← Back to Reviews
in
Opening credits: I think we’ve got about 3 Jan’s, 4 Jiri’s, and a Milos. I know I’m taking a dangerously unnecessary gamble and hanging from an unstable limb by making the following conjecture, but I would venture to make the risky supposition that, perhaps, this might just be a Czech film. Just a wild stab in the dark though. Anyhoo, one of those Jan’s happens to be Mr. Svankmajer! If you know me, you know I love me some Svank. Of course, as a visual consultant his involvement is muy importante. Mysterious Castle is a very visually driven movie, and Svank’s legendary stop motion effects even make an appearance towards the end. That gets an inevitable pop from me. His collaboration with Lipsky is even more apparent in Dinner for Adele (1978).
Two gents go searching for a lady within a mechanized castle brimming with more steampunky contraptions than Jeunet & Caro can shake an external combustion stick at. The bigwig that operates the whole apparatus is an elegant, elderly fellow that emphasizes beards as much as Russ Meyer emphasizes boobs. The cast is supplied with loveable, bumbling fools. There are distinct protagonists and antagonists, but the point isn’t really to get engrossed in their silly dispute. Just to have fun watching it.
Of course, it’s bound to be a little surreal. There’s a ton of absurdism and over the top mad science-y stuff with fantastical art direction. It’s a far cry from early Bunuel though. It’s not ambiguous or abstract; there shouldn’t really be any incomprehension. It’s just another quirky example of strange Python-esque humor.
This should be a more renowned classic. Despite the obscurity, it’s hard to believe that Lipsky wasn’t a heavy influence on Gilliam, Jeunet, Caro, and so on. Much of the rural culture-savvy absurdist humor seems like a blueprint for Kusturica as well.
Given what sort of movie this is, I’ve got no complaints. Nothing seems out of place. There are no groan inducements. Any lapses of logic fit the flexible silliness of the narrative. A goat could’ve popped out of a hat and it’d somehow fit. Only pedestrian things would seem out of place. Thus, this should be a priority for any eccentric’s movie collection. It’s hilarious and picturesque with a ton of character.
The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981)
Opening credits: I think we’ve got about 3 Jan’s, 4 Jiri’s, and a Milos. I know I’m taking a dangerously unnecessary gamble and hanging from an unstable limb by making the following conjecture, but I would venture to make the risky supposition that, perhaps, this might just be a Czech film. Just a wild stab in the dark though. Anyhoo, one of those Jan’s happens to be Mr. Svankmajer! If you know me, you know I love me some Svank. Of course, as a visual consultant his involvement is muy importante. Mysterious Castle is a very visually driven movie, and Svank’s legendary stop motion effects even make an appearance towards the end. That gets an inevitable pop from me. His collaboration with Lipsky is even more apparent in Dinner for Adele (1978).
Two gents go searching for a lady within a mechanized castle brimming with more steampunky contraptions than Jeunet & Caro can shake an external combustion stick at. The bigwig that operates the whole apparatus is an elegant, elderly fellow that emphasizes beards as much as Russ Meyer emphasizes boobs. The cast is supplied with loveable, bumbling fools. There are distinct protagonists and antagonists, but the point isn’t really to get engrossed in their silly dispute. Just to have fun watching it.
Of course, it’s bound to be a little surreal. There’s a ton of absurdism and over the top mad science-y stuff with fantastical art direction. It’s a far cry from early Bunuel though. It’s not ambiguous or abstract; there shouldn’t really be any incomprehension. It’s just another quirky example of strange Python-esque humor.
This should be a more renowned classic. Despite the obscurity, it’s hard to believe that Lipsky wasn’t a heavy influence on Gilliam, Jeunet, Caro, and so on. Much of the rural culture-savvy absurdist humor seems like a blueprint for Kusturica as well.
Given what sort of movie this is, I’ve got no complaints. Nothing seems out of place. There are no groan inducements. Any lapses of logic fit the flexible silliness of the narrative. A goat could’ve popped out of a hat and it’d somehow fit. Only pedestrian things would seem out of place. Thus, this should be a priority for any eccentric’s movie collection. It’s hilarious and picturesque with a ton of character.