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

ADDITION: Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray (January 2024): Deaf Crocodile have transferred Oldrich Lipský's The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "New Restoration of MYSTERIOUS CASTLE by Craig Rogers for Deaf Crocodile". It looks quite decent if not always consistent. The image is fairly flat with decent black levels and many colors show some pleasing depth. It's definitely an imperfect product of its source but I enjoyed the video presentation - notably the tints. 

NOTE: We have added 56 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Deaf Crocodile use a linear PCM 2.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original Czech language. The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians has a handful of aggressive moments / effects and a delightful score by Lubos Fiser (Morgiana, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders) sounding a shade tinny in the uncompressed transfer. Deaf Crocodile offer optional English subtitles (although sometimes expressing the accents rather than perfectly spelled English) on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Deaf Crocodile Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Tereza Brdečková and Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company. They also did the commentary on Deaf Crocodile's Prague Nights. Tereza's father wrote The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians. They talk about how difficult it was to make the films under the communist regime and how there is a vibe of Wes Anderson's films (I can see that.) An excellent commentary. Deaf Crocodile add a new 40-minute (English language) video interview with Brdečková on her father, Jiří Brdečka that is quite revealing. There are two eerie and stunningly beautiful Jiří Brdečka animated short films: Vzducholoď a láska (Love and the Zeppelin from 1948 - and Třináctá komnata prince Měděnce (Prince Copperslick aka Prince Měděnec’s Thirteenth Chamber) made in1980. They run about 10-minutes each and are both in Czech with English subtitles. The most prominent supplement is 2017's Universum Brdecka directed by Miroslav Janek. It's feature-length at 1.5 hours and highlight Jirí Brdecka. Described as ":The Screenwriter, writer and cartoonist Brdecka was known in Czechoslovakia for his cooperation with Jirí Trnka, Jan Werich or Oldrich Lipský, and became a worldwide famous and respected director of animated films. But who was he in reality? Where did he seek inspiration and where did his rich inner world come from? How did he fight the non-free political regime and manage to show the world his free and timeless creation? Director Miroslav Janek gradually penetrates the interior of one of the most prominent personalities of Czech film and presents to the audience a miraculous world of animated paintings, graphics, oils, watercolors, frescoes and mosaics. On Christmas Eve in 2017, Jirí Brdecka would celebrate his 100th birthday." The package has a 20-page liner notes booklet with photos and an essay by expert on Central & Eastern European cinema Jonathan Owen.

Oldrich Lipský's The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians is great fun, stylistically (proto-steampunk) atmospheric and inventive (Jules Verne) with a Sherlock Holmesian aspect that adds another layer of enjoyment. The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians evokes Terry Gilliam's work - perhaps even Monty Python with Jan Švankmajer designs and certainly Wes Anderson. There are flashes horror homage, mystery and sci-fi plus satire deep in the humor. There is Opera as well to add another genre to the mix.  Deaf Crocodile deserve massive kudos for this extensively stacked Blu-ray package. I can't wait to watch The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians again! Absolutely recommended!

Gary Tooze