Deaf Crocodile

[TMDaines]

Does Deaf Crocadile usually have an autumn/Black Friday/Christmas sale?

Update: There’s now a flash sale for their standard editions that lasts at 12 PM Pacific Time Wednesday, pretty sure this is their first storewide sale since their Vinegar Syndrome days.

Nice. Will catch up with their early catalogue and might sack off the idea of getting their Limited Editions if the Standards are so much cheaper. They are set to be priced less than half of the Limiteds unless they get a further price cut.

[swo17]

I got a card with Alraune advertising Shahram Mokri's new film Black Rabbit White Rabbit

[Glowingwabbit]

I got a card with Alraune advertising Shahram Mokri's new film Black Rabbit White Rabbit

Ohh exciting! I've been wondering about him ever since watching the set Deaf Crocodile put out. Really loved the films in the set even with the atrocious subtitles (hopefully that's been fixed)

[TechnicolorAcid]

Jan-July 2026 Subscription Details

This subscription period covers January-June 2026

10 releases - Our biggest lineup ever!

$425 (shipping included)

More 4K than ever before - including a stunning 4K restoration from original 35mm nitrate negative!

Our first martial arts film - as only you'd expect from Deaf Crocodile!

A new 4K restoration of an incredible Eastern European Sci-Fi / Mystery!

Another DEFA Studios multi-film set!

Three astonishing and surreal Animated Features!

A huge star's Pop/Sci-Fi debut, newly restored in collaboration with the B.F.I. - and so much more!

Teasers for the first two subscription titles:

Krakatit

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. Deaf Crocodile is thrilled to present the first-ever 4K UHD + Blu-ray release for this overlooked classic of Czech cinema and World Noir, beautifully restored in 4K by the Národní filmový archiv (NFA) in Prague and co-presented with the Comeback Company.

Disc details to come.

Spoiler

WHITE SUN OF THE DESERT – 1970, Mosfilm, 84 min.

“Have you been here long?” quips laconic, seemingly un-killable Red Army soldier Fyodor to a man he’s just discovered buried up to the neck in the middle of the desert. Director Vladimir Motyl’s surreal action classic is arguably the most entertaining of the Soviet “Osterns” inspired by films like STAGECOACH, HIGH NOON and 1960s Spaghetti Westerns (and certainly by Kurosawa’s YOJIMBO as well.) Set during the Russian Civil War, the story follows Fyodor (Anatoliy Kuznetsov) tramping across the sands of Turkmenistan and desperate to get home to his wife -- when he’s diverted into guarding a harem of Muslim women caught in a struggle between a renegade Red Army unit and local Basmachi guerillas led by Abdullah (Kakhi Kavsadze). Filled with endlessly-quotable dialogue and song lyrics -- "A knife is good for he who has it -- and it's bad for he who doesn't at the right moment" and "No luck in dying, I'll have luck in love" are two gems --, WHITE SUN is as visually striking as Leone’s A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, with its resourceful hero waging a one-man battle against the bandit chieftain and his army. (It also has a surprisingly feminist theme with Fyodor encouraging the niqab-wearing women to take control of their destinies: “Comrade women, the revolution has set you free!” he exhorts them.) The best comparison, though, may be to Georgiy Daneliya’s sci-fi masterpiece KIN-DZA-DZA! (also released by Deaf Crocodile): both films are about Everyman Russians trapped in alien desert landscapes, and rather than freaking out, responding in the most matter-of-fact ways to whatever misfortunes they encounter. One of the most popular Soviet films ever made, WHITE SUN has been beautifully restored by Mosfilm for its first-ever U.S. Blu-ray release through Deaf Crocodile, in association with Seagull Films. In Russian with English subtitles.

Disc details to come.

[What A Disgrace]

That's an exciting slate. I'm glad they're going to produce more 4K discs, there haven't been any in the last half of 2025, and only one in the first half.

Assuming all of those animated films are separate, the blurb promises 10 releases, hints at 7 specifically, reveals 1 of those seven and also another, so eight in all.

[TechnicolorAcid]

That's an exciting slate. I'm glad they're going to produce more 4K discs, there haven't been any in the last half of 2025, and only one in the first half.

Assuming all of those animated films are separate, the blurb promises 10 releases, hints at 7 specifically, reveals 1 of those seven and also another, so eight in all.

There's actually nine hinted at in this lineup, the 4K Eastern European Sci-Fi/Mystery seems to be a hint for Dead Mountaineer's Hotel which we know is coming and not for Krakatit. We also probably can check off two of the three animation titles as Chronopolis and Song of the Miraculous Hind, which have been hinted at via Bartok's Instagram.

[therewillbeblus]

Krakatit is excellent, glad to see DC releasing more good stuff!

[What A Disgrace]

That's an exciting slate. I'm glad they're going to produce more 4K discs, there haven't been any in the last half of 2025, and only one in the first half.

Assuming all of those animated films are separate, the blurb promises 10 releases, hints at 7 specifically, reveals 1 of those seven and also another, so eight in all.

There's actually nine hinted at in this lineup, the 4K Eastern European Sci-Fi/Mystery seems to be a hint for Dead Mountaineer's Hotel which we know is coming and not for Krakatit.

You'll probably right! I remember that Dead Mountaineer is coming, but since Krakatit is a sci fi mystery film I assumed that was the film being hinted at.

[beamish14]

That's an exciting slate. I'm glad they're going to produce more 4K discs, there haven't been any in the last half of 2025, and only one in the first half.

Assuming all of those animated films are separate, the blurb promises 10 releases, hints at 7 specifically, reveals 1 of those seven and also another, so eight in all.

There's actually nine hinted at in this lineup, the 4K Eastern European Sci-Fi/Mystery seems to be a hint for Dead Mountaineer's Hotel which we know is coming and not for Krakatit. We also probably can check off two of the three animation titles as Chronopolis and Song of the Miraculous Hind, which have been hinted at via Bartok's Instagram.

Chronopolis would be a tremendous acquisition. One of the best films of the 80’s

[TMDaines]

Presume I am not the only one waiting on my sale order?

[Lowry_Sam]

Mine was delivered yesterday.

[TMDaines]

Mine was dispatched within hours of my wondering. Classic.

[TechnicolorAcid]

Yuri Norstein Set

Our third volume of classic & rare Soviet animated gems from the vaults of Soyuzmultfilm studios is focused on the short films of legendary animator Yuri Norstein (b. 1941). This first-ever U.S. Blu-ray release of Norstein’s films features several rare shorts new to home video, all newly restored by Deaf Crocodile and co-presented with Seagull Films:

THE 25TH, THE FIRST DAY (25-E - PERVYY DEN) - 1968, 9 min., co-dir. Arkadiy Tyurin. Norstein's first film is a visually striking tribute to the Bolshevik Revolution on October 25th.

SEASONS (VREMENA GODA) - 1969, 9 min. A man and woman ride through the forest while the seasons change around them in this lovely, elegiac short set to music by Tchaikovsky.

CHILDREN AND MATCHES (DETI I SPICHKI) - 1969, 5 min. Norstein’s rarely-seen educational short about the dangers of matches, from ancient times up to today.

THE BATTLE OF KERZHENETS (SECHA PRI KERZHENTSE) - 1971, 10 min., co-dir. Ivan Ivanov-Vano. Arguably Norstein's first great animated film, inspired by the legend of the City of Kitezh which disappeared into a lake to avoid Mongol invaders.

THE FOX & THE HARE (LISA I ZAYATS) – 1973, 12 min. Norstein’s utterly charming short about a temperamental "house-filching fox" who boots a poor rabbit out of its home. The rabbit turns to a wolf, bear, bull and rooster for help, with surprising results.

THE HERON & THE CRANE (TSAPLYA I ZHURAVL) - 1974, 10 min. An awkward crane and a high-spirited heron go back and forth on marrying each other, in this heartbreaking short about romantic misunderstandings.

HEDGEHOG IN THE FOG (YOZHIK V TUMANE) – 1975, 11 min. The deceptively epic journey of the tiny hedgehog, filled with impossible marvels and dangers: a shimmering white horse and a crafty owl. A fluttering bat, a falling leaf and the ever-present curtain of fog. Widely considered one of the greatest animated films ever made.

A DAY BEFORE OUR ERA (ZA DEN DO’ NASHEY ERY) – 1977, 6 min. Co-dir. Fyodor Khitruk. This experimental collage of images of the French Revolution was apparently abandoned before it was finished, and remains one of Norstein’s rarest films.

THE TALE OF TALES (SKAZKA SKAZOK) – 1979, 29 min. Norstein's longest film to date, TALE is a story about stories, a dream of many dreams. A giant bull and a little girl skip rope. Couples dance under a streetlight until the male partners disappear, headed off to war. And through it all, the Little Grey Wolf watches silently at the rondo of human loves and losses.

All short films in Russian with English subtitles.

Special Features

YURI NORSTEIN: MAKING THE OVERCOAT – 2019, Stage Russia, 109 min., dir. Ryo Saitani. Forty years ago, Norstein began work on an ambitious adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s The Overcoat, but after completing 25 glorious minutes of the film, the project stalled. A Japanese film crew visited Norstein’s studio and found mountains of sketches, character studies and a shooting table covered with dust. When will his much-awaited work finally be completed?

New commentary tracks by film scholar Michael Brooke.
New visual essay by film historian Evan Chester.
New artwork by Beth Morris.
Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion.
Deluxe Edition Bonus Content

Slipcase featuring new artwork by Haleigh Buck
60-page illustrated book
New Essay by Jenny Barker
New Essay by John Adkins
New Essay by Walter Chaw

[MichaelB]

I was honoured to be asked to contribute, and I hope I did these incredible films something vaguely approaching justice—although I can definitely say that I’m as proud of my work here as I’ve been of pretty much anything else I’ve ever done.

[Black Hat]

These Soviet animations have been great, really looking fwd to this and to Michael's contribution.

[MichaelB]

I've yet to see the restorations myself - I recorded to ungraded scans! Such is the glamour of this profession.

[TechnicolorAcid]

These Soviet animations have been great, really looking fwd to this and to Michael's contribution.

Tale of Tales is absolutely incredible and will probably be the best film Deaf Crocodile will ever release, I mentioned it before here but it’s basically an animated take on Tarkovsky’s Mirror in its mixture of dreams and memories that morphs into this poetic, quietly beautiful, occasionally devastating work. The rest Norstein’s works range from just okay (Children with Matches) to extraordinary (Hedgehog in the Fog) but Tale of Tales is THE main attraction for me, phenomenal stuff.

[MichaelB]

I do mention Mirror, and pretty early on.

On the one hand, the 29-minute running time gave me a substantially bigger canvas than the usual 10-minute one, but on the other, this may be the most discussed and analysed animated short film of the last half-century, so I had an absolute ton of material to distil.

In sharp contrast, I had absolutely nothing on Children with Matches aside from Norstein's own dismissal of it as "absolute rubbish", but fortunately that was only five minutes long and I was able to come up with plenty to discuss.

[Yakushima]

I was honoured to be asked to contribute, and I hope I did these incredible films something vaguely approaching justice—although I can definitely say that I’m as proud of my work here as I’ve been of pretty much anything else I’ve ever done.

A dream-come-true box set for sure! The Heron and The Crane, Hedgehog in the Fog, and of course The Tale of Tales are utter masterpieces, and Michael's commentary + the Overcoat documentary are tremendous additions. Only wish they would include a documentary about Yarbusova.

An instant pre-order.

PS. Ended up pre-ordering this set from Orbit (together with the standard edition of their Teuvo Tulio Box set), as Deaf Crocodile does not offer free shipping, regardless of the order size. I wish they did, and I could support them directly.

[MichaelB]

I'm happy to confirm that I mention Francesca Yarbusova once or twice.

In fact, 21 times, if my transcript's accurate.

A sample, from about three-and-a-half minutes into The Heron and the Crane:

There’s some lovely character animation here – so fluid and expressive that it’s quite startling to realise that the Heron here is similarly made up of cut-out segments in the manner of her counterparts in The Fox and the Hare. And this is a beautiful demonstration of the benefits of the multiplane arrangement, and the individual layers’ simplicity of design reminds me of something that Norstein said about his wife Francesca Yarbusova, which is that her knowledge of nature is so encyclopaedic that she, to quote him directly, “composes the image like a herbal infusion. Other artists can paint flowers perfectly, with maximum precision and with all the details, but there will still be no scent”.

[MichaelB]

That's an exciting slate. I'm glad they're going to produce more 4K discs, there haven't been any in the last half of 2025, and only one in the first half.

The latest Deaf Crocodile podcast (number 28) confirms about 42 minutes in that Dead Mountaineer's Hotel will be getting a UHD release, and also that I'm on commentary duties again.

(And there are two more beyond that - this is one of the reasons why I've been so insanely busy this year, as there's another hefty video piece for Second Run in development as well!)

[Yakushima]

I'm happy to confirm that I mention Francesca Yarbusova once or twice.
In fact, 21 times, if my transcript's accurate.

This is fantastic, Michael, thank you!

[Saturnome]

The new podcast episode of Unsung Horrors with the Deaf Crocodile crew has them mention them that they’re attempting to find a lost Mexican sci-fi animated film which is most likely Roy de Espacio.

So Deaf Crocodile found it (and it is indeed previously lost film Roy del Espacio) and they have hired animators to animate the 5 minutes of footage that's stolen clips from Message from Space to make it possible to release.

[MichaelB]

My admiration for people who are prepared to go with just their gut instinct even if it's not possible to view the film beforehand is pretty much unbounded.

I'm reminded of Indicator's Pemini Organisation release—with that, it was the story of the short-lived company that first caught the eye, because the films were impossible to see; they hadn't been screened in half a century, there were no off-the-shelf viewing materials, and while the BFI National Archive had 35mm copies, they'd need scanning first (for a price) in order to make them viewable. Thankfully, the films turned out to be really interesting, because the decision to release them was similarly taken sight unseen.

[BoltzmannBrain]

I can't believe that Deaf Crocodile is still in 2026 releasing Mosfilm titles they licensed back in 2021, they must have picked up more titles in the last few years. Most people don't seem to care about it at all but I guess I'm a sucker who cares. This label has released and announced some films that I'm interested in but I don't want to support Deaf Crocodile or give them any money so I hope that those films (for example Dead Mountaineer's Hotel) will come out from UK labels at some point.