The Firemens Ball

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION


It s the annual firemen s ball in a small Czech town, and the organisers decide to liven up the usually dull event with a raffle and a beauty contest. But with the former plagued by thievery and the latter by bribery, the event rapidly descends into farce and that s before a fire breaks out.

The last film that Milo Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest, Amadeus) made in his native country and language, The Firemen s Ball is a sparkling comedy that s also one of the best showcases of the director s uncanny ability to extract flawless performances out of an entirely non-professional cast largely made up of actual firemen.

It was nominated for an Oscar, but the Czech Communist authorities were so convinced that it was a satirical allegory about official incompetence that the film was officially banned forever , or at least until the 1989 Velvet Revolution. It s now regarded as one of the greatest of all Czech films.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

* New 4K restoration by the Czech National Film Archive
* High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations
* Original Czech soundtrack in uncompressed PCM mono audio
* Optional English subtitles
* Appreciation by Czech film expert David Sorfa
* Archival interviews with director Milo Forman, cinematographer Miroslav Ond í ek and co-writer Ivan Passer
* New Wave Faces: Michael Brooke salutes the non-professional actors who made an indelible impression on 1960s Czech cinema
* Reversible sleeve featuring two pieces of artwork from the original release

Region: Free



REVIEW
lively, brimming comedy on human conduct and smalltown life --Variety

a sly, sure-footed satire --Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

the best work Forman's done --Chicago Reader

Audio Languages: Czech, Unknown (PCM Mono)

Number of Discs: 2

Subtitle Languages: English

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