Larks on a String Blu-ray

British label Second Run will release on Blu-ray Jirí Menzel's Larks on a String (1990), starring Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlastimil Brodský, Václav Neckár, Jitka Zelenohorská, and Vladimír Smeral. The release will be available for purchase on July 18.

Official description: Shot in 1968, whilst Czechoslovakia enjoyed a brief moment of political liberalization, Larks on a String is a searing political satire from director Jirí Menzel and writer Bohumil Hrabal. Like their earlier Oscar-winning triumph Closely Observed Trains, it audaciously combines black humour with grim reality.

Set in a scrap metal yard where dissidents are interned to be 're-educated', the film is both a powerful critique of totalitarianism and a celebration of the resilience of the human spirit. Promptly banned by the Communist regime, the film remained unseen until 1990, when it was released to great acclaim, winning the grand prize at the Berlin Film Festival. Now regarded as a lost masterpiece, Menzel's wry comic drama is a hymn to humanity and nonconformity.

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM COMPLETED BY THE CZECH NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE
• Jirí Menzel: 7 Questions: an idiosyncratic reflection on the film and its history, shot by the late director in 2011.
• Menzel in discussion with filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur.
• A newly-recorded Projection Booth audio commentary with Mike White and Jonathan Owen.
• Our Dear Mister Foerster Died (Um el nám pan Foerster,1963): a restored early short film by Jirí Menzel.
• Trailer
• 20-page booklet featuring an essay by author Peter Hames and an introduction by cinematographer Jaromír Šofr.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.