The last film by Jan Švankmajer: Insects (2018)

[Vakulinchuk]

Is there a kind soul willing to add these to the database?

[tek8080]

I missed out on the campaign, and therefore cannot comment there. Would anyone that contributed be willing to comment and ask if leftover copies of the Blu-ray set will be posted for sale anywhere? I'd love to buy one. I asked the Facebook page about six months ago but it went unanswered.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by tek8080

I missed out on the campaign, and therefore cannot comment there. Would anyone that contributed be willing to comment and ask if leftover copies of the Blu-ray set will be posted for sale anywhere? I'd love to buy one. I asked the Facebook page about six months ago but it went unanswered.

Those of us who missed out will probably have to beg BFI to put out a set.

[Bpro-Elwin]

Hey you guys, I had to look carefully , but I believe the only place to be able to buy this Svankmajer blu ray box is over here
https://svankmajerjan.com/z510-blu-ray-kolekce/?kosik=1

Since it looks like the offical place , I still want to make sure if I can buy it safely... the webshop seems kinda outdated.

What do you guys think?
Also why doesn't ebay or amazon sell this box set?

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by Bpro-Elwin

Hey you guys, I had to look carefully , but I believe the only place to be able to buy this Svankmajer blu ray box is over here
https://svankmajerjan.com/z510-blu-ray-kolekce/?kosik=1

Since it looks like the offical place , I still want to make sure if I can buy it safely... the webshop seems kinda outdated.

What do you guys think?
Also why doesn't ebay or amazon sell this box set?

The site may have exclusive rights to sell these titles.

I hope this is legit. I noticed even his DVD sets were going OOP so I figured someone had to be putting out a blu-ray set. Still, I can't tell if this site ships to the US. I would guess maybe not until the pandemic is over. Even so this is encouraging. Thanks for the link.

EDIT: The contact button doesn't seem to work. I was going to use it to see if they (will eventually) ship to the US.

[GhastlyGraham]

It is legit. This is the exact set I received when I backed the indiegogo campaign 4 years ago. Highly recommended.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by Vakulinchuk

I have just received mine. the book is bilingual and documents the birth of Insects nicely; it has the same dimensions of a bluray case but oddly it doesn't fit / doesn't belong to the bluray set.

The bluray set consists of seven stand alone amaray of classic blu cases, hold together with a very flimsy box jacket. A BD-25 is used for each movie.

edit: gave the discs a quick spin, Alice is somewhat darker than the BFI but loaded with extras, including an HD transfer of the Jabberwocky (1971) short.

Are all the shorts spread across the blu-ray sets as extras? Or do we still need the complete shorts on DVD set?

[jkoffman]

I went looking for Little Otik on BD and went down the rabbit hole -- huh huh -- to find the box set on Svankmajer's website, and this post. I'm kinda shocked there isn't a single review on this website or any further info whatsoever, even though there's a listing for it.


If the "Other States" shipping price applies to the U.S., it'll end up $280 total. Gee, I'd like to know something more before I drop dough like that! It does seem odd that you can't find it available anywhere else, including ebay.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

I went looking for Little Otik on BD and went down the rabbit hole -- huh huh -- to find the box set on Svankmajer's website, and this post. I'm kinda shocked there isn't a single review on this website or any further info whatsoever, even though there's a listing for it.


If the "Other States" shipping price applies to the U.S., it'll end up $280 total. Gee, I'd like to know something more before I drop dough like that! It does seem odd that you can't find it available anywhere else, including ebay.

It was a crowdfunded project. They make the sets themselves. Discs are single layered. Shipping takes almost two months to get the US. This is your only option if want his features on blu. Overall, I think it was worth it but YMMV.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by 20th Century Boy

It was a crowdfunded project. They make the sets themselves. Discs are single layered. Shipping takes almost two months to get the US. This is your only option if want his features on blu. Overall, I think it was worth it but YMMV.

Are they BD-R or pressed?

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Are they BD-R or pressed?

Pretty sure they're pressed. Took them out to try them in the player then stashed in storage during my move so I can't dig 'em out at the moment.

[Imthebat]

I'm sure this thread is dead, but I got this set in today and figured I'd share as much info as I can.

First off, these are pressed discs. Every movie is on a BD-25 in Czech with Dolby Digital audio. It's definitely disappointing that lossless audio isn't being used for these films, especially considering the BFI release of Alice. Also with Insects being such a new film, one would imagine that a lossless track would be readily available.

It's definitely worth holding onto your BFI release of Alice, and while someone had mentioned the inclusion of Jabberwocky in HD, it's the only short film to appear in the set. It's also worth mentioning that there are no English subtitles for Jabberwocky, so it defaults to an English reading of the poem. Not the worst thing ever, but definitely not my preference.

While Alice does include that short film, most of the special features are written essays by Svankmajer. This is the same for Faust and Conspirators of Pleasure. From Little Otik onward, there seem to be more extras. That particular film has deleted scenes and a casting video; both in Czech with no subtitles. Trailers are included for the films. Lunacy, Surviving Life, and Insects all have making of features with English subtitles. Surviving Life includes the short film "A Film About a Film" in standard definition with English subs.

Despite being on BD-25s, these are clean restorations. Absolutely the best these films have ever looked. The audio is also very clear and very good despite being DVD quality. I'm overall happy with the set, despite how much money it costs. The included Insects book is nice and reminds me of the booklets found in Koch Media releases. Half of the booklet is in English and the other half in Czech, sharing the same text. The photos in both halves are different though, so it's definitely worth looking through the whole thing.