Prague Nights Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Prague Nights Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 25, 2023

1969’s “Prague Nights” is an anthology film, something like a “Tales from the Darkside” with a little sex comedy attitude. It’s not out to frighten viewers, merely looking to beguile them with four stories of temptation gone wrong, each dipping into fantasy as a way to jazz up otherwise plodding morality tales. Directors Jiri Brdecka, Milos Makovec, and Evald Schrom attempt to conjure a magical mood for the picture, using all kinds of moviemaking tricks and artful heft to generate a surreal mood for the feature, which doesn’t always win with storytelling intent, but remains fascinating with its impressive visuals.

Willy is a businessman visiting Prague, on the verge of a special deal, looking to distract himself with an overnight visit of the city. He’s after sin with strange women, coming into contact with Zuzana, who’s willing to entertain the undersexed fool, sharing three stories concerning troubling behavior, with each tale bringing the couple closer to bedroom activity, and Willy is desperate to satisfy his lust.

“Prague Nights” uses the saga of Willy and his urges as the wraparound story, watching the man’s thinning patience with Zuzana, who’s looking to delay their coupling by sharing stories of unique doom. There’s the saga of a rabbi conjuring a massive golem to acquire the attention of a mute servant he finds irresistible. A countess who has everything while her kingdom starves demands the creation of bread slippers, encountering the strange ways of a cobbler who forces the woman to revisit her past crimes. And there’s the tale of a woman who enjoys killing her partners, making a critical mistake during her murder routine by following her heart.

The chapters vary in directorial approach, but all maintain a wonderful sense of cinematic style, with each helmer laboring to manufacture a special unreality to the stories, conjuring strangeness to best support the concept of the movie. Pacing isn’t tight, with the second story carrying on for far too long, but “Prague Nights” dazzles with its cinematography and staging, watching the helmers work hard to find movement and dark magic wherever they can. And the final tale is something of a musical, with pop music scoring a pantomime effort, adding something different to the mix.

Prague Nights Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.37:1 aspect ratio) presentation is listed as a "new restoration from the original 35mm picture" elements, with Blu-ray authoring credited to David Mackenzie of Fidelity in Motion. This obscure offering is treated well here, with detail reaching as far as possible, offering a look at frame elements, including set design and costuming. Facial particulars are defined, exploring makeup additions and age. Color is secure, with the feature's use of hues to sell time periods and dramatic moods intact. Primaries are deep and skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like. Source is in good condition, with some brief debris and a few missing frames.

Prague Nights Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 1.0 LPCM mix delivers a straightforward listening experience. Dubbed dialogue exchanges are clear and easy to follow. Musical offerings support as intended, with decent instrumentation and fullness.

Prague Nights Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (ten pages) features an essay by Tereza Brdeckova, daughter of director Jiri Brdecka.

• Commentary features Tereza Brdeckova and film historian Irene Kovarova.

• Interview (47:39, HD) is a video conference discussion of Jiri Brdecka with Tereza Brdeckova and Deaf Crocodile's Dennis Bartok.

• Animated Shorts (HD) include 1968's "Revenge" (14:04) and 1971's "There Once Was a Miller on the River" (10:58).

• A Trailer has not been included on this release.

Prague Nights Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Prague Nights" has the general appearance of a creepy dive into forbidden pleasures, but it ends up as something of a Peter Sellers comedy, with the conclusion going silly when the rest of the story is a bit more severe, exploring all manner of death and personal torment. It's an odd tonal turn, but this is a weird endeavor, with the overall viewing experience more about enjoying the view, watching three filmmakers deploy wonderful creativity to detail the fallibility of horny and powerful characters.