8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Set during the transition from paganism to Christianity during the 13th century, the film focuses on the Kozlík family, a clan of brutal and superstitious pillagers who ravage the bleak medieval countryside on horseback. One-armed Adam and his brother Mikoláš violently abduct the virginal Marketa Lazarová, the daughter of a Kozlík rival, and hold her hostage, leading to a monumental battle and an unlikely romance.
Starring: Magda Vásáryová, Josef Kemr, Nada Hejna, Ivan Palúch, Karel VasicekForeign | 100% |
Drama | 94% |
Romance | 17% |
History | 6% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Czech: LPCM Mono
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Frantisek Vlacil's "Marketa Lazarova" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; the documentary film "In the Web of Time"; new video interview with film historian Peter Hames; new video interview with journalist and film critic Antonin Liehm; new program featuring interviews with actors Magda Vasaryova, Ivan Paluch, and Vlastimil Harapes; new video interview with costume designer Theodor Pistek; collection of storyboards drawn by director Frantisek Vlacil; and an interview with restoration expert Ivo Marak. The release also arrives with a 40-page illustrated booklet featuring Tom Gunning's essay "Cinema of the Wolf: The Mystery of Marketa Lazarova"; Alex Zucker's essay "Vladislav Vancura and his Novel"; and a reprinted interview with director Frantisek Vlacil conducted in the Spring of 1969 by journalist and film critic Antonin Liehm at the Cannes Film Festival. In Czech, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The lovers
Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Frantisek Vlacil's Marketa Lazarova arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:
"This digital master was produced from a 4K restoration undertaken by Nadace CEZ, Film Servis Karlovy Vary, the Czech Ministry of Culture, and the National Film Archive and performed by Universal Production Partners and Soundsquare Studios. For the restoration, a scan was created in 4K resolution on a Northlight II film scanner from the original camera negative and a fine-grain positive. The sound was restored from a new positive print made from the original sound negative.
Technical director: Ivo Marak/Universal Production Partners, Prague.
Restoration supervisor: Jiri Cvancara/Universal Production Partners, Prague.
Scanning technician: Jan Zahradnicek/Universal Production Partners, Prague.
Colorist: Pavel Marko/Universal Production Partners, Prague.
Sound restoration: Pavel Rejholec/Soundsquare Studios, Prague."
The presentation of this classic Czech film is enormously impressive. The difference between this new Blu-ray release and Second Run's old R2 DVD release of the film really is like night and day. Detail and especially image depth are quite extraordinary. Close-ups and the larger panoramic shots boast superb contrast without ever looking artificially boosted. There are no traces of problematic degraining corrections - the ultra-fine and evenly resolved grain 4K scans deliver is always easy to spot. Also, there are no problematic sharpening corrections. It is very easy to tell that numerous debris, damage marks and cuts have been carefully removed because the film also looks notably healthy. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. All in all, I think that anyone who has seen the R2 DVD release of Marketa Lazarova will be enormously pleased with the film's transition to Blu-ray. It looks stunning. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked' Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Czech LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
It is also very easy to tell that serious work was done on the audio as well. Depth and clarity are very impressive. On the R2 DVD the singing sounds thin and quite flat while on the Blu-ray it is well rounded and crisper. There is a much better range of nuanced dynamics as well. (If you have the DVD, compare the big battle scene at the end on the two releases). The dialog is exceptionally crisp, always stable, and easy to follow. The English translation is excellent.
This outstanding Blu-ray release of Frantisek Vlacil's Marketa Lazarova, voted the best Czech film ever made, is a prime example why Criterion are the best in the business - no other label would have treated this important European film with so much care and attention. Restored in 4K, Marketa Lazarova looks simply astonishing in high-definition. If you already have the Czech Blu-ray release, I encourage you to also purchase the Criterion release as it comes with an excellent selection of very informative exclusive supplemental features. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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