criterionforum.org

I have just ordered (blind) a copy of Facets Valley of the Bees and I know that Second Run and a Czech outfit are releasing his Marketa Lazarová (which I have never seen) but I can find very little info on this director!

The things I have read both positive and negative (for example: 'slow' and 'stately') which imply that I am going to adore his films but the lack of literature amazes me. Is this a case of a master filmmaker becoming marginalised à la Jancso or...?

edit
to add...and there's Holubice on DVD to, for which I can find NO reviews!

Don Lope, did you receive The Valley of the Bees yet? Any comments both on the film and the disc?

Unfortunately not! The DVD arrived a few weeks ago but I sent it back bec it was in bad condition... I ordered a new one and I'll be able to report back this time next week! All I can say is that, from what I've read, the DVD and the film itself look very, very strong:

1. DVD Talk
2. The Village Voice
3. Movie Habit

Some of the images look sublime

On the strength of three Vlacil films (Holubice/The White Dove, Adelheid, Marketa Lazarova), I'd say he's a superb filmmaker, and it's such a shame he's been marginalised for so long, especially as he was one of the earliest New Wave filmmakers. Holubice, from (I think) 1960, gives the lie to the idea that Czech cinema only came into its own with Forman's Black Peter in 1963: it's a beautifully stylised film about a wounded dove, kind of like a kids' film directed by Antonioni.

Adelheid I was the least impressed by, but Marketa Lazarova, even in the terrible truncated VHS version I saw, was stunning, especially the final scenes. The closest parallel would have to be the Tarkovsky of Ivan's Childhood and (especially) Andrei Rublev. I'm really looking forward to the Second Run release - one can only hope it will be the full four hour version, as I think the one I saw was the 2 and a half hour American version.

Scharphedin2, finally got round to watching it Valley of the Bees! Firstly I would say the image is not 'excellent' as described in the DVDtalk review... to my eyes it was merely satisfactory...

My initial (half drunken) thoughts:

As for the film, I thought it was interesting. It's not a film I see myself returning to though, I'm not convinced there's enough there. Certainly, on the basis of this film, I would avoid any comparisons with Tarkovksij's work. A better comparison would be with 'Mother Joan of the Angels' by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Both films, I feel, have the religion/repressed sexuality theme at their heart, the main difference beng that this film concerns (b)latent homosexuality. I would say that Valley of the Bees is worth watching but it's nothing exceptional.

Don Lope, thanks for posting these comments! You are a true knight of the cloth, and may your headache tomorrow morning be a mild one

Sad to hear that Valley of the Bees turned out to be something of a disappointment. I am already planning to get the full dose (Bees, Dove and Adelheid), once the latter is released at the end of August. I too have high expectations, but more based on the adjectives that you have also cited -- the slowness, stateliness and loftiness, etc. -- and on the stills that I have seen, than on any claims of kinship to Tarkovskij. The rather typical practice of attaching one artist to hem of the coat of another artist has never really done much for me, and clearly Tarkovskij is unique enough that to put another filmmaker in his boat is bound to cause disappointment.

I hope that these were indeed the first drunken thoughts, and that the film will take on a more favorable complexion with the arrival of a new day.

Unfortunately not! Sobriety hasn't changed me: I stand by what I said! I want to stress that's it's not a bad film, it's very good but I just didn't feel it was anything exceptional. As for the supposed austerity, formalism, (insert another inappropriate word here), etc, etc it wasn't really there. Valley of the Bees is a highly competent film made by a highly competent filmmaker. I just can't see myself returning to it when I can spend that same time watching Teshigahara, Bergman, Denis etc.

Still, I think of myself of being very hard to please and I would be interested to hear what someone else who has seen the film has to say about this.

Don Lope de Aguirre wrote:Scharphedin2, finally got round to watching it Valley of the Bees! Firstly I would say the image is not 'excellent' as described in the DVDtalk review... to my eyes it was merely satisfactory...

Completely agree - it's certainly way above average for Facets, but if it had come out on any other label people would have been justifiably complaining about the very soft picture, the interlaced transfer and the horribly ugly fixed yellow subtitles.

Certainly, it's not a patch on Second Run's Marketa Lazarová, the only VláÄ

Don Lope de Aguirre wrote:As for the film, I thought it was interesting. It's not a film I see myself returning to though, I'm not convinced there's enough there. Certainly, on the basis of this film, I would avoid any comparisons with Tarkovksij's work. A better comparison would be with 'Mother Joan of the Angels' by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Both films, I feel, have the religion/repressed sexuality theme at their heart, the main difference beng that this film concerns (b)latent homosexuality. I would say that Valley of the Bees is worth watching but it's nothing exceptional.

I've finally caught up with Valley of the Bees, and I'd agree with this - it's a much statelier piece than the stunning Marketa Lazarová, whose wild pagan spirit has been replaced by rigidly formalised ritual. VláÄ

I've just uploaded part two of a five-part series on VláÄ

I've just added frame grabs to all the reviews - and that's it for my FrantiÅ¡ek VláÄ

46th Karlovy Vary IFF , Section Out of the Past
Marketa Lazarová
Director: František Vláčil
Czechoslovakia, 1967, 162 min

214 – July 2, 2011, 14:00, Grand Hall
6C2 – July 6, 2011, 12:00, Cas Cinema

Thanks to the method František Vláčil adopted for his film narrative, this pivotal work of Czech cinema, now wonderfully restored, is not only a uniquely authentic and powerful exploration into the past but also a disquieting and timeless testimony of the burden and impenetrability of the human lot, exposed to the perpetual conflict of opposites.

That announcement bodes well for a Criterion release of Marketa Lazarova. The digital restoration was done by Scorsese & The Film Foundation, which also did the work on The Red Shoes, The Leopard & La Dolce Vita.

SamLowry wrote:The digital restoration was done by Scorsese & The Film Foundation, which also did the work on The Red Shoes, The Leopard & La Dolce Vita.

Where did you hear this? All my other sources say that the restoration was done in the Czech Republic and was a bit of a rush job.

I think SamLowry misread Admira's link - it only mentions the Film Foundation in connection with previously screened restorations at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. I'm pretty sure that the Marketa Lazarová restoration was an all-Czech affair.

MichaelB wrote: I'm pretty sure that the Marketa Lazarová restoration was an all-Czech affair.

That's correct. Another thing I want to mention; the film was restored, not remastered.

Oh well, I guess it was wishful thinking on my part. After just having read about the info on the La Dolce Vita restoration, my eyes jumped to the end of the story mentioning the IFF & restorations of Red Shoes & The Leopard & so I jumped to conclusion rather than read the rest. I also thought I remember someone asking Mulvaney about Marketa & getting a "possibility" answer... but I thought there was word about raising the funds for an actual restoration some time in the past year, not just cleaning up & digitizing current print.

Not understanding a word of Czech I'm groping a bit, but the third option (tzv etc.) is wonderful in its tonal range: look at the whiteness of the snow and the greyness of the trees in the first image of the wolves. Unfortunately I gather that it's the last one that's forthcoming, which strikes me as good but not brilliant.

I don't know - look at the last comparison, of the man turning away. The tzv looks DNRed compared to the UPP restaurace sample.

ČT2, (Czech Television 2) schedule Adelheid for Friday 01. 13. 2012 at 8:55pm in HD!