Arrival From The Darkness / St. Wenceslas (BLU-RAY)

One of the great pioneers of the early Czech film industry, director and writer Jan S. Kolár (1896-1973) worked in a number of genres: supernatural fantasy, medieval epics, romantic melodrama, sci-fi and more. Deaf Crocodile is thrilled to collaborate with the Národní filmový archív, Prague and Comeback Company on this first-ever Blu-ray release of two of Kolár’s finest Silent features and a number of rare shorts. THE ARRIVAL FROM THE DARKNESS (PŘÍCHOZÍ Z TEMNOT) – 1921, NFA, 62 min., dir. Jan S. Kolár. Much wilder-than-you-think-it-will-be occult story about a book collector (Theodor Pištěk) who uses an ancient manuscript to revive his long-dormant 16th century ancestor (Karel Lamač) – who then tries to steal the collector’s wife (Anny Ondra), thinking she’s his long-lost love Alena. Mad esoteric shenanigans involving ruined castles, alchemists, time travel, the Elixir of Life, the Black Plague and Black Magic rituals make this one of the most surprising genre treats of the Silent era. With an experimental musical score by the Silent film trio Neuvěřitelno. ST. WENCESLAS (SVATÝ VÁCLAV) – 1929, NFA, 103 min., Kolár’s sweeping medieval epic set in 10th century Bohemia about the struggle between paganism and Christianity, centered around the prince (and later saint) Wenceslas (Zdeněk Štěpánek), who became the model for "the righteous king." Lavish and highly entertaining mixture of ALEXANDER NEVSKY and ILYA MUROMETS, filled with knights in armor, murders, betrayals between brothers, between mothers and sons, between daughters and mothers-in-law -- betrayals everywhere you look. The most expensive Czech film made up to that point, filmed during the Silent era but only released after the transition to sound. With a new score for this release by Silent film composer Ben Model. All films feature Czech intertitles with English subtitles.