The Ear Blu-ray

British label Second Run has officially announced that it will release on Blu-ray Karel Kachyna's film The Ear (1970), starring Jirina Bohdalová, Radoslav Brzobohatý, Lubor Tokos, Jaroslav Moucka, and Karel Vasicek. The release will be available for purchase on August 26.

Synopsis: In Karel Kachyna's darkly satirical political-noir, a high-ranking Communist official and his wife begin to suspect that their home has been put under surveillance by the Party. Over one night, the growing tension exposes a bitter fault-line in their relationship, feeding an intense atmosphere of paranoia and dread.

Daring to address the taboos of the Stalinist era, The Ear was banned soon after completion, and remained unseen until the fall of Communism twenty years later. Combining a not-so-private portrait of a disintegrating marriage with a searing blackly-comic critique of totalitarianism, this landmark film is an extraordinary indictment of life under an oppressive system.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• NEW REMASTER from original materials completed by the Czech National Film Archive.
• A filmed introduction to The Ear by Peter Hames.
• A new Projection Booth commentary with Mike White, Ben Buckingham and Martin Kessler.
• The Uninvited Guest (Nezvaný host, 1969): Vlastimil Venclík's satirical short film which was banned by the State authorities.
• 20-page booklet featuring writing on the film by Peter Hames, author and producer Steven Jay Schneider and journalist Graham Williamson.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• REGION-FREE