Three classic films from legendary directors Wojciech Has and Federico Fellini on Blu-ray
Three classic films from legendary directors Wojciech Has and Federico Fellini make their debut on Blu-ray thanks to Mr Bongo Films. Has' The Saragossa Manuscript and The Hourglass Sanatorium and Fellini's Casanova get the high-def treatment in their fully restored versions on 7 September 2015.
Described by world famous filmmakers Luis Bunuel and David Lynch, and rock star Jerry Garcia as their favourite film, legendary Polish director Wojciech Has' psychedelic epic The Saragossa Manuscript is a mysteriously magical and sometimes disturbing 1960s cult classic like no other. Adapted from the highly esteemed explorer Jan Potocki's magnum opus, The Saragossa Manuscript encompasses a whole new supernatural world. During Napoleon's invasion of Spain, two soldiers of opposing sides discover a strange manuscript at an Inn. Spanning centuries and nations the magical text chronicles the adventures of Alfonso van Worden (Zbigniew Cybulski - Ashes and Diamonds) and follows a rich slew of journeys from the humorous to the horrifying, to the chilling final revelations. Alternatively frightening and comical in its mind-bending exploration of human nature The Saragossa Manuscript beautifully presents Has' intricate approach to storytelling.
Wojciech Has' cinematic universe of byzantine sets, hallucinatory images and galleries of grotesque characters is brought to life in his psychedelic masterpiece The Hourglass Sanatorium. Adapted from a collection of short stories by Polish-Jewish writer Bruno Schulz, and funded by the Polish Arts Council, this beautifully re-mastered edition dispenses with traditional narrative, fashioning an audiovisual mosaic that blurs the line between reality and fantasy. Set in the pre-World War II era, a young man named Joseph (Jan Nowicki - Tulips, Spirala) visits a strange dilapidated Sanatorium to see his dying father Jakob (Tadeusz Konrat - Adventure in Marienstadt, Zawilosci Uczuc). Upon arrival he finds a hospital crumbling into ruin, where time is slowed down in order to maintain his father's life signs. Joseph must venture through the many rooms of the sanatorium, each filled with sinister worlds conjured from his memories, dreams and nightmares.
Federico Fellini's most sumptuous and dark production, the daringly visual and imaginatively designed Casanova is renowned as one of the greatest films of the 1970s. Celebrated for its production values, costume design and Nino Rota's haunting score, Casanova charts the nobleman's search for happiness that leads his road to tragedy. Breaking through the myth of Giacomo Casanova, Donald Sutherland (MASH, The Hunger Games) portrays the notorious womaniser in his waning days, engaging in various amorous and political adventures. Casanova craves respect as a scholar and yearns to pursue his interest in alchemy. A sex scandal lands him in prison, but an escape to Paris provides him a new lease of life. Yet every court in Europe and its attendant patrons and hostesses will only entertain him if he lives up to his reputation in the ritual displays of sex and courtship which form part of the daily life of 18th Century Europe.
