The Good Soldier Svejk, Parts I-III
(Osudy dobreho vojaka Svejka I.-III.)
Czechoslovakia, 1954, DCP, color, 74 min.
Czech with English subtitles.
DCP source: Czech National Film Archive
Adapted from the scathingly funny, hugely influential antiwar classic by anarchist writer Jaroslav Hasek, this three-part satirical farce charts the exploits of the eponymous World War I infantryman, whose antic misadventures continually frustrate his commanding officers—and reveal the absurdity of the entire conflict. Basing his designs on the novel’s original, celebrated illustrations by Josef Lada, Trnka mixes his trademark puppetry with striking cutout-animation sequences to accompany the droll, rambling tales that Svejk spins. The result is a subversive anti-authoritarian statement that captures the novel’s biting wit and irreverent spirit.
PRECEDED BY
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Springman and the SS (Perak a SS)
Directed by Jiri Brdecka and Jiri Trnka.
Czechoslovakia, 1946, 35mm, color, 13 min.
No dialogue.
Print source: Czech National Film Archive
In his first collaboration with Jiří Brdecka, Trnka combines 2-D and collage animation to striking effect in this zanily offbeat, anti-Nazi lampoon, which crosses Max Fleischer-like absurdism with a biting satirical edge.
