Description

THIS IS A PRE-ORDER ITEM.

RELEASE DATE - Late July. (SUBJECT TO DELAYS).

IT WILL SHIP TO YOU WHEN WE RECEIVE IT.

PRE-ORDERS CANNOT BE CANCELLED OR MODIFIED.

YOU WILL BE CHARGED AT TIME OF CHECKOUT.

ALL ITEMS ORDERED WITH PRE-ORDER ITEMS WILL SHIP WITH YOUR PRE-ORDER. IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE YOUR OTHER ITEMS SOONER, PLEASE PLACE A SEPARATE ORDER.

ARTWORK / FEATURES / AND DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

LIMITED TO 2000 UNITS

THE PIED PIPER (KRYSAŘ), 1986, Czechoslovakia, 53 min. Director Jiří Barta’s stop-motion animated masterpiece, based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin, is set in a dark and twisted medieval village of narrow streets and weird Gothic arches, half-CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI and half-Jan van Eyck. The money-obsessed citizens, carved out of wood blocks and speaking in an onomatopoeic babble, are like George Grosz caricatures, literally spouting coins from their mouths instead of words. The rats are far more organic and sympathetic, made of real fur and whiskers, constantly tunneling and burrowing under the towering arches and cobblestone streets above. Fans of fellow Czech animation legend Jan Švankmajer and the Brothers Quay will adore Barta’s eerie, Expressionist gem, recently restored by Deaf Crocodile for its first-ever U.S. Blu-ray release, in association with Krátký Film Praha and Comeback Company. This new Deluxe 2-Disc Edition features seven beautifully restored Barta short films, two director interviews, an all-new visual essay and more.

“Barta’s mastery of all aspects of filmmaking are evident: staging, production design, lighting, animation, editing, sound and music combine into dark worlds of repression and revolt with ironic conclusions.” – Phil Tippett (MAD GOD).

SPECIAL FEATURES

Disc One

THE PIED PIPER feature, restored by Craig Rogers for Deaf Crocodile
Jiří Barta’s short film THE VANISHED WORLD OF GLOVES, a marvelous tour through cinema history told through animated gloves (1982, 16 min.)
CHRONICLE OF THE PIED PIPER, a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Barta’s masterpiece (1985, 13 min., dir. Miroslava Humplíková) – in Czech with English subtitles
Video interview with director Jiří Barta, moderated by Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile
Audio commentary by Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company and film critic & historian Peter Hames

Disc Two

Six Barta short films, newly restored by Deaf Crocodile:

RIDDLES FOR A CANDY (1978, 8 min.) In Barta’s debut short, a fantastical anteater-shaped creature must solve complicated riddles posed by a magical book
DISC JOCKEY (1980, 10 min.). Everyday life is a world of discs: plates, ashtrays, buttons, a copy of “Abbey Road,” in Barta’s satire of empty modern life
THE DESIGN (1981, 6 min.). An apartment block comes to life on a drafting board, in Barta’s critique of state-socialist housing
A BALLAD ABOUT GREEN WOOD (1983, 11 min.) A miniature masterpiece about the occult mysteries of earth, sky, stone, wood and snow
THE LAST THEFT (1987, 21 min.) Barta’s spectral ghost story follows a thief who breaks into an apparently-abandoned mansion to loot it of its treasures
THE CLUB OF THE LAID OFF (1989, 25 min.) Barta’s disturbing stop-motion gem is set in a decrepit apartment where wooden mannequins mimic their almost-human "lives"

New video interview with director Jiří Barta about his short films, moderated by Dennis Bartok
New visual essay narrated by Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company, film critic & historian Peter Hames and edited by Ryan Verrill of Someone’s Favorite Productions
New artwork by Beth Morris
Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie of Fidelity In Motion