Many of us here are ScreenAnarchy are huge fans of pioneering Czech animator, Jan Švankmajer. He is an artist who has very few contemporaries, apart from perhaps The Brothers Quay. Until now, there have been no English friendly releases of Svankmajer's work on Blu-ray, but the wonderful British Film Institute will change that this summer with the release of Svankmajer's seminal surrealist take on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
Alice. The BFI have provided a wealth of extras, including other Carroll inspired short films and a 34 page booklet. Most welcome, however, is the news that the disc will be ALL REGION, making is available to anyone in the world with a Blu-ray player. I cannot wait to see this in high definition!
Following its release of Jan Švankmajer: The Complete Short Films in 2007, the BFI now presents the legendary Czech surrealist's award-winning 1988 feature film Alice in a Dual Format Edition with a host of bonus extras.
Jan Švankmajer's Alice (Něco z Alenky) is a distinctly disturbing and creepy interpretation of Lewis Carroll's perennial literary classic, yet it is perhaps the closest to the original work. It is released on both DVD and Blu-ray discs in this Dual Format Edition.
Combining a live-action Alice (Kristýna Kohoutová) with a stop-motion Wonderland filled with threatening, bizarre characters, Švankmajer's deliberately crude style of animation, use of close-ups and rich design work lend the film a pervading sense of unease and a menacing dream-logic which marries a sly visual wit with piercing psychological insight.
Jan Švankmajer won the Feature Film Award for Alice at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, 1987 and the film was nominated for Best Film in the Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Awards, 1989.
Presented here fully uncut and in its original Czech-language version for the very first time, this comprehensive release also gathers together a selection of rare and fascinating Alice-related short films.
Those of you who are eager to get this as I am can pre-order via the link below.