Oil Lamps Blu-Ray

Juraj Herz, director of The Cremator and Morgiana, has made a distinctive and decadent film based on the famous novel by Jaroslav Havlicek.

This atmospheric period drama is set in the early 1800s during the final years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is a bitter "novel" that revolves around the tragic marriage between two cousins. Stepa (the wonderful Iva Janzurova) is a lively, modern, and wealthy young woman desperately searching for love and happiness, while Pavel (Petr Cepek) is an arrogant, self-absorbed, retired army officer burdened by debt, cynicism, and syphilis.Herz's film evokes a sharp atmosphere of decay and features fantastic performances by its two leads, wonderful costumes and set design, and stunning cinematography by Dodo Simoncic. An iconic classic of Czech cinema, presented from a new 4K restoration. EXTRAS: - Oil Lamps (Petrolejove lampy, 1971) is presented from a new 4K restoration by the Czech National Film Archive.- Commentary on the projection set with film historians Mike White, Kat Ellinger, and Jonathan Owen. - A Conversation on a Train (Rozhovor ve vlaku, 1947): An early Czech informational short film about the dangers of alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases.- Trailer for the film. - Booklet with newly written text about the film by author and Czech film expert Peter Hames.- New English translation of subtitles. - World premiere on Blu-ray.