DVD Blog

Set in 1919, during the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, The Red and the White is a war film unlike any other. In the brutal civil war which raged across the country, many Hungarian volunteers joined the 'Red' Bolshevik forces, battling the 'White' counter-revolutionaries in a bitter struggle for power. Through its stylistic virtuosity, ritualistic power and sheer beauty, Jancsó asks us to study the mechanisms of conflict almost abstractly; clearly portraying the utter futility of war. Although the film was an Hungarian-Russian co-production, the Russian authorities banned Jancsó's version from being shown anywhere in the Soviet Union.

Juraj Herz's film The Cremator has been described in many ways - as surrealist-inspired horror, as expressionist fantasy, as a dark and disturbing tale of terror. Combining horror and humour, this brilliant film, set in Prague during the Nazi occupation, tells the story of Karel Kopfrkingl (Rudolf Hrusinsky), a professional cremator. For Kopfrkingl the political climate offers great possibilities for acting out his increasingly deranged impulses, and making his contribution towards the 'salvation of the world'. The film's impact is heightened by a completely wonderful Zdenek Liska music score.