Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Intimate Lighting Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 24, 2018

Ivan Passer's "Intimate Lighting" (1965) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British label Second Run. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival video interview with the director and the short film "A Boring Afternoon". The release also arrives with a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Trevor Johnston, and an essay by critic Philp Bergson. In Czech, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Two friends and a bottle of brandy

The lightness that permeates Ivan Passer’s directorial debut is incredibly deceiving, though there is no doubt in my mind that it was absolutely necessary so that the film can survive the communist censors. Ignore it and the big picture instantly becomes crystal clear.

Your first clue that something isn’t right is the music. There is a total disconnect between the enthusiasm of the musicians and the sounds that their instruments produce, but they very rarely notice. It seems odd, but the more time the camera spends observing them, the easier it becomes to understand why they keep performing -- while working as a unit they feel free in a way that outside in the real world they can’t be. The music is their getaway fix.

The casual conversations between the two childhood friends also reveal two supposedly contrasting views on life in post-war Czechoslovakia, but pay close attention to the exchanges and you will begin to recognize how both feel equally defeated. Some years ago Peter (Zdenek Bezusek) moved to Prague to pursue a career as a professional cello player, but now he dreams of the simpler way of life that he enjoyed in the village where he grew up. It is why he has come back for a few days and is trying his best to soak up ‘the good life’. His best friend Bambas (Karel Blazek), who plays the violin, decided that Prague was not for him and found a job as a music teacher at the local school, but he too has realized that aside from starting a family his life has been nothing but a long series of bitter compromises.

The crucial episode where the truth comes out occurs towards the middle of the film. A few days before Peter is supposed to present a recital with the local orchestra the two friends discover a couple of bottles with homemade brandy and get seriously drunk. They do some silly things that crack a few smiles, but the whole episode reveals the utter pointlessness of existing in a society where you can regain your passion for life only while being heavily intoxicated.

In the West Intimate Lighting is routinely cited as a key film from the Czech New Wave and, more importantly, described as a lighthearted comedy. There is a good dose of humor in it, but this film is in no way a conventional comedy about two colorful characters. The funny usually emerges in ridiculous situations that very accurately reflect the bizarre reality in which people from the former Soviet Bloc were caged and, while often closely monitored, left to build their lives. So while viewing the film you can certainly find enough to laugh at, but if you are viewing it from the right angle and with a proper understanding of what is documented in it the entire experience should be a bit like temporarily visiting an isolated mental facility where some poor souls are left to roam free and make sense of their misery.

Passer worked with two cameramen that had magnificent careers in the film industry: Miroslav Ondrícek (Loves of a Blonde, Amadeus) and Jan Strecha (Sons of the Mountains).

Intimate Lighting Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ivan Passer's Intimate Lighting arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Second Run.

The release is sourced from a new 4K restoration that was completed by the Czech National Film Archive. The basics are solid, but while viewing the film I spotted a couple of different areas where some really odd blotches pop up and create smeary effects that I would typically associate with problematic digital work. I don't know what their origin is but I could see them and my guess is that other people with larger screens or projector will as well. You can see an example in screencapture #9 where details are lost in the forehead. Elsewhere clarity and density remain quite pleasing. The grading is also good, but again I see effects of digital work that has affected overall balance (see screencapture #4). Image stability is excellent. There are no large damage marks, cuts, stains, or torn frames to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Intimate Lighting Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Czech LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio must have been remastered during the restoration because clarity, depth, and overall stability are excellent. The original sound design incorporates a wide range of organic sounds and noises and as a result overall dynamic intensity is predictably modest. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Intimate Lighting Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview with Ivan Passer - in this archival interview, director Ivan Passer explains in great detail how Intimate Lighting came to exist, and discusses his interactions with some of the people that worked with him during the production process, the film's visual style and tone, and the social climate in Czechoslovakia during the '60s. The interview was conducted in Los Angeles in 2005. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080p).

• Fádní odpoledne/A Boring Afternoon (1964) - presented here is director Iver Passer's first short film A Boring Afternoon about an old-timer who spends an entire afternoon in a quiet inn drinking pivo while observing other customers as well as an attractive middle-aged woman who fails to impress a younger student. Remastered. In Czech, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - a 20-page illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Trevor Johnston, and an essay by critic Philp Bergson.

Intimate Lighting Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the West the conventional take on Ivan Passer's directorial debut, Intimate Lighting, has been that it is a key film from the Czech New Wave that is very effective as a lighthearted comedy. I agree only with the first half of this description. There is a good dose of humor in it, but it masks the bizarre reality in which so many people from the former Soviet Bloc were caged and, while often closely monitored, left to build their lives. Second Run's Blu-ray release of Intimate Lighting is sourced from a recent 4K restoration that was completed by the Czech National Film Archive, and also includes a remastered version of Passer's first short film, A Boring Afternoon. RECOMMENDED.