ADDITION: Second Run - Region FREE Blu-ray - November 2018: Second Run's new Blu-ray of "Daisies" is presented from a new HD re-master and transfer from original materials by the Czech National Film Archive. The increase in detail is quite evident in most shots. The last capture featuring the platter of food noticeably shows much more detail and less macro-blocking/pixelation. This new print certainly had some damage, which still shows up in this transfer. To some this could be distracting, but given the film's unique stitch and collage quality, with later scenes even taking scissors to the image and the bodies shown within, this adds to the texture of the film. Certain damage is usually only noticeable for a frame or two. Didn't bother me but your mileage may vary. Colors are deeper and have a wider range of hues, once again best exemplified in that last capture. Notice the red of the sliced tomatoes vs. the red on the cooked bird. Due to this being a newer source, the framing is also somewhat opened up in some scenes. Notice the hairline suddenly appearing on the man in the 3rd capture under the subtitles.

The 2009 DVD had a somewhat flat 2.0 channel audio. This new mix definitely sounds like an improvement. This linear PCM 2.0 track is quite lively actually, though it is a shame that it is not 24-bit. The wonderful bombastic and often discordant score is thanks to Jirí Slitr and Jirí Sust. There are optional English subtitles on this Region-Free Blu-ray from Second-Run.

The new commentary track with Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan is wonderful. Kat and Samm are co-hosts of a wonderful podcast, "Daughters of Darkness" and are not new to the commentary game. They give lots of space to discuss the life and work of director Vera Chytilova in relation to the Prague Spring/ Czech New Wave movement. I particularly enjoyed Deighan sharing the fact that in the native language, the word for doll can also be used to describe a virgin. That little lost idiom is very cool. Chytilova was a strong, unique voice in a field typically littered with men. The director was more or less punished for speaking her mind, and yet this never stopped her, nor did it make her work more reactionary. Ellinger and Deighan clearly have a love of this director and her work, resulting in a very moving and personal commentary track. As the two mention, their track steers clear of what ground has previously been covered on the equally great commentary from film historians, Peter Hames and Daniel Bird. Bird and Hames cover lots of topics such as production detail and the history of Czech New Wave and Czech Cinema. Peter Hames is also the author of a substantial essay on the film which is also included in this release. Jasmina Blaževic’s acclaimed documentary film portrait of Vera Chytilová, the 55-minute "Journey" is also included. A trailer from 2009 for the film is on here as well.

Second Run have a really beautiful package here. The two commentaries compliment each other very nicely, and the documentary is very intimate and revealing. Hames' essay is insightful. As for the film, the transfer greatly improves on the previous SD release without too much tinkering. This Blu-ray is a must have for fans of the film, a thing of such strangely whimsical nihilism.

Colin Zavitz