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Distinguished by being banned 'forever' in its native Czechoslovakia Nemec's film The Party and the Guests is perhaps the most politically dangerous film made during the flowering of Czech cinema during the 1960's. Not only a biting allegory on totalitarianism and an unflinching satire on conformity, its astute observations of human nature make it a universally relevant film.
Voted as one of the best films of the 1960's by the New York Times film critics, this will be the first time ever released on DVD.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: Czech ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Black & White, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Short Film, SYNOPSIS: Distinguished by being 'banned forever' in its native Czech Republic, Jan Nemec's 'A Report on the Party' is a great film from the flowering of the Czech cinema in the 1960s. It is a political thriller that satirizes unquestionable conformity. A group of happy picnickers are accosted by a group of strangers led by a bullying sadist who has an unbreakable hold over his followers. After he interrogates one of them, a stranger then invites everyone to a nonsensical, but elegant and formal banquet outdoors. Nemec documents the process of self-deception and rationalization which lead to an acceptance of constrant; free will and freedom are seen as difficult to maintain and easily discarded. The affair is bizarre, and ends when one of the guests (played by film director Evald Schorm) chooses not to remain and escapes. His compatriots agree that he must be recaptured, and the group arms and hunts him down. The film concludes with the nightmarish barking of search dogs. ...The Party and the Guests ( O slavnosti a hostech ) ( A Report on the Party and the Guests )
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful
By Colin C
Format:DVD
'The Party and the Guests' is one of the best films to have come out of Czech new wave cinema in the 1960s. After a colourful history of being 'banned forever' by the Communist government and then languishing largely unseen in the west, it has now been given a DVD release with a good print of the film which is a worthy addition to any collection.
The film itself centres around a well-heeled group of people attending a party in a forest. Beyond that, it's probably better to leave the plot undescribed, as this film is in any case all about atmosphere. The creeping oddness and uneasiness which increases in stages towards the end is genuinely unsettling for the viewer, and several currents of tension run through the film. Power dynamics shift among the characters and one mysteriously disappears. The climactic scene of the film is in many ways strongly reminiscent - and possibly a precursor of - Bunuel's 'Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' which makes it all the more fascinating.
Overall this short film (it's under 80 mins long) is very watchable and even rather gripping in places. You don't need a strong knowledge of Czech history and politics to admire what the film has to say on authority, totalitarianism and the ways human society works - or even just to enjoy the absurdity of it all. Buy this DVD and delight in a nearly forgotten classic of European film.
The film itself centres around a well-heeled group of people attending a party in a forest. Beyond that, it's probably better to leave the plot undescribed, as this film is in any case all about atmosphere. The creeping oddness and uneasiness which increases in stages towards the end is genuinely unsettling for the viewer, and several currents of tension run through the film. Power dynamics shift among the characters and one mysteriously disappears. The climactic scene of the film is in many ways strongly reminiscent - and possibly a precursor of - Bunuel's 'Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' which makes it all the more fascinating.
Overall this short film (it's under 80 mins long) is very watchable and even rather gripping in places. You don't need a strong knowledge of Czech history and politics to admire what the film has to say on authority, totalitarianism and the ways human society works - or even just to enjoy the absurdity of it all. Buy this DVD and delight in a nearly forgotten classic of European film.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By Room For A View
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
So you're out with your friends frolicking around in a beautiful forest glade, enjoying the summer weather, eating cake and drinking wine. You decide to leave when a group of thuggish looking men led by a bizarre, slightly menacing character, decide that you can't go home just yet! Cue Kafkaesque intrigue, surreal encounters and meaningless dialogue. Slowly the tension builds up as our guests are cajoled and entertained by the 'party' led by a man in a white suit with a penchant for candelabras. For me this film captures the mental and physical control exerted by a totalitarian regime whose sole purpose is control and conformity laced with the threat of violence (listen to the blank screen ending!). There is no escape so our guests have to conform, some willingly, others under duress - except for one silent character. This film is a remarkable allegory of repression, instilling a sense of unease and bewilderment, which is reinforced by the medium itself - there is no discernible plot, conversations are incomplete and nothing is explained. However, there are some moments of exquisite filmmaking - the women bathing in a refreshing brook, the rustle of trees in a warm breeze and the banquet scene by a lake.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech) (Jan Nemec, 1966, 71')
Distinguished by being "banned in perpetuity" in its native Czechoslovakia, Jan Nemec's "A Report on the Party" is a great film from the flowering of the Czech cinema in the 1960s. Writer: Ester Krumbachová (story and screenplay), Stars: Ivan Vyskocil, Jan Klusák and Jiri Nemec.
The film is a political thriller and biting satire of unconditional conformity. A group of happy picnickers are accosted by a group of strangers led by a bullying sadist who has an unbreakable hold over his followers. After he interrogates one of them, a stranger then invites everyone to a nonsensical, but elegant and formal banquet outdoors.
The affair is bizarre, and ends when one of the guests (played by film director Evald Schorm) chooses not to remain and escapes. His compatriots agree that he must be recaptured, and the group arms and hunts him down. The film concludes with the nightmarish barking of search dogs.
141 -The Party and the Guests (Jan Nemec, 1966, 71') - 4/9/2012
Distinguished by being "banned in perpetuity" in its native Czechoslovakia, Jan Nemec's "A Report on the Party" is a great film from the flowering of the Czech cinema in the 1960s. Writer: Ester Krumbachová (story and screenplay), Stars: Ivan Vyskocil, Jan Klusák and Jiri Nemec.
The film is a political thriller and biting satire of unconditional conformity. A group of happy picnickers are accosted by a group of strangers led by a bullying sadist who has an unbreakable hold over his followers. After he interrogates one of them, a stranger then invites everyone to a nonsensical, but elegant and formal banquet outdoors.
The affair is bizarre, and ends when one of the guests (played by film director Evald Schorm) chooses not to remain and escapes. His compatriots agree that he must be recaptured, and the group arms and hunts him down. The film concludes with the nightmarish barking of search dogs.
141 -The Party and the Guests (Jan Nemec, 1966, 71') - 4/9/2012
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A subtle critique and you need to be to be in the right frame of mind to imbibe a different critical sensual perception of the world. Seemingly very little happens throughout the film; as it works on small shifts to create a greter force.
Within the film very little happens...seemingly...and this is the point, as the changes wrought, are not the tanks rolling into the market square to announce a new beginning. The film operates on the idea of small steps of coercion, gently enforcing new found boundaries, including tough cajoling, finally revealed at the end as the ungrateful guests need to be taught their manners. Boundaries are enforced by operating a mirage, capturing people within a dominant spell and then forcing the oppressed to enforce the boundaries upon themselves and others. Internal compliance is needed as much as external duress as people police themselves.
Offering people bonhomie, food, platitudes, whilst forever shaping them to external expectations, becomes the gliding critique, delineating how the people themselves create the conformity they desire. The film has a very Kafkaesque feel to it. The throng gazes onto a self proclaimed leader, forever encroaching upon their everyday space with overarching expectations. The bourgeois participants are ensnared into a world where they readily accept what is being offered. They adapt to its expectations and denounce those closest to them, those who fail to conform to the herd values. The wife informing on her husband becomes prescient.
A critique of totalising communism, of course, but another hidden critique finally emerges when the film becomes reflected upon, within the West, not the former East.... Read more ›
Within the film very little happens...seemingly...and this is the point, as the changes wrought, are not the tanks rolling into the market square to announce a new beginning. The film operates on the idea of small steps of coercion, gently enforcing new found boundaries, including tough cajoling, finally revealed at the end as the ungrateful guests need to be taught their manners. Boundaries are enforced by operating a mirage, capturing people within a dominant spell and then forcing the oppressed to enforce the boundaries upon themselves and others. Internal compliance is needed as much as external duress as people police themselves.
Offering people bonhomie, food, platitudes, whilst forever shaping them to external expectations, becomes the gliding critique, delineating how the people themselves create the conformity they desire. The film has a very Kafkaesque feel to it. The throng gazes onto a self proclaimed leader, forever encroaching upon their everyday space with overarching expectations. The bourgeois participants are ensnared into a world where they readily accept what is being offered. They adapt to its expectations and denounce those closest to them, those who fail to conform to the herd values. The wife informing on her husband becomes prescient.
A critique of totalising communism, of course, but another hidden critique finally emerges when the film becomes reflected upon, within the West, not the former East.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
a masterpiece from the totalitarian era
Some compare Ian Nemez with Louis Bunuell, however the last had little to oppose to. ďèęíèę â ăîđàòà/ "Piknik v gorata"= "the party and... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Bella Stone
5.0 out of 5 stars
A plague on all your parties!
This classic Dubcek era film just made it to the light of day before the Russian tanks roled into Prague in 1967, ending the "Prague Spring" Of course "The Party and the Guests"... Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by D. Warner
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