A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Jan Svankmajer, “Jabberwocky / Zvahlav aneb Saticky Slameneho Huberta” (1971) Inspired by the Lewis Carroll poem of the same name, and which it dispenses with early…
Jan Svankmajer, “Dimensions in Dialogue / Moznosti Dialogu” (1982) Hilarious three-part stop-motion animated film that investigates communication breakdown in its various forms, “Dimensions in Dialogue” is…
Jan Svankmajer, “A Quiet Week in the House / Tichy tyden v dome” (1969) A strange little film even by my standards of strangeness, this combines live…
Jindrich Polak, “Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea / Zitra vstanu a oparim se cajem” (1977) One of a number of comic science…
Jan Svankmajer, “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1981), “The Pit, the Pendulum and Hope” (1983) Both these live action / stop-motion animation films by…
Eastern European Films, French and French-language Films
René Laloux, “Fantastic Planet” / “La Planète Sauvage” (1973) A very absorbing animated science fiction film that superficially looks as if it might have been created…
Jindrích Polák, “Ikarie XB-1” (1963) A compelling early 1960’s science fiction gem from the old Czechoslovakia is this lavish effort by Polák that details the day-to-day…