Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (film)

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Valerie a týden divů
Directed by Jaromil Jireš
Produced by Jirí Becka
Written by Vitezslav Nezval (novel)
Jaromil Jireš (screenplay)
Ester Krumbachová (screenplay)
Jirí Musil (dialogue)
Starring Jaroslava Schallerová
Helena Anýžová
Karel Engel
Jan Klusák
Petr Kopriva
Music by Lubos Fiser
Jan Klusák
Distributed by Janus Films (US release)
Release date(s) 1970
1974 (US release)
Running time 77 min.
Language Czech
This article is about the 1970 film. For the 1932 novel, see Valerie and Her Week of Wonders.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czech: Valerie a týden divů) is a 1970 Czech film directed by Jaromil Jireš and based on 1935 the novel of the same name by Vítězslav Nezval.

The 1970 film adaptation of Valerie a týden divů, was filmed in 1969 starring the then 13-year-old Jaroslava Schallerová as Valerie, with a supporting cast of Helena Anýžová, Karel Engel, Jan Klusák, Petr Kopriva, among others. It was filmed in the Czech town of Slavonice and surrounding areas. The film portrays the heroine as living in a disorienting dream, seduced by priests, vampires, men and women alike.


Contents

[edit] DVD

In January 2004 the film became available commercially in the US on the Facets Video label. In June of the same year, the film was released on DVD in the UK by Redemption Films Ltd. In 2006 the film was officially released in the Czech Republic by label CÈV/Bonton. All three releases present the film in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1, but the print quality varies between them. Unlike the Facets and Redemption releases, the CÈV/Bonton DVD is not presented with hardcoded English subtitles, but with optional Czech subtitles. The CÈV/Banton release also contains a photo gallery, interviews with Jaroslava Schallerová, Jan Klusák, and Pavel Taussig, filmographies of the various players, as well as production & distribution notes.

Acclaimed British label Second Run DVD [1] released an all-new remastered edition of the film on PAL Region 0 DVD on 25 August 2008. This new edition features newly-remastered picture and sound, new improved subtitle translation, an interview with Jaroslava Schallerová, a new filmed introduction by author and film critic Michael Brooke, a newly created trailer and a booklet featuring a new essay by Peter Hames and an appreciation by Joseph A Gervasi.

There was a screening of the film at the 2008 Green Man Festival at Glanusk Park in Wales on August 16th [2], with a musical accompaniment by Monkey See Monkey Do.

[edit] Soundtrack

The film soundtrack, featuring music composed by Luboš Fišer and Jan Klusák, was released for the first time by [3] in December 2006. Available both on CD and LP, the booklet reveals previously unseen images, international poster designs, as well as notes by Andy Votel, Peter Hames and Trish Keenan from the band Broadcast.

[edit] Influence

Many writers have cited similarities between the film and the work of English writer Angela Carter, who had seen the film during its release in England.[4] Her screenplay for The Company of Wolves (1984) adapted from Carter's short stories, in collaboration with director Neil Jordan, bears a direct or indirect influence. A May 2005 Jireš retrospective film series at Riverside Studios showed the two films together.

In 2006 members of freak folk acts Espers, Fern Knight, Fursaxa and other musicians formed [5]. The group performs original compositions in unison with the film.

In their 2008 album, Skeletal Lamping, the band of Montreal references this film in the song "St. Exquisite's Confessions".

The Broadcast album Haha Sound takes much inspiration from film and its music. Their song "Valerie" is the most obvious example.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Valerie and her Week of Wonders". Second Run DVD. http://www.secondrundvd.com/release_vww.php. Retrieved on 2009-04-30. 
  2. ^ "Green Man Festival". Monkey See Monkey Do's My Space. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=173265869&blogId=416734476. Retrieved on 2008-07-21. 
  3. ^ "The Valerie Project". Finders Keepers Records. http://www.finderskeepersrecords.com/shop_058.html. 
  4. ^ Tanya Krzywinska. "Transgression, transformation and titillation". Kinoeye: New Perspectives on European Film. http://www.kinoeye.org/03/09/krzywinska09.php. 
  5. ^ "the Valerie Project". http://www.myspace.com/thevalerieproject. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_and_Her_Week_of_Wonders_(film)"
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