Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

(aka 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" )

directed by Jaromil Jires
Czechoslovakia 1970

This fantastical and somewhat inscrutable allegory took me by surprise. I'd heard mostly good things about it over the years, but was unprepared for its lovely ethereal nature and its ravishing imagery. The story, such as it is, is of secondary importance to the dream-like visuals that comprise each scene.

Valerie's first period is the catalyst for a dream/nightmare adventure that involves vampirism, incest, treachery, soul-robbing, and gentle eroticism. What in the end has been said, I'm not sure, but it's a wonderful experience.

Donald Brown

Poster

Theatrical Release: 1970

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Comparison:

Facets - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Second Run - Region 0 - PAL vs. Redemption - Region 0 - PAL

Big thanks to Donald Brown for the Facets and Redemption Screen Caps!

1) Facets - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Second Run - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

3) Redemption - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Facets Region 0 - NTSC	Second Run Region 0 - PAL	Redemption Region 0 - PAL
Runtime	1:13:27 (4% PAL speedup)	1:13:18 (4% PAL speedup)	1:12:12 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.31:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.45 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.1 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	1.30:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.50 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Facets
Bitrate: Second Run
Bitrate: Redemption
Audio	Czech - Dolby Digital 2.0	Czech - Dolby Digital 2.0	Czech - Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles	English (burned in)	English, none	English (burned in)
Features	Release Information: Studio: Facets Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.31:1 Edition Details: • (De) Flower Power - Maze by Rick Trembles DVD Release Date: January 13, 2004 Keepcase Chapters 14	Release Information: Studio: Redemption Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Interview with Jaroslava Schallerová (5:46) • Introduction by Michael Brooke (20:06) • Trailer (2:27) DVD Release Date: August 25th, 2008 Transparent Keepcase Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: Redemption Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.30:1 Edition Details: • Stills gallery • Video art • Filmography DVD Release Date: June 14, 2004 Keepcase Chapters 9

Comments

ADDITION: Second Run - Region 0 PAL - I have a few observations - Firstly, we can throw out the lackluster single-layered, artifact-ridden Facets from these comments. I concur with Donald on the damage of the Redemption but I can see it is notably removed by the Second Run restoration. Detail might lean to the Redemption but that issues' scratches, speckles and marks can be distracting to say the least. I lean to the Second Run for color accuracy as both other look boosted to some degree - not having seen it theatrically I can't be 100% positive on this point. THE SR is brighter and a bit greenish at times (sign of a failing telecine?) and is a bit cropped on the top edge.

The Redemption subtitles are burned-in where they are removable (and large and much clearer) on the Second Run. Finally the Second Run easily wins the extras with a 5 minute interview with lead Jaroslava Schallerová (with optional subtitles) and an informative 20 minute introduction, with inserted clips, by Michael Brooke. It's a pleasure to listen (and see) - of which he does a very good job relating some hidden details of Valerie and her Week of Wonders. It may have been prudent to add optional subs to this extra as well as Michael is a bit quiet and has a gentle British accent. There is also a trailer and a 20-page liner notes booklet featuring a new essay by film programmer and author Peter Hames and an appreciation by Joseph A. Gervasi of Exhumed Films.

The film is a must-see. As Jonathan Rosenbaum says at the Chicago Reader HERE: "I only recently caught up with Jaromil Jires's overripe 1970 exercise in Prague School surrealism, now that it's become available again, and I'm miffed that I had to wait so long. The 13-year-old title heroine, who's just had her first period, traipses through a shifting landscape of sensuous, anticlerical, and vaguely medieval fantasy-horror enchantments that register more as a collection of dream adventures, spurred by guiltless and polysexual eroticism, than as a conventional narrative. Virtually every shot is a knockout--for comparable use of color, you'd have to turn to some of Vera Chytilova's extravaganzas of the same period, such as Daisies and Fruit of Paradise. If you aren't too anxious about decoding what all this means, you're likely to be entranced."

Thanks to Second Run for their restoration and competent dual-layered package of this Czech gem. Recommended - despite its imperfections!

P.S. It is presently cheaper than the Redemption as well!

Gary Tooze

***

ON THE FACETS AND REDEMPTION: Neither one of these DVDs looks very good. The Facets disc is a poor PAL-to-NTSC transfer that looks like it was made from a video tape, and suffers from excessive ringing and a very soft image. The Region 2 disc is much sharper and has better color, but suffers more print damage, especially early on in the film. There's an ungodly amount tramlines and scratches that don't show up on the Facets DVD, but they lessen a bit as the film progresses. The R2 disc is occasionally quite dark; the worst example can be seen in the 2nd set of screen captures below, which is horrible, but the rest of the DVD isn't nearly so bad. On the other hand, the Facets sometimes seems too bright, with detail lost in the highlights.

All in all, the Redemption DVD looks better, but it may not be worth buying if you already own the Facets edition.