Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The owls are not what they seem


Maybe they are witches in disguise? Well anyway this painting of witch owl I just did provided an excuse to make a Twin Peaks reference, and I am going nuts with wanting to re-watch that series lately! I might have to get the DVDs this year, finally, since the dusty old video tapes I made in 1990-1991 have probably not held up very well.

I could probably build a small house out of all of the video tapes I've collected over the years, even though we started buying DVDs almost 10 years ago I still keep them around. Right before DVDs took over, I had started to buy up a lot of rare movies on video, from eBay and other sources. For instance, this incredible film. I can't remember where I found a copy of the poster for it, online, but it is a Czech film from...1972?...by Juraj Herz. Here is a brief video clip on YouTube to see a little of the amazing visuals. Look at those HATS! Those Victorian DRESSES! PARASOLS!

I wish I could provide more information about it, but there is very little online that I can find. It does not appear to have been released on any format. The lead actress plays two roles -- sisters -- in a truly Gothic tale of poisoning, inheritance and fabulous dresses. There are a few "unofficial" releases of the film in various formats which can be found with a little internet sleuthing. I just have a VHS tape I got from a fellow collector on eBay a long time ago. But it's a beautiful, undiscovered film that deserves to be seen by more people who love garish visuals in the Hammer style.

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