NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Second Run Blu-ray (February 2022): Second Run have transferred Frantisek Vlácil's The Devil's Trap to Blu-ray. It is advertised as "The Devil's Trap (Dáblova past, 1961) is presented from a new HD transfer from original materials created by the Czech National Film Archive, Prague." Second Run's 1080P transfer is single-layered, MPEG-2, with a supportive bitrate. The image is still fraught with marks, light damage and a few jump-cuts. It is heavier in some scenes than others, but I suspect this will not look any better unless a film-level restoration occurs. While viewing you accept the frequent frame-specific speckles and consistent vertical scratch (3/4 in from the left edge) which has varying degrees of visibility. It looks quite 'beat-up' at times but the dusty look fulfills the representation of the film's time period. Contrast can be a shade muddy in spots but the overall image is fully watchable and you can embrace this wonderful Czech film. 

NOTE: We have added 64 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Second Run use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original Czech language. It doesn't fare much better than the video's anomalies with minor hiss, break-up and occasionally uneven dialogue. The Devil's Trap has a few aggressive moments and a delightful mystery-enhancing score by Zdenek Liska (Ikarie XB 1, The Cremator, The Shop on High Street, The White Dove, Fruit of Paradise, The Fabulous Baron Munchausen) adding to the suspicious moods of The Devil's Trap via the lossless transfer. Second Run offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Second Run Blu-ray offers supplements, but no commentary. The Devil's Trap (Dáblova past, 1961) presented from a new HD transfer from original materials created by the Czech National Film Archive, Prague. In the Web of Time (V síti casu) is cinematographer František Uldrich’s documentary portrait of Vlácil from 1989. It runs over 20-minutes. The Week Starts on Friday (Týden zacíná v pátek) is Elmar Kloss’ 1962 short film about Czech cinema exhibition in the early 1960s, and it features The Devils Trap. It runs over 8-minutes. The Blu-ray package has a liner notes booklet featuring a new essay on the film by author and Czechoslovak cinema specialist Peter Hames.

Frantisek Vlácil's The Devil's Trap is magnificent. It is superbly representing the early 16th century reminiscent of the time post the plague and widespread famine. It is considered the first part of a trilogy of period films by Vláčil that includes Marketa Lazarová and The Valley of the Bees each made during the Czech New Wave of the 60's. It focuses heavily on the conflict between religion and science represented as a respected local miller and an obsessive Jesuit priest. I enjoyed the artful and unique cinematography by Rudolf Milic with Tarkovsky-like shots contemplatively showing characters from behind. It's a great film experience and while a shame the existing condition is so weak - I was thrilled to see it at all and I'm so pleased that Second Run have released it on Blu-ray. This Czech gem is strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze