The Eclipse Viewer – Episode 32 – Pearls of the Czech New Wave [Part 2]

The Eclipse Viewer – CriterionCast

English - August 04, 2015 12:00 - 92.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 20 ratings
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Previous Episode: The Eclipse Viewer – Episode 31 – Pearls of the Czech New Wave [Part 1]

Next Episode: The Eclipse Viewer – Episode 33 – Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures

David and Trevor conclude their conversation about the set, discussing Return of the Prodigal Son, Capricious Summer and The Joke.

This podcast focuses on Criterion’s Eclipse Series of DVDs. Hosts David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett give an overview of each box and offer their perspectives on the unique treasures they find inside. In this episode, David and Trevor conclude their two-part discussion of Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave.

About the films:

Of all the cinematic New Waves that broke over the world in the 1960s, the one in Czechoslovakia was among the most fruitful, fascinating, and radical. With a wicked sense of humor and a healthy streak of surrealism, a group of fearless directors—including eventual Oscar winners Miloš Forman and Ján Kadár—began to use film to speak out about the hypocrisy and absurdity of the Communist state. A defining work was the 1966 omnibus film Pearls of the Deep, which introduced five of the movement’s essential voices: Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš, Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec, and Evald Schorm. This series presents that title, along with five other crucial works that followed close on its heels, one from each of those filmmakers—some dazzlingly experimental, some arrestingly realistic, all singular expressions from a remarkable time and place.

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Timeline for the podcast:

Introduction (00:00:01 – 00:08:05)

Return of the Prodigal Son (00:08:06 – 00:46:16)

Capricious Summer (00:46:17 – 01:05:55)

The Joke (01:05:56 – 01:24:08)

Conclusion (01:24:09 – 01:40:01)

Buy The Box Set On Amazon:

Episode Links
Czech New Wave Links

History page on Brittanica.com
Lisa’s Academic Film Archive article by Lisa Draski
The New Wave and Beyond: Czech Cinematic Classics on The Culture Trip

Box Set Reviews

Next Projection review by Rowena Santos Aquino
Wall Street Journal review by David Mermelstein