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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Prípad Barnabás Kos" or "The Case of Barnabas Kos")

 

Directed by Peter Solan
Czechoslovakia 1965

 

"Barnabáš Kos, a meek and modest triangle-player in a state orchestra finds himself unfathomably promoted to musical director. Now drunk with power, the once timid Kos turns into a poised, commanding peacock and seeks to transform the orchestra to suit his own agenda and inflated vision...

Peter Solan (Before Tonight is Over) crafts an absurdist, darkly funny Kafkaesque satire of a corrupt system that rewards mediocrity and breeds petty dictatorship. Openly criticising the practices of socialist Czechoslovakia at the time, its wry exposure of hypocrisy, sycophancy and the corrupting influence of power remains, unsurprisingly, fresh and relevant even today."

***

The Barnabáš Kos Case (1965), originally titled Prípad Barnabáš Kos, is a Czechoslovak satirical comedy directed by Peter Solan that skewers bureaucracy and the corrupting nature of power under socialism. Set in Bratislava, it follows Barnabáš Kos (Josef Kemr), a meek triangle player in a symphony orchestra who spends more time on civic duties - committees, volunteering—than rehearsing, often arriving late because his minor role barely matters. To his shock, he’s abruptly promoted to orchestra director, a job neither he nor his superiors think he’s fit for, due to a bureaucratic fluke or cynical party maneuvering.


At first, Kos is humbled, even embarrassed - his peers mock him, and he knows he’s out of his depth. But flattery and the taste of authority flip a switch. He morphs from a bashful nobody into a petty tyrant, obsessed with elevating the triangle’s status. He commissions a ridiculous “triangle concerto,” restricts other musicians’ parts to spotlight his own, and scours a steelworks for the perfect instrument - his ego ballooning as absurdly as the oversized triangles he hauls around.

Posters

Theatrical Release: March 19th, 1965

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Review: Second Run - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover

Bonus Captures:

Distribution Second Run - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime 1:31:52.041
Video

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,171,214,550 bytes

Feature: 26,940,026,880 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.83 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate Blu-ray:

Audio

LPCM Audio Slovak 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bits

Subtitles English, None
Features Release Information:
Studio:
Second Run

 

1.66:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,171,214,550 bytes

Feature: 26,940,026,880 bytes

Video Bitrate: 34.83 Mbps

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

 

Edition Details:

• The Invincibility of Absurdity: an introduction to the film by Rastislav Steranka, Director of National Cinematographic Centre, Slovak Film Institute (4:13)
• Nemecká (1974): Peter Solan's powerful documentary short, with original music by Zdeněk Liška. (8:43)
• Promotion (Postup, 1968): a short animated film by Viktor Kubal. (5:43)
• Portrait: Jarmila Kostova: a short film on the famous Slovak actor. (8:14)
• Booklet with new writing on the film by author Jonathan Owen and filmmaker Peter Strickland.


Blu-ray Release Date: March 17, 2025

Transparent Blu-ray Case

Chapters 12

 

 

Comments:

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

ADDITION: Second Run Blu-ray (March 2025): Second Run have transferred Peter Solan's The Barnabas Kos Case to Blu-ray. It is cited as "presented from a new 2K restoration by the Slovak Film Institute." It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate and looks pristine in 1080P. Shot by Tibor Biath - whose career spanned over four decades, significantly shaping Slovak and Czechoslovak cinema, it’s stark black-and-white, Czech New Wave to the core - crisp, unadorned, with a documentary edge. Bratislava’s drab - blocky buildings, gray streets - mirrors the story’s soul. Close-ups show detail catching Kos’s sweat and swagger while wide shots dwarf him against absurd props (those giant triangles). The steelworks scene’s industrial ballet - metal gleaming, workers bemused - amps the farce. Well-layered-contrast tones echo the film’s sharp humor and social critique. This is a fabulous HD presentation with fine grain and impressive crispness.

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 mono track (16-bit) in the original Slovak language. The Barnabas Kos Case's soundscape - crafted by, relatively obscure, composer Ľudovít Hašan and sound designer Ondrej Polomský - amplify its biting humor and critique of bureaucratic absurdity. Hašan’s original score is minimalist and mischievous, perfectly tuned to the film’s satirical tone. It’s not a lush orchestral sweep - sparse, playful, and slightly off-kilter, a sonic wink at Kos’s delusions. The music’s built around strings and woodwinds, with a jazzy edge typical of 1960s Eastern European cinema. There is audible ambient noise: Bratislava’s pulse - tram rattles, distant horns, wind through concrete blocks - seeps in, grounding the indoor farce. Office scenes hum with typewriter clacks and paper rustles, a bureaucratic drone. It all sounds quite flawless via the uncompressed transfer. Second Run offer optional English subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Second Run Blu-ray offers The Invincibility of Absurdity: a newly filmed introduction by Rastislav Steranka, Director of the National Cinematographic Centre at the Slovak Film Institute (SFI). Clocking in at around 5 minutes, Steranka offers a scholarly yet accessible overview of the film’s significance. He frames The Barnabáš Kos Case as a pinnacle of Slovak cinema’s satirical edge, tying it to the Czech New Wave’s absurdist streak and Peter Solan’s broader oeuvre. Nemecká (1974) is a short film by Peter Solan. This 9-minute documentary, directed by Solan nearly a decade after Barnabáš Kos, explores a rural Slovak village’s life under socialism. With original music by Zdeněk Liška - a Czech composer famed for Marketa Lazarová - it’s a quieter, reflective piece compared to Kos’s farce. Promotion (Postup, 1968) is a 6-minute animated short by Viktor Kubal, Slovakia’s animation pioneer (The Bloody Lady). Postup (meaning “promotion” or “progress”) is a wordless satire on career climbing - think a stick-figure everyman scaling ladders, only to tumble. Portrait: Jarmila Kostova is an 8-minute featurette spotlighting Jarmila Kostova, a Slovak acting legend who doesn’t appear in Kos but ties to Solan’s world (e.g., Before Tonight is Over, 1966.) Lastly, the package has a 32-page booklet featuring essays by Jonathan Owen (Avant-garde to New Wave: Czechoslovak Cinema, Surrealism and the Sixties,) a Czech/Slovak cinema scholar (Avant-Garde to New Wave), and Peter Strickland, the UK filmmaker (Berberian Sound Studio). Second Run’s booklets are meaty - this one’s no exception.

Peter Solan's The Barnabas Kos Case is a middle finger to socialist inefficiency. Kos’s promotion reeks of quotas or nepotism - merit’s irrelevant. It’s Kafka meets The Office - a system so warped it hoists a nobody to power, then shrugs when he flops. The steelworks scene - Kos slapping triangles—mocks industrial fetishism, all effort for nothing. His evolutionary arc is textbook: modesty to megalomania. It’s probably less about socialism than human nature - give anyone unchecked sway, and they’ll turn tyrant, however petty. Lead actor Josef Kemr is a revelation - mousy at first, all hunched shoulders and nervous smiles, then puffed-up, eyes glinting with delusions. He’s not a villain - just a schmuck who believes his own press. His triangle obsession’s both pathetic and hilarious, a manchild with a baton. The look’s Czech New Wave lite - less avant-garde than Forman’s Loves of a Blonde (1965,) more grounded than Chytilová’s Daisies (1966,) but sharing their dry wit. The Barnabas Kos Case was such a joy on Second Run's Blu-ray - looking fabulous with plenty of supplements. This socialist satire is bleak, blunt, and funny in its ugliness. Biath’s lens captures a world where ambition’s a rusty triangle, not a golden baton. It’s not about beauty; it’s about truth - gritty, gray, and gloriously absurd. Absolutely recommended.

Gary Tooze

 


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