While it's doubtful that story nor performance is really the point in "The Saragossa Manuscript," one comes away from viewing the film ultimately impressed by the power of imagination in nearly all aspects of life.įor more information on "The Saragossa Manuscript," visit Facets DVD. Presented in Polish with English subtitles, "The Saragossa Manuscript" is a frequently dark, naughty and rather funny affair perfectly delightful for the discerning moviegoer open to the challenge of watching a film that makes "Memento" look like an Adam Sandler film. "The Saragossa Manuscript" is available on DVD by Facets Video, and while the film itself is infinitely involving and well presented throughout its entire three-hour runtime, the packaging itself leaves a bit to be desired and the film's aspect ratio is undeniably a tad off (particularly a distraction given the film's already unusual presentation). "The Saragossa Manuscript," which runs a full 182 minutes, contains storylines within storylines, flashbacks within flashbacks, reality and fantasy intertwined and an over-abundance of silliness, eroticism and arresting imagery often simultaneously.Ĭybulski has the lead role here, Alfonso Van Worden, whom we follow for quite some time before even he seems to drift off into the scenery as we are introduced to even more storylines. The tale essentially follows the story of a sort of Don Juan type soldier who must pass a series of tests in order to become a member of the powerful Mauretanian family. Starring Zbigniew Cybulksi, who was widely recognized as the Polish James Dean and similarly died at the young age of 39, "The Saragossa Manuscript" kicks off during the Napoleonic Wars when a French officer discovers the manuscript as his army raids the Spanish city of Saragossa. The trio eventually raised the money needed to have the print fully restored, and the resulting three hour film played at film festivals globally over the past year. The Saragossa Manuscript English Subtitled by Wojciech Has Publication date 1965 Topics polish, fantasy, gothic, horror, film Language Polish In the Napoleonic wars, an officer finds an old book that relates his grandfather’s story, Alfons van Worden, captain in the Walloon guard. Before long, the film also gained favor with equally legendary directors Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Garcia reportedly funded a print to the Pacific Film Archive on the grounds that he'd be able to screen the film at anytime. Potocki, who killed himself shortly after completing the novel, could likely never have imagined that a filmmaker would tackle such a dizzying array of storylines and imagery as is contained in the novel.Ĭertainly not for the casual moviegoer, "The Saragossa Manuscript" was filmed in 1965 by Polish filmmaker Wojciech Has and quickly gained the favor of legendary Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia. 5) The screener disc is labeled 'The Hourglass Santorum' but the film was clearly The Saragossa Manuscript. 4) Subtitle font is exact same style and size as the Zebra Blu-ray release. 3) The bitrate and bitrate graph are exactly the same. Booklet: A multi-page booklet is included in this release which features the essays “The Saragossa Manuscript: Incertitude and Internal Rhymes” by Film Professor Annette Insdorf and “Lost In History: Wojciech Has’s The Saragossa Manuscript” by Film Historian Anton Bitel, both of which gives a great amount of context to the filmmaker and the movie itself in a way that is quite illuminating.Based upon Jan Potocki's novel from 1813, "The Manuscript Found in Saragossa," this cult classic from Poland has just become available on DVD from the fine folks at FACETS in all its extended, exhausting and splendid glory. 2) Audio transfer is the exact same as the Zebra Blu-ray release - DTS-HD Master - 1846 kbps 5.1 - 16 bit.Interview with Film Critic Sebastian Smoliński: A nearly 24-minute featurette in which the critic delves into the film with a greater focus on how it fits into the career of Wojciech Has, where it stands within Polish cinema, the time period in which it was created, the visual aesthetic of the film, the journey of the character, the themes of the narrative, the challenges it provided Has and more that is well worth a watch. Critical Assessment By Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf: A ten-minute piece in which the scholar discusses the way in which she didn’t understand the movie upon the first watch, the ways in which the movie tells you how to watch it, the ways in which the film rebukes traditional structure, how the film fares as an adaptation, various visual motifs and more.Introduction: An optional seven-minute introduction is provided in which Film Professor Annette Insdorf discusses her personal relationship with the work of Wojciech Has, the source material from which the film was adapted and its author, the filmmaking style of the feature, the famous fans that lead to the restoration of the film and more that gives some nice context to the feature.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |