Fruit of Paradise - Jitka Novákova

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Ovoce stromu rajských jíme" or "De vruchten van het paradijs" or "Nous mangeons les fruits des arbres du paradis")

directed by Vera Chytilová
Czechoslovakia/Belgium 1970

Czech New Wave director Vera Chytilová's follow-up to her internationally well-received DAISIES, FRUIT OF PARADISE is an experimental retelling of the story of Adam and Eve - with a little Bluebeard mixed in - that cynically holds to the moral that self-deception is safer than knowledge can literally lead to death (while the lovers are not expelled, the cost of that lesson is confirmation of a transgression taking place). Eva (Jitka Novákova) and Josef (Karel Novak) are spending the holidays at a boarding house. While Josef is content to wile away the time lounging in bed or in the garden, Eva excitedly explores the grounds and becomes intrigued with the devilishly charming Robert (Jan Schmid) who has charmed all the female guests and earned the envy of the males. With her own husband seemingly uninterested in her (and possibly unfaithful to her as he receives scented letters in the post), Eva entertains Robert's flirtations and cannot help but indulge her curiosity when Robert unknowingly drops his room key on the beach. Exploring his room, she discovers his sachet and within it a red-inked number six stamp. Later on, she hears a newspaper story shared among the guests of a series of murders of women upon whose foreheads are stamped the number six. Although Eva starts to believe that Robert might be a murderer, she continues her flirtation since Josef has become jealous. This does not last long, however, as Josef starts to see the flirtation as a game or a test while Robert seems to be trying to kill her.

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release: 31 July 1970 (Czechoslovakia)

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DVD Comparison:

Facets Video - Region 0 - NTSC vs. Second Run DVD - Region 0 - PAL

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for all the Screen Caps!

(Facets Video - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Second Run DVD - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Facets Video Region 0 - NTSC	Second Run DVD Region 0 - PAL
Runtime	1:34:48 (4% PAL speedup)	1:34:54 (4% PAL speedup)
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.82 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.98 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 Video
Bitrate: Second Run DVD
Audio	Czech Dolby Digital 2.0 surround	Czech Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Subtitles	English (burnt-in)	English, none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Facets Video Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • none DVD Release Date: 19 December 2006 Amaray Chapters 10	Release Information: Studio: Second Run DVD Aspect Ratio: Fullscreen - 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Short film 'Ceiling (Strop)' (4:3; 41:02) • 20-page booklet by author/film programmer Peter Hames DVD Release Date: 13 April 2015 Amaray Chapters 12

Comments

As one can see, the Second Run DVD - mastered from a Czech National Film Archive HD transfer - easily betters the Facets PAL-NTSC conversion in every way. The Second Run version is not perfect, with some scratches and dings that presumably could not be painted out and some intermittent hiss and buzz in the Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track (the US disc's track is flagged for ProLogic decoding but it is not a remix).

The Facets disc has no extras while the Second Run includes Chytilova's graduation film "Ceiling" as well as a twenty-page booklet by film programmer Peter Hames that talks about the film in comparison to DAISIES, the crucial collaboration of Ester Krumbachová (VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS), cinematographer Jaroslav Kucera (DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT), and composer Zdenek Liska (THE CREMATOR), as well as the film's censorship and Chytilova's inability to work for a number of years after, as well as more recent feminist interpretations of the film, as well as his own analysis of the film.

- Eric Cotenas

DVD Menus

(Facets Video - Region 0 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Second Run DVD - Region 0 - PAL - RIGHT)