Juraj Jakubisko

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Awesome Welles
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:02 am
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#1 Post by Awesome Welles » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:32 pm

I recently stumbled across this director (only in print unfortuantely) can anyone shed a little light in this 'Slovak Fellini'?

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

#2 Post by zedz » Tue Jul 24, 2007 5:54 pm

FSimeoni wrote:I recently stumbled across this director (only in print unfortuantely) can anyone shed a little light in this 'Slovak Fellini'?
Well, his films sound magnificent. On the strength of descriptions and amazing stills, The Deserter and the Nomads has been near the top of my must-see list for about twenty years, but I've never seen any of his films. Maybe Michael B can report back from the Zone?

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vertovfan
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:46 pm

#3 Post by vertovfan » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:10 am

Birds, Orphans and Fools (1969) is available here, along with It's Better To Be Healthy and Wealthy than Poor and Ill (1993). An acceptable transfer IMO, and a wonderful film. The later film is OK too, but Birds, Orphans and Fools is certainly the better of the two - some really spectacular imagery.

edit: Oops, seems it's out of print now. A shame, really...

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Skritek
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:59 am
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#4 Post by Skritek » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:25 am

There has been a release of his "Sedim na konari a je mi dobre" (sitting on a branch enjoying myself), but I thought it's out of print (never tried buying it through an online retailer). Maybe you can buy it here. The film is supposedly a rehash of "Birds, Orphans and Fools", because he thought the older film was lost (or something similar). The DVD was produced from the Slovak Film Institute (I think), just like the other DVD posted and they wanted to bring out a whole series with all of Jakubisko's films, since it's their most important director. Unfortunately they stopped after just two DVDs. :(

Also his "Nejasna zprava o konci sveta" (An Ambiguous Report on the End of the World) is out on DVD. Seems to be his last decent film, but I've been told it's not in the same class as his older films.

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MichaelB
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#5 Post by MichaelB » Wed Jul 25, 2007 4:45 am

The only Jakubisko I've seen is The Deserter and the Nomads, which is indeed bonkers. Unfortunately, it was a good 20 years ago, so I can't remember too many details - it's the kind of film that's more of a phantasmagoric joyride than a coherent narrative.

As Skritek points out, there's a fair bit of Jakubisko out on DVD - another one is Post Coitum (2004), which has English subtitles. There's also a TV movie from 1990, Takmer ružový príbeh, but that doesn't appear to have subs.

petoluk
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:31 am
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#6 Post by petoluk » Sun Aug 19, 2007 1:14 pm

Hi guys!

Regarding Jakubisko on DVD, Bonton (a Czech company, not the Slovak Film Institute) was planning to release all his films, unfortunately, the project was put on hold after only a few titles because of a lawsuit between Jakubisko & the Slovak Ministry of Culture for the rights to his films.

The titles that were released are:

LepÅ¡ie byÅ¥ bohatý a zdravý ako chudobný a chorý (1992) & VtáÄ

beckmann_max
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#7 Post by beckmann_max » Thu Jul 03, 2008 4:06 am

I have found out that Jakubisko is going to direct the opera by Eugen Suchoň, Krútňava in Bratislava the next season. Sounds interesting. Has he done anything similar before?

Bajaja
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#8 Post by Bajaja » Thu Jul 03, 2008 10:30 am

Kristove roky (1967) is IMHO his best film. The title can be translated as "The Crucial Years", but literally it is "The Christ Years", based on the idiomatic notion that a man should accomplish something in life before he reaches the age of Jesus when he was crucified. The film surely has some autobiographical elements, as it is about a beginning artist from Eastern Slovakia who lives and works in Prague. Jakubisko's following three films are of interest, particularly the surreal Vtackovia, siroty a blazni ("Birds, Orphans, and Fools") with its peculiar poetics, but they pay too much debt (in my opinion) to the almost-sanctioned weirdness of the sixties. Sedim na konari a je mi dobre (1989) or "Sitting on the Branch, Enjoying Myself" is part political satire, part playful feerie, dealing with the crucial time for Czechoslovakia's recent history--the end of WWII and the communist takeover a few years later. It successfully preserved the surreal, "Felliniesque" feel in quite an organic form. I am afraid that in Nejasna zprava o konci sveta (1997) ("An Ambiguous Report about the End of the World") Jakubisko lost his touch and/or senses. It attempts to be balladic and mythical like Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, but it comes across as a disconnected clumsy nonsense, almost a self parody. I admit that Report... is one of the few films that I just did not finish watching (which makes it possible that I had given up just before director's master strokes appeared in the second half, but somehow I do not miss it). And I am not interested at all in his latest films, which appear to me (nota bene, without having seen them!) as a chase for a buck, that is, the lowest-common-denominator commercialism. I had a great deal of respect for Jakubisko in the past, so if anyone can change my mind about his later productions, I will be actually happy...
But as skritek reported somewhere above, Kristove roky are planned for release in Slovakia next year, and I look forward to the treat.

petoluk
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#9 Post by petoluk » Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:09 am

Bajaja wrote:But as skritek reported somewhere above, Kristove roky are planned for release in Slovakia next year, and I look forward to the treat.
Well, in fact, it was me who reported that in the Czech DVDs thread, and it's supposed to be released this year, not '09.:wink:

BTW, I recorded Kristove roky off Slovak TV's DVB-S a couple of weeks ago - they had an evening dedicated to JJ (it was his birthday, or something, that day), and there were 2 documentaries about him (the film was scheduled between the 2) - fascinating stuff!!! I especially liked the parts where they were "browsing" his "diaries," full of illustrations he did himself - quite amazing! If anybody's interested, I can share the docus, but they're Slovak-only...

Cheers!
Peto

P.S. Saw his latest film - Bathory - last week, and, well, it was quite good actually, but nothing like his films from the 60's...

petoluk
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 7:31 am
Location: Czech Republic

#10 Post by petoluk » Sat Jul 26, 2008 12:48 pm

Hi all!

Hope this won't bloat the page too much - here are some pictures from the docus (both directed by Martin Sulik) I mentioned above:

Monolog Juraja J. (2001) [Juraj J.'s Monologue]

He sure painted some weird stuff...

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Nenakrutene filmy Juraja J. (2001) [The Films Juraj J. Never Made]

These are the "diaries" I was talking about...

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And these are from The Making of Bathory...

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Cheers! :wink:
Peto
Last edited by petoluk on Sun Jul 27, 2008 4:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Steven H
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#11 Post by Steven H » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:12 pm

petoluk wrote:Hope this won't bloat the page too much - here are some pictures from the docus (both directed by Martin Sulik) I mentioned above
Incredible! Thanks for posting.

offwithyerhat
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:59 pm

Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#12 Post by offwithyerhat » Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:17 pm

I've seen Birds Orphans and Fools, it is easily one of my favorite films. Another underrated "Czechoslovakian New Wave" director is Samuel Uher. I mention him only because I feel that Uher and Jakubisko work off each other's work, when viewing. Very similar to how Truffaut seems to make Godard's films all that better.

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perkizitore
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Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#13 Post by perkizitore » Fri Oct 23, 2009 6:40 pm

Any news about DVD releases?

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Skritek
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2007 9:59 am
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Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#14 Post by Skritek » Sat Oct 24, 2009 2:46 am

Don't you mean Stefan Uher? As a Samuel doesn't exist. I'm not sure though how much they "work off each other's work". Not only is Uher a generation older (and considered the father of the Slovak New Wave), but his themes and (always changing) style are different from Jakubisko. Although I'm not sure what "work off" even means.

As for releases of Uher's brilliant films, there is "Pasla kone na betone" in the Slovak films of 80s set (not sure if it's still available), the very enjoyable and stylish "Keby som mal pusku" in the 70s set. Last year "Organ" and "Slnko v sieti" were released and this year "Panna zazracnica" (almost unbelievable design and decoration, not to mention camera) and "Tri dcery" will be released. This means that "Genius" won't have a release, which saddens me a little, as the concept seems very interesting.

offwithyerhat
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Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#15 Post by offwithyerhat » Sat Oct 24, 2009 9:37 am

Yes I did mean Stefan Uher. I don't know, I knew it would sound strange. I guess it's a strictly personal connection.

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Skritek
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Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#16 Post by Skritek » Sat Oct 24, 2009 11:44 am

Can you expand on it? I'm not saying it's impossible, just that with the information I have (about the authors and their films) it seems improbable.

offwithyerhat
Joined: Fri Oct 23, 2009 1:59 pm

Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#17 Post by offwithyerhat » Tue Oct 27, 2009 2:15 pm

Yeah sure.
I didn't exactly mean it in relation to when the films were made, or who necessarily set the ground first.
To me, it feels like the work of both directors can accompany the others. I guess what I'm trying to say is they both feel similarly obscure in a way where it seems like the ethos of both are apparent in each other.

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Bikey
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2005 4:09 am

Re: Juraj Jakubisko

#18 Post by Bikey » Thu Jun 05, 2014 8:29 am

Second Run DVD in the UK are releasing BIRDS, ORPHANS AND FOOLS on June 23 - newly-restored and with new English subtitle translation + new essay on the film by Peter Hames.
Amazon pre-order here

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