20 / BD 50 The Party and the Guests

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MichaelB
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#26 Post by MichaelB » Wed Mar 14, 2007 4:56 am

One side-effect of watching The Party and the Guests recently was that when I rewatched Jaromil Jireš' Valerie and her Week of Wonders a couple of nights ago I couldn't help recognising Jan Klusák (the sinister Rudolf in Němec's film) as the bearded priest Gracián - who makes his intentions towards Valerie all too clear when he strips off his clerical collar to reveal a necklace made from animal teeth.

Incidentally, Klusák is better known as a composer - he wrote the music for Jan Švankmajer's The Fall of the House of Usher and Dimensions of Dialogue. Personally, I thought he did a great job on both films, but they never worked together again - in fact, I think all Švankmajer's post-1982 work has relied on pre-existing music, if he uses any at all.
Last edited by MichaelB on Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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What A Disgrace
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#27 Post by What A Disgrace » Tue Mar 20, 2007 8:57 pm

I received this disc yesterday...I didn't realize exactly what I was seeing until the film was halfway over. As soon as it was over, I watched it again. Brilliant film, that has yet to leave my mind. The transfer, of course, is fantastic as previously noted...maybe Second Run's best yet.

solent

#28 Post by solent » Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:46 pm

I can now throw away my deplorable Facets copy. My real surprise was to discover the collusion between one of the guests and the 'director.' I'll watch this again today and study this character's dialogue leading up to the director's entrance to find clues. It seems none of the others were aware of anything.

The DVD film catalogue included is the best I have ever seen. Detailed, informative and well designed. The most interesting omission is ROMEO, JULIET & DARKNESS from the "forthcoming" page. This release (spine #28) seem to come out of nowhere fast and overtook MARKETA (whose spine number is 17). All the other '07 projections are listed including THE ROUND-UP.

Keep up the good work guys.

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MichaelB
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#29 Post by MichaelB » Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:52 pm

solent wrote:I can now throw away my deplorable Facets copy. My real surprise was to discover the collusion between one of the guests and the 'director.' I'll watch this again today and study this character's dialogue leading up to the director's entrance to find clues. It seems none of the others were aware of anything.
I know exactly what you mean, and you really do need to watch this film at least twice to get the most out of it.

The early conversations, which seem so banal at first hearing, are riddled with subtle clues about how the characters are going to behave later on - Pavel boasts that he's shortly going to be in possession of a large house, Josef reveals that he's something of a voyeur, and so on.

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jbeall
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#30 Post by jbeall » Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:20 pm

So after reading this thread, I ordered the dvd (along with Intimate Lighting) from secondrun's website. I'll post when it arrives, so American buyers will know approx. how long it takes.

Incidentally, the price is very good, all things considered. Secondrun dvds are retailing used on amazon.com (U.S.) for $44, and Facets website is also selling them in the $40+ range (the bastards). As of today the exchange rate means that they're approx. $25 via secondrun's website. Once I scrounge up some more $$$, I'll probably order the rest of their Czech films.

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#31 Post by BrightEyes23 » Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:19 am

so I received this on Friday and finally had a chance to watch it...

really great film, thank yous are in order to Second Run for continuing to pump out masterpieces in niche genres that are going unreleased elsewhere.

i tried to avoid any of the discussion about the film in this thread before watching it, and the bits that i did read didn't make a whole lot of sense at first, but now they do.

i too didn't really "get" what was going on until about the banquet scene, and even from there until the end i only had a general idea, suspicions, a guess. Which is one of the things that I really loved about the film, how the concept behind it is NOT telegraphed. You don't watch it and midway through go "oh, so thats what he's saying, blah blah" and pretty much have summized the entire thing before its over, with nothing left to analyse. But this film has so many layers. In fact, it wasn't even until I watched the enjoyable special feature that I was able to feel confidant in my assumptions.

I gotta say...while the French New Wave was my first introduction to film as art, beyond just entertainment, the Czech New Wave has quickly surpassed it in terms of my favourite film movement thus far. Keep 'em comin' Bikey!!

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Bikey
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#32 Post by Bikey » Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:32 pm

Thank you all very much for saying what a subtle and wonderful film this is. It's a film we've always thought important and couldn't wait to release; still so relevant to our times...
And all of that in just 68 minutes!

Solent, thank you for your kind words about our printed Catalogue. RJD did come from nowhere fast (and there'll be more).

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#33 Post by stepps » Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:15 pm

yeah its a great movie bikey because it seems to be about conformity in general and very subtly paints a portrait of the complacency of the guests. i think that makes this movie utterly timeless, i watched your disc whilst eating a feast so that I would feel a part of the feasting that was going on. that was pretty trippy I can tell you.

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thirtyframesasecond
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#34 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:32 am

This is the next Second Run screening at the Flea Pit, on 10 April.

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thirtyframesasecond
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#35 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Wed Apr 11, 2007 10:47 am

It was indeed shown at the Flea Pit last night. It's the 2nd Second Run film I've seen there - the last was The Ear in Feb 2006.

Really enjoyed the film, but the seating arrangement made it quite hard to pick out the subtitles. The guy running it said the dialogue was largely meaningless anyway. Really liked the absurdity of it really - everyone changing seats at the banquet, the quiet menace and childishness of Rudolf? (the host's adopted son), and found the ending very sinister indeed, with the extinguishing of candles and sole noise of barking dogs.

Does the chap running it post on here?

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MichaelB
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#36 Post by MichaelB » Wed Apr 11, 2007 11:44 am

thirtyframesasecond wrote:Really enjoyed the film, but the seating arrangement made it quite hard to pick out the subtitles. The guy running it said the dialogue was largely meaningless anyway.
I'm not sure I'd agree with that - or at least not in the sense you're implying. It's certainly true that the dialogue is deliberately banal and disconnected, with everyone seemingly pursuing their own agendas and oblivious of what anyone else thinks, but that's not quite the same as saying that it doesn't matter if you don't understand it.

Certainly, I found the Second Run DVD to be much more rewarding than my old BBC2-sourced tape, which was much skimpier when it came to offering a full translation.

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skuhn8
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#37 Post by skuhn8 » Wed Apr 11, 2007 12:51 pm

I think it's time we investigated and found out who 'the guy' is, eh Bikey?

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thirtyframesasecond
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#38 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:16 am

MichaelB: Sorry, that's what I meant; that the dialogue is deliberately banal. I didn't mean you could essentially do away with it. The writers intended to write dialogue that was unconventional and that didn't make 'sense' in that respect.

Skuhn8; so Bikey runs the Second Run screenings, then. Right, I get you.

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skuhn8
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#39 Post by skuhn8 » Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:20 am

I don't think he does, but I think he's an important lever-puller over there at the Second Run Monolith. He might provide some clues. Until then let's hop back into the Mystery Machine and see what Don Knotts is up to these days. Jinkies!

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zedz
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#40 Post by zedz » Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:45 am

I keep forgetting to do this, but congratulations to Bikey et al for getting this masterpiece out in such a smart edition. In terms of filling glaring holes in the world-cinema-on-DVD canon alone, this is definitely one of the releases of the year.

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jbeall
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#41 Post by jbeall » Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:00 pm

What a marvelous film! I re-watched this last night and have to agree with those who said the film gets better after a second viewing. I really liked the interplay between Josef (the intellectual) and Rudolf, especially early on when it seemed as if Rudolf was 'educating' the latter in compliance disguised as standing-above-the-fray. Some of Rudolf's facial gestures (indicating whether Josef was learning to say the right thing or not) were very well done. And at the same time, the fact that Josef immediately capitulates into allowing this man-child (Rudolf) to play the role of 'teacher' is darkly disturbing. Honestly, the idea of a character like Rudolf educating the others is more than simply disturbing, it's horrifying.

Later on, when Josef finally makes the speech that galvanizes the men to go after the 'dissident,' the dialogue plays so well, with Josef basically saying that his compliance is only a nod to social convention. Just like intellectuals today who pretend that if they show their ironic distance from what they're saying, then they're not implicated in the consequences of the actions their words help generate. Anyway, I thought the way his character was drawn into a smiling complicity was simply masterful.

And then there's Karel, who's brought into line when the host asserts that he'll replace the bag and knife. And of course Karel, who's just said "it's a matter of principle," nods his assent. It's the moral economy of the separate deal!

While I usually resist the urge to reduce films to illustrations of political reality, I agree with Bikey that The Party and the Guests is absolutely relevant today. That kind of friendly bullying, parodic as it may seem in the film, certainly reminds me of the way people like John McCain (on torture) and the Democrats (on every substantive issue) are allowed to maintain their veneer of high-minded protest while they green-light the most vile of BushCo's sick ideas.

Getting down now from my soapbox, what I think the film manages to do--and in 68 minutes at that!--is to be simultaneously a political allegory and an effective study of group psychology.

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gubbelsj
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#42 Post by gubbelsj » Wed Jan 09, 2008 10:09 pm

I was fortunate enough to watch this film the other night over at fellow forum member Gregory's apartment, and I have been thinking about it ever since. Especially because it confounded me. I admit to having little knowledge of the Czech New Wave, and my efforts to explore this area have largely resulted in me watching poor transfers on VHS tapes. At any rate, we kind of randomly selected this film to watch out of a much larger pile, and my ignorance on the storyline or greater historical significance meant the whole film just played out as a Kafka / Bunuel hybrid, absurdly funny and dark. But I knew I was missing something - I could see how the film might be viewed as subversive, but the fact that it had been "banned forever" by the Czech government suggested there was more going on here than just simple artsy subversion. When the lights came up after a confusing 68 minutes, I knew I had to do some homework.

Well, if ever a backstory helped explain the importance and outrageousness of a film, this is the one. I didn't recognize or know that the character of the lone guest who rejects the party (aka, The Guest Who Refused to Be Happy, as the credits list him) was played by Evald Schorm, a fellow Czech director who was currently suffering under a ban of his own. At the President's screening (and how much fun would it have been to be privy to that private viewing?), Novotny apparently said, "It's about the way we banned that fellow Schorm's film and then set the dogs on him, isn't it?" I didn't pick up on the fact that many of the scenes were filmed in a manner suggestive of specific contemporary Czech paintings. I also didn't realize many of the other guests were portrayed by Nemec's friends and fellow intellectuals. This goes some way in explaining why President Novotny used this film to attack the entire New Wave during the Czech National Assembly in 1967. It also highlights what a work of bravery this film represents - a clear attack upon the powers that be.

Yet, it seems that Nemec himself is rather unhappy that this film has been interpreted as merely (or only) attacking the Czech government. Many commentators note the physical similarities between The Host and Lenin, but Nemec himself insists this was merely coincidental, even accidental. And it would seem that despite all the heavy imagery and clear parallels to Czech politics of the mid-1960s, there is a much deeper statement being made concerning power of any kind, and society's willingness to accept any given ideology in order to make life more comfortable.

There's so much to consider in this short film. I'm aware I'm probably only highlighting aspects of the film that are obvious to others here. But having a firmer grasp of the intricacies of this work, I'm now looking forward to revisiting it with wiser eyes.

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tryavna
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#43 Post by tryavna » Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:20 pm

gubbelsj wrote:I was fortunate enough to watch this film the other night over at fellow forum member Gregory's apartment
It's nice to know that our forum is bringing people together that like.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic....

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Bikey
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#44 Post by Bikey » Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:46 am

Thank you all for your recent comments regarding The Party and the Guests. We're happy that the film has had such an impact on so many people.

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jbeall
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#45 Post by jbeall » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:12 pm

Just watched this again. I really have to say that Jan Klusak's performance as Rudolf is simply perfect. I find his character more hilarious every single time.

Question: did anybody notice the barely audible whispering both at the beginning of the film and at the very end? At first I thought it was the wind, but now I think it's whispering. However, I can't make it out.

Ester Krumbachova co-wrote Daisies as well, and of course there's extended, albeit audible whispering toward the end of that film, so I was also wondering if there was a connection in that regard.

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Re: 20 Party and the Guests

#46 Post by karmajuice » Tue Feb 17, 2009 2:33 pm

Krumbachova whispering about her oft invisible contributions, perhaps. I'll have to listen to that next time I watch it.

I watched the film for the first time last night. I won't say much, because I'd mostly be repeating what others have said, but I do have a few things to say.

First off, I've seen the word "sinister" used several times in association with the film. I understand why, but I'm not sure I agree. In fact, one of the most fascinating things about the film is just how genial it is, and that facade is so thorough that, even as an audience aware of the film's critique, we doubt what we're seeing. Sinister moments rise up, yes (Rudolf's mind-games, the ending), but even those are tempered with a pleasant and apologetic attitude.

The most frightening moment for me is near the end. The original group of picnickers not only accept the presence of a vicious dog and a gun, they comment on the beauty and efficiency of the dog, they accept the gun and look through the scope. They not only allow these things, they embrace them. Even when the host is talking about how dangerous the dog's teeth are, they praise it. That, more than anything else, I found chilling.

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Re: 20 Party and the Guests

#47 Post by knives » Sat Sep 17, 2011 10:12 pm

This was a really great experience. I think the only thing that this had in common with Diamonds of the Night was the run time. Fantastic bizarre little thing and it makes me hope SR can get their lovable mitts on another Nemac. Though the real reason I wanted to comment was reading the booklet during the bit on Rudolf I couldn't help but think of Bush II. I guess that sort of thing really does show how universal the silliness is (honestly given the bourgeoisie pretenses of the host one would think that the attacks would be more clearly universal to people).

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jbeall
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Re: 20 Party and the Guests

#48 Post by jbeall » Sun Feb 16, 2014 3:02 pm

For any forum members in the Atlanta area, now's your chance to see it in 35mm projection:
The 1960s Films of Jan Němec
PART TWO: A Report on the Party and the Guests
Saturday, March 1, 2014 | 8:00 pm
Emory University, White Hall room 205
1966, 35mm, 70 minutes

Notoriously "banned forever" by the government, A Report on the Party and the Guests cemented Jan Němec’s reputation as enfant terrible of the Czechoslovak New Wave. A group of bourgeois picnickers find themselves coerced into attending an outdoor banquet run by a sinister chairman and his ridiculous henchman. Gradually the individuals learn how to collaborate with the leader – though one man refuses to conform. A surreal masterpiece of dark comedy, and an original cinematic vision.

More on Jan Němec:
Since the 1960s, the Czechoslovak New Wave has been recognized as one of the peaks of world cinema, and Jan Němec is one of the movement's greatest figures. Yet today, his films are almost totally unavailable here. Film Love is proud to present three nights of Němec’s 1960s films, drawn from his first major retrospective now touring the U.S.

The Jan Němec programs are co-sponsored by the Department of Film and Media Studies, the Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry, the Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, Russian and East European Studies, the Visual Scholarship Initiative, the Department of History, and the Center for Creativity and the Arts at Emory. Co-sponsorship by the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University.

The screenings presented by Emory University are part of a touring retrospective of Jan Nemec films INDEPENDENT OF REALITY: The Films of Jan Nemec in North America, premiered by BAMcinématek in New York. The retrospective is produced by Comeback Company, curated by Irena Kovarova, and organized in partnership with the National Film Archive, Prague, Aerofilms, and Jan Nemec-Film.

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What A Disgrace
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Re: 20 The Party and the Guests

#49 Post by What A Disgrace » Thu Nov 25, 2021 10:12 pm

Very exciting Blu-ray upgrade on January 31.

• The Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech, 1966) presented from an HD transfer of the new 4K restoration by the Czech National Film Archive.
• The Hand (Ruka, 1965): Jiří Trnka's renowned animated film presented from a new HD restoration and for the first time ever on Blu-ray.
• Audio commentary by author Jonathan Owen.
• Projection Booth audio commentary with film historians Mike White, Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger.
• A filmed appreciation by Peter Hames
• 24-page booklet featuring Michael Brooke's substantial essay on the film.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• World premiere on Blu-ray.

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swo17
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Re: 20 The Party and the Guests

#50 Post by swo17 » Thu Nov 25, 2021 10:16 pm

The main feature would be wow enough but The Hand too!

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