Quote:
One day of autumn 1950, during the forced collectivization, the farmers lead their cattle into the common stables of the new cooperative. The cooperative’s chairman, Picin, publicly calls out the farmers’ names. Only one among the farmers – the rich farmer Konvalinka – opposes the imposed violence in a horrific way, shooting all his cattle and himself committing suicide. The village witnesses the return of Konvalinka’s daughter, nicknamed Miss, a former nun whose cloister was closed by the new regime. She is running the remaining property alone, only with the help of the village fool Ambroz.

Noc Nevesty 1967 1080p WebDL Oneplay.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 28 min
Size: 	3.78 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	1920x1080 
Aspect ratio:  	16:9
Frame rate: 	25.000 fps
Bit rate: 	6 000 kb/s
BPP: 	0.116
Audio
#1:  	Czech 2.0ch AAC LC @ 129 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/0C1309CE15CF6A3/Noc_Nevesty_1967_1080p_WebDL_Oneplay.mkv

Language(s):Czech
Subtitles:English

The post Karel Kachyna – Noc nevesty AKA The Nun’s Night (1967) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Based on old slovak ballads, it tells of fiddlers who with their magic violins spread evil and destruction all over the world.

From Skritek’s film journal:
A girl is transformed into a maple tree by her impulsive and angry mother. Three poor wandering musicians come by the tree and create instruments from it. Walking around the country instead of happiness they bring death everywhere with their cursed instruments. However they cannot get rid of them, unless they bury the wooden instruments at the place of the tree. The three are anything but harmonious, each taking in their disputes various stances. In the end they are enlisted to go to war, because they hardly survive as unlucky musicians and bring the instruments back. That’s when the story takes an even more tragic turn for all.

1.17GB | 1h 27m | 608×464 | avi

https://nitro.download/view/AE1C6EA01614EC9/Javor_a_Juliana.avi https://nitro.download/view/A7E3C20CEE6A48B/Javor_a_Juliana_v2.srt

Language(s):Slovak
Subtitles:English

The post Stefan Uher – Javor a Juliana AKA Maple and Juliana (1973) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Synopsis:
A ballad of love, hatred, and desire to escape from loneliness. The story of a reclusive potter, who returns, years after being shunned by his village.
The story is a simple one, set in medieval times, in a small village near the Tatra mountain range bordering Slovakia and Poland. Where a potter named Martin Lepiš (Czech actor Radovan Lukavský, perfectly cast here in the role of an outsider), whom the villagers refer to as Dragon, returns, several years after he was wrongfully driven away for crimes he did not commit. He comes back not for revenge or any motive other than to simply live his old life in peace. However his former fiancée Eva (Emília Vášáryová, wonderfully expressive in an almost silent role), is now married, and her new husband Simon (Gustav Valach) and the other villagers, are suspicious of Dragon’s intentions. Is there anything he can do to gain acceptance and respect, or is it a hopeless cause?
Although set in ancient times, this one has more in common with the contemporary New Wave pictures of Milos Forman, Jirí Menzel, and Vera Chytilová, than the realist period films by directors like František Vlácil and Hynek Bocan. Grecner’s focus was not on the accuracy or realism of the setting, but rather on universal themes, and the psychology of his characters.
There’s not a lot of dialog, and the narrative relies a lot on its visuals and sounds. The film is shot almost entirely with a large telephoto lens, which has the mystical depth-of-field effect of isolating the characters, while blurring out their surroundings. It gives the picture an epic feel, and also hides any imperfections in the low budget sets that might otherwise be revealed. Even the action scenes are shot this way, and there is an astonishing sequence in the second act of the film, where Dragon and Simon grudgingly work together to lead the village’s herd of cattle through a forest engulfed in flames, across a river, and then over a mountain pass.
The sound design is also quite impressive. A chorus of unseen women whisper their gossip from behind closed doors. The tortured mooing of frightened cattle and the frantic clanging of their cowbells as trees sizzle and crackle under the heat of roaring flames. All heightened by the haunting operatic music of Ilja Zeljenka that brings to mind Stravinsky’s masterful Oedipus Rex.
Like many of the criminally overlooked Slovak films of the era, it’s a beautifully poetic piece, big on atmosphere and intense psychological reflection. But what I find most impressive is it’s still just as relevant, exciting, and far more emotionally compelling than most of what gets released today. Another truly special film from a truly special time.

1.21GB | 1h 21m | 921×576 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/2DF4C381383ECAB/Eduard_Grecner_-_(1968)_The_Return_of_Dragon.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/91AD33E07883758/Extra_-_Newsreel.rar

Language:Slovak
Subtitles:English

The post Eduard Grecner – Drak sa vracia AKA The Return of Dragon [+ Extra] (1968) first appeared on Cinema of the World.