Czech artist Jiří Trnka (1912–1969) is the internationally revered master of puppet animation, often dubbed 'the European Walt Disney'. Painter, illustrator, designer, and author of fantastic tales, Trnka came from a family of toymakers and the era of marionette theatre, and in his films created magical worlds with his sets, costumes and puppets. Often borrowing from Czechoslovak folklore while inventing novel techniques in stop-motion cinematography, many of his films use allegory to produce political satire, often evoking the ire of State censors.
This collection brings together two of Trnka's most beloved and intricate works - Old Czech Legends (Staré pověsti české, 1953) and The Czech Year (Špalíček, 1947), two epic animation spectacles combining elaborate camera work, design, and puppetry with magical storytelling and a cast of delightfully fanciful creations.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
• **FIRST PRESSING LIMITED EDITION SLIPCASE - strictly limited to 2000 copies**
• Old Czech Legends (Stare povesti ceske, 1953) and The Czech Year (Spalicek, 1947) presented from 4K restorations by the Czech National Film Archive.
• Introductions to both films.
• The Puppets of Jiri Trnka documentary.
• Archival Czech newsreels on Trnka.
• The Hand (Ruka, 1965): Trnka's renowned animated short film.
• Badly Painted Hen (Špatně namalovaná slepice, 1963): the acclaimed animated short film by co-screenwriter of Old Czech Legends and regular Trnka collaborator, Jirí Brdecka.
• Trailers.
• Booklet with writing by experts on Czechoslovak cinema Peter Hames and Jonathan Owen.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• Region free Blu-ray (A/B/C).
• World Premieres on Blu-ray.
• + MORE TBC
All features subject to change
Technical details:
• Language: Czech
• Subtitles: English
• Running times: 85 minutes / 80 minutes
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Colour
• Video: BD50 x 2 / 1080p / 24fps
• Audio: 2.0 Dual Mono LPCM (48khz/24-bit)
• Discs: 2
• Region A/B/C (Region Free)
