Arbelos / Cinelicious Pics

[karmajuice]

Looks like y'all beat me to the punch, but here's the relevant link, at least. Ester Krumbachová's Murdering the Devil.

Excited for this one - there's no mention of a physical release but hopefully that's forthcoming. I like that their Eastern European repertoire has expanded beyond Hungary. Between Arbelos, Deaf Crocodile, and Second Run, we're living in a golden age of Eastern European releases. It's great to finally see these films get the attention they deserve, and there are still so many more that merit revival.

[TechnicolorAcid]

I’m just praying someone releases Vaclav Vorlicek’s “Who Wants to Kill Jessie?” or his less well known masterpiece “How to Drown Dr. Mracek, the Lawyer”.

[MichaelB]

Arbelos is also distributing the restorations for Esther Krumbakowa's Murdering the Devil and Marva Nabili's The Sealed Soul.

I reviewed the Ester Krumbachová film (positively) in the October Sight & Sound as part of an overview of the latest offerings from the Klassiki streaming service. I assume they were using the same restoration as it looked sensationally good - as did Jaromil Jireš' The Joke, which I'd only previously seen on SD video courtesy of a BBC2 screening and a Godawful Facets DVD.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Arbelos is also distributing the restorations for Esther Krumbakowa's Murdering the Devil and Marva Nabili's The Sealed Soul.

I reviewed the Ester Krumbachová film (positively) in the October Sight & Sound as part of an overview of the latest offerings from the Klassiki streaming service. I assume they were using the same restoration as it looked sensationally good - as did Jaromil Jireš' The Joke, which I'd only previously seen on SD video courtesy of a BBC2 screening and a Godawful Facets DVD.

Yes, the version Klassiki has was super-crisp. It's a fantastic film.

[criterionsnob]

March 11: The Bloody Lady and Other Works by Viktor Kubal (Blu-ray)

Includes a second restored feature, Jurko the Highwayman (1976), and 21 short films.

[Calvin]

Arbelos have retweeted TIFF's announcement of the 4K restoration of Almereyda's Nadja, so I guess it's coming from them

[criterionsnob]

Nadia seems to be a collab between Arbelos and Grasshopper.

[FrauBlucher]

Arbelos have retweeted TIFF's announcement of the 4K restoration of Almereyda's Nadja, so I guess it's coming from them

Trailer

[Matt]

The Grasshopper Films website has show dates for the film

[Matt]

New restorations of Viktor Kubal's The Bloody Lady and Jurko the Highwayman have been added to the site.

I recently bought the Czech box set of these films on Blu-ray and was a bit let down by them, but I'm happy at the thought of them being easier to see here in the States. The Bloody Lady is worth checking out for anyone interested in feminist folk-horror.

Nearly two years later... I'm wondering if you want to expand on why you found them disappointing. I just ordered the Arbelos disc not having any exposure to these films other than the excerpt from The Bloody Lady on their website.

[ianthemovie]

Nearly two years later... I'm wondering if you want to expand on why you found them disappointing. I just ordered the Arbelos disc not having any exposure to these films other than the excerpt from The Bloody Lady on their website.

I watched The Bloody Lady even longer ago than that--it was about three and a half years ago!--so the details are fuzzy. I recall being somewhat baffled by its use of allegorical or symbolic elements (blood, hearts, etc.). I couldn't determine if the film was an attempt at a feminist interpretation of the Elizabeth Batory myth in which her acts of carnage have to do with some sort of victimization by men. Even if this were to be the case her bloodthirstiness and sadism would seem to be greatly out of proportion with any act of victimization she herself may have suffered. Overall I had a hard time finding my place within the film's symbolic register, so to speak, so that by the end I was left unsure of what I was supposed to take away from this "take" on the Batory story. It also felt strangely long and digressive even at ~70 minutes. I was all the more disappointed because on paper this is exactly the type of movie I tend to love.

I will say I admired the animation style, which reminded me of early 1990s children's TV crossed with the illustrations for The Little Prince. The contrast between simple, cute visuals and the subject matter creates an interesting and memorable effect. I appreciate that Arbelos put this out; between this and the recent stuff coming out from Deaf Crocodile it's been amazing to get more exposure to these works of European animation that have been largely unseen here in the U.S. This one just didn't work for me I suppose.