Independent British distributors Mr Bongo Films will add two new titles to their Blu-ray catalog in September: Wojciech Has'
The Saragossa Manuscript (1965) and
The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973).
The Hourglass Sanatorium
A visionary reflection on the nature of time and the irreversibility of death. A young man embarks on a journey to see his dying father and succumbs to a procession of hallucinatory encounters on the grounds of a mystical, dilapidated hospice. The film's screenplay draws from more than 20 stories by Jewish author Bruno Schulz, one of the most renowned Polish prose stylists of the 20th century. The resulting film is a tour de force of atmospherics and otherworldly set design. Reading Schulz's works through the prism of his death during World War II, Has adds reflections on the Holocaust. Starring Jan Nowicki, Tadeusz Kondrat, Irena Orska, Bozena Adamek, and Mieczyslaw Voit.
STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 7.
The Saragossa Manuscript
Based on the early 19th century novel by Polish author Jan Potocki, The Saragossa Manuscript (Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie) is a brilliant, sexy and extraordinarily imaginative film. Starring the celebrated Zbigniew Cybulski (Ashes and Diamonds), the film is ostensibly set at the end of the Napoleonic War. During the heat of battle, Belgian officer Alphonse van Worden (Cybulski) stumbles across an ancient manuscript. As he reads, a labyrinth of stories unfolds and takes the audience on a teasingly twisted trail through timeand space. Critics frequently cite the film as one of the great masterpieces of Black and White Cinemascope cinematography. Starring Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska, Elzbieta Czyzewska, and Gustaw Holoubek.
STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 7.