THE MYSTERIOUS CASTLE IN THE CARPATHIANS (1981) (Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray Review + Screenshots)

THE MYSTERIOUS CASTLE IN THE CARPATHIANS (1981)

aka TAJEMSTVÍ HRADU V KARPATECH

Label: Deaf Crocodile
Region Code: A
Rating: Unrated 
Duration: 98 Minutes 27 Seconds 
Audio: Czech PCM 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.37:1) 
Director: Oldřich Lipský, Jan Svankmajer
Cast: Evelyna Steimarová, Michal Dočolomanský, Miloš Kopecký, Rudolf Hrušínský

The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981), a satirical and farce-filled adaptation of Jules Verne's 1892 novel The Carpathian Castle, is a Czech Gothic sci-fi fantasy film, directed by Oldřich Lipský and Jan Svankmajer (Adela Has Not Has Supper Yet), this being their third and final collaboration. In it the arrogant and self-satisfied opera star Count Teleke of Tölökö (Michal Docolomanský, Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet) and his dutiful servant Ignac (Vlastimil Brodský, Closely Watched Trains) have retreated to the village of Werewolfston in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania to heal his wounded heart, to try to forget his sorrows after the tragic death of his opera-star fiancé Salsa Verde (Evelyna Steimarová), by embarking on a new bold adventure in a strange new land. Shortly after arriving they hear tales of the haunted Devil's Castle which overlooks the area from the locals, intrigued by it's legend they set out to visit it.

While wandering the woodlands they encounter a man named Vilja (Jan Hartl) performing a rendition of a familiar tune on harmonica, the song is the signature tune of Salsa Verde. He tells them that he heard the haunting refrain one night while peering into a window of the Devil's Castle where he saw a stunning woman singing the opera. Believing that somehow his opera-star fiancé may have survived the trio continue on to the castle where they find the secretive aristocratic opera-fan Baron Rudolf Gorc (Milos Kokpecký, The Fabulous Baron Munchausen), alongside his bearded- henchman Zutro (Augustin Kubán), and mad scientist Orfanik (Rudolf Hrusinský, The Cremator), the latter of whom has an array of delightful steampunk gadgetry that is quite ahead of it's time, designed for the film by Czech animation wizard Jan Švankmajer.

The flick is wonderfully absurd, much along the lines of the director's previous film Adela Has Not Had Dinner Yet, full of the comedic Gothic trappings along the lines of something like The Fearless Vampire Killers, with the offbeat steampunk gadgetry of Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen, as well as plenty of slapstick comedy, non-sequitur humor and offbeat happenings, including a peculiar invented dialect spoken by the locals. A highlight for me were the delightfully anachronistic inventions of mad-scientist Orfanik, including a steam-powered scooter, a rocket ship, a closed-circuit TV system, and spy gadgetry that make this quite a fun sci-fi fantasy wrapped up in the trappings off an offbeat Gothic mystery. Michal Docolomanský is also quite wonderful as the arrogant opera-singing Count, so assured but hopelessly full of himself and in over-his-head. Equally amusing is Milos Kokpecký as the charmingly diabolical Baron Rudolf Gorc, who is absolutely obsessed with preserving the memory of the opera-diva Salsa Verde by any means necassary. It's really quite a treat for lovers of offbeat and oddball cinema, I am finding it rather hard to classify, but if you're fan of the directors' Adele Has Not Had Supper Yet, the overmentioned The Fearless Vampires Killers or Terry Gilliam's brand of steampunk fantasy as seen in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Brazil, I'm quite sure you will find this quite a fantastical and farcical watch.

Audio/Video: The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981) arrives on Blu-ray from Deaf Crocodile in 1080p HD framed in 1.37:1 fullscreen, advertised as a New Restoration of by Craig Rogers for Deaf Crocodile. The image looks solid, the source is in very nice shape, with colors that are somewhat muted by design, though flashback scenes with heavy tint look terrific. It's limited by it's source with depth and clarity only being modest, with blacks are adequate. Audio comes by way of Czech PCM 2.0 with optional English subtitles. The track is fine, dialogue exchanges sound natiral, and the opera moments and score by Lubos Fiser (Valerie and Her Week of Wonders) is a delight. 

Extras include a 38-min New video interview with Czech film critic and screenwriter Tereza Brdečková on her father, Jiří Brdečka, writer of the film, in English. We also get a New audio commentary by Tereza Brdečková and Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company; plus the 88-min feature length documentary Universum Brdečka (2017) from director Miroslav Janek, that follows the life and career of filmmaker, animator, screenwriter and illustrator Jiří Brdečka, covering his childhood, his work as a screenwriter with Jiří Trnka, Karel Zeman. 

My favorite extras are a pair of Eerie Animated Short Films from Jiří Brdečka Vzducholoď a láska. The first is the 9-min Love and the Dirigible (1948) and the 10-min Prince Copperslick aka Prince Měděnec’s Thirteenth Chamber (1980). Th first tells the tale of a woman being forced into a marriage with a brute military man, who is rescued by an inventor, and the later is grotesque marriage between a meat-eating glutton and a demure vegetarian. 

The single-disc release arrives in a clear full-height keepcase with a 2-sided, non-reversible wrap featuring new artwork by Beth Morris. Inside there is a  20-Page Illustrated Booklet with New Essay by film historian and expert on Eastern European cinema Jonathan Owen. 

Special Features: 
- New Restoration of MYSTERIOUS CASTLE by Craig Rogers for Deaf Crocodile
- New video interview with Czech film critic and screenwriter Tereza Brdečková on her father, Jiří Brdečka, writer of MYSTERIOUS CASTLE. (In English) (37:38) 
- 20-Page Illustrated Booklet with New Essay by film historian and expert on Eastern European cinema Jonathan Owen
- Two eerie and stunningly beautiful Jiří Brdečka animated short films: Vzducholoď a láska (Love and the Dirigible) (1948) (8:45¹) and Třináctá komnata prince Měděnce (Prince Copperslick aka Prince Měděnec’s Thirteenth Chamber) (1980) (9:39) Both in Czech
- UNIVERSUM BRDEČKA (2017) (88:19), dir. Miroslav Janek), a feature length documentary on the life and career of filmmaker, animator, screenwriter and illustrator Jiří Brdečka, covering his childhood, his work as a screenwriter with Jiří Trnka, Karel Zeman

- New audio commentary by Tereza Brdečková and Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company
- Blu-ray authoring by David Mackenzie 

of Fidelity In Motion
- New cover artwork by Beth Morris

I have been loving the work that Deaf Crocodile have been doing the past few years, unearthing these wonderful gems from around the world, particularly the last few Czech and Russian films I have reviewed from, several of which are sure to end on my favorite film discoveries of the year. 

Screenshots from the Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray: 

Extras: 

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