Deaf Crocodile has provided a promotional trailer for the recent restoration of Jiří Weiss's The Golden Fern (1963), which is prepared for a Blu-ray release. A preliminary street date has not yet been revealed.
Description: Czech director Jiří Weiss's breathtaking B&W fairy tale is one of the most unjustly neglected treasures of 1960s fantasy filmmaking, a hauntingly lyrical work with overtones of Wojciech Has's THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT, František Vláčil's MARKETA LAZAROVÁ and Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
A handsome young shepherd (Jean Marais lookalike Vít Olmer) stumbles across a magical golden fern in the forest, which transforms itself into a stunning, enigmatic woman, Lesanka (Karla Chadimová) who becomes hopelessly devoted to him. When he rashly joins the army and heads off to war, she sews a seed from the fern into his shirt to protect him. While he's away, though, he falls for the icily beautiful daughter of the commanding general, Dana Smutná, who demands he perform a series of Herculean tasks to prove his love for her.
Director Jiří Weiss (1913 – 2004) was acclaimed for Czech New Wave dramas such as WOLF TRAP and ROMEO, JULIET & DARKNESS – here he worked with cinematographer Bedrich Batka (who also photographed the legendary MARKETA LAZAROVÁ) to craft one of the most visually ravishing and hypnotic B&W fantasies of the era. Released by Deaf Crocodile, the Národní filmový archív and Comeback Company. In Czech with English subtitles.