disc), there is a scene that begins exceptionally crisply, and then moves into some closeups and ends up revealing just what's going on. There's a closeup in which the Frenchman and one of the inkeepers chat, where the camera is doing an extreme closeup that whips back and forth between the two characters. The shadows on their cheeks looked off a little, very watery and strange. Then as the whip panning began, you could see the digital noise removal streak to try and catch up to the changing image. It's that subtle ghosting effect you see in some cases of DNR, and sometimes in movies shot with a lot of soft-focus. But it's very clearly a kind of DNR going on. It doesn't ruin the experience at all; clearly, this is a more beautiful and fulsome version of the movie than the DVD was able to convey (and the DVD looked great for it's format). But it makes the movie look in some cases like a 16mm film rather than a 35mm, a little more mottled color and a little less sharp edges. There is seldom that crackling sharpness you see on Birds, Orphans & Fools. It's not as bad-looking as Path Across the Danube––which honestly looked kind of weak on blu ray––but it has some similar attributes; the shadow on people's faces looks indistinct. There is no sharpness in long shots, and not always quite enough sharpness in closeups. It doesn't help that Botanical Garden is a film full of riotous activity, so there is a bit of the ghosting typical of DNR as well. I'm a little sorry about this, because Botanical Garden is the film I greatly prefer. But ultimately, it's still a pretty great way to see the film, certainly the very best way available to see the films (in most places). If you like Slovak film, it's as important a set to have as the earlier Slovak Film Institute sets. These are unique and really striking films.

[Klapka.sk]

Hello guys, this year will be available on blu-ray Rosy dreams and blu-ray I love, you love from Dušan Hanák :)

[Klapka.sk]

hello guys, so, in the few weeks will be available two new blu ray´s from us, but it's supposed to be an advertisement, so it will be surprise :)

[L.A.]

hello guys, so, in the few weeks will be available two new blu ray´s from us, but it's supposed to be an advertisement, so it will be surprise

Looking forward to what the announcements are.

[TMDaines]

How long do Klapka packages generally take to arrive? I've not yet received something sent on 26/11 to UK, but no idea what the general delivery time is from Slovakia with the service Klapka use.

[MichaelB]

I can't remember the exact length of time, but mine certainly wasn't quick - in fact, I'd forgotten all about it until it suddenly arrived out of the blue.

The package was notionally tracked, but as far as I recall it only covered its passage up to its departure from Slovakia, at which point I was completely in the dark.

But it did arrive!

[djvaso]

I ordered from Národní filmový archiv shop, departed Czech Republic on November 13 and arrived today in my country.

[TMDaines]

I can't remember the exact length of time, but mine certainly wasn't quick - in fact, I'd forgotten all about it until it suddenly arrived out of the blue.

The package was notionally tracked, but as far as I recall it only covered its passage up to its departure from Slovakia, at which point I was completely in the dark.

But it did arrive!

Cheers, Michael. I presume it is being sent by a land economy service in that case. All the services on the Slovakian post service suggest it should arrive in less than a week though, so it is a bit odd. It’s supposed to be a Christmas gift, so hope it arrives in time!

[djvaso]

Just released:

[TMDaines]

Can't see your images but I presume you are referring to new releases of Ružové sny (1977) and Ja milujem, ty miluješ (1989)?

I'm hoping Ja milujem, ty miluješ isn't an upgrade on the release in their first box set! That's currently in transit to me.

[djvaso]

Can't see your images but I presume you are referring to new releases of Ružové sny (1977) and Ja milujem, ty miluješ (1989)?

I'm hoping Ja milujem, ty miluješ isn't an upgrade on the release in their first box set! That's currently in transit to me.

Yes, I posted direct link to Klapka.sk. I wish I bought these Czech discs at their store as there is a significant discount now.

[dryout]

Hello guys, this year will be available on blu-ray Rosy dreams and blu-ray I love, you love from Dušan Hanák :)

Truly amazing releases! Any news on Tapak's Pacho remaster?

[TMDaines]

Can't see your images but I presume you are referring to new releases of Ružové sny (1977) and Ja milujem, ty miluješ (1989)?

I'm hoping Ja milujem, ty miluješ isn't an upgrade on the release in their first box set! That's currently in transit to me.

Yes, I posted direct link to Klapka.sk. I wish I bought these Czech discs at their store as there is a significant discount now.

Seems like there might be a sale on. I ordered at the end of November and everything was more expensive. The Czech titles much more.

[feihong]

I ordered Rosy Dreams, which is a film I really like. If they're willing to put that movie on blu ray, maybe they'll be interested in releasing If I Had a Gun or And I'll Run to the Ends of the Earth.

[TMDaines]

We got our parcel from Klapka today. Weirdly left Slovakia almost a month ago, arrived in the UK yesterday and was delivered today.

Packaging met its legendary reputation!

[feihong]

Rosy Dreams arrived on blu ray yesterday. It's a wonderful film––I forgot how satisfying it is to watch––and the quality of the disc is preeeeettttyyyy good. But I'm beginning to see a kind of Jekyll & Hyde split in the authoring of these Slovak Film Institute discs. About half of them are incredibly tight––near perfect authoring, with sharp, visible grain, which results in crisp color separation and beautiful depth-of-field. Then about half the discs are done with a limited amount of DNR. The result is pretty subtle, but the grain is softened enough that in shots with a lot of movement it is hard to see the grain there. When the shots are still they appear much sharper. Still, there is less visible grain, and because of that, there is less depth of field and a slightly murkier color separation. This affects discs in the same sets: for instance, Birds, Orphans & Fools is one of the most beautiful blu rays I've ever seen, but Across the Danube has that murkier, softer look. Wild Lillies in the Havetta set is crisp and incredible, and Celebration in the Botanical Garden looks softer, less detailed, and a little murky in what is supposed to be brilliant color. Rosy Dreams is afflicted with the same effect, and looks very much like Celebration in the Botanical Garden and Across the Danube. Danube is the worst–off of the films I've seen so far––but the impression I get is of two separate restoration teams, working independently of each other, with different criteria for how they think the picture should look. Not sure if this is coincidence, but the films with the softer, DNR'ed look are all pictures that have at least a couple of scenes shot in soft–focus. Rosy Dreams has one near the end, Botanical Garden does as well, and several scenes in Danube have that look. Maybe they are applying different restoration values to films shot in different way?

Either way, Rosy Dreams is great, and worth having on Blu Ray. I hope more of these films make it onto blu ray. I heard maybe Night Riders will be released? I'm also hoping for Sweet Troubles, If I Had a Gun, and And I'll Run to the Ends of the Earth. Whatever the case, I'm glad they're releasing these blu rays, but I hope they can, in the future, bring them all up to the same high standard at some point. Birds, Orphans & Fools, and Wild Lillies are some of the best blu rays I own.

[L.A.]

A restoration of Night Riders (Martin Hollý, 1981) will world premiere at the Lumière Festival in Lyon this month. Blu-ray possibly in 2021.

Now available on Blu-ray, I must have this!

[feihong]

Ordered! This is an awesome movie. I also ordered Fountain for Suzanne and Perinbaba, both blind buys. Fountain for Suzanne looks a bit like my kind of movie.

[MichaelB]

I've just made my first post-Brexit bulk order from Slovakia. Wish me luck.

[MichaelB]

It arrived impressively quickly (certainly much faster than last time), with no customs charges.

[perkypat]

Michael, has the postage increased post-Brexit? And do you think you were just lucky with avoiding a customs charge? Have stopped ordering stuff from the EU this year, because of the uncertainty, maybe I can start again.

[MichaelB]

Absolutely no idea on every count - sorry! I don't order enough online from outside the UK to be a reliable source of info.

That said, I don't recall any charge being eyebrow-raising at the time of ordering, and I didn't have to pay anything else.