The End of Civilization: Three Films by Piotr Szulkin (LE)

The End of Civilization: Three Films by Piotr Szulkin

Masquerading as both works of science fiction and horror, Piotr Szulkin's satirical, surrealistic apocalypse trilogy is Polish cinema's best-kept secret. These highly imaginative works of fantasy are bound by a preoccupation with the machinations of power and a distinct visual sensibility. 

In a radical reworking of the H.G. Wells classic, War of the Worlds: Next Century, tells the story of Iron Idem (Roman Wilhelmi), a television host, who finds himself contending with a Martian invasion, whose takeover involves collaborating with the state and manipulating the populace through a media apparatus made up entirely of fake news... 

Meanwhile, in O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization, the survivors of a claustrophobic, subterranean world in ruins are pacified by Soft (Jerzy Stuhr), who engineers a mass collective dream of escape through means of a mythical vessel, The Ark...

Finally, in the darkly comic Ga-Ga: Glory to the Heroes, Scope (Daniel Olbrychski) must be tried and convicted of a heinous crime for him to participate in a bloody, televised gladiator contest...

Frequently butting heads with Polish authorities before and after the collapse of Communism, writer and director Piotr Szulkin remains a unique visual stylist whose parables of power transcend easy genre pigeonholing. 

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restorations of each film supervised by Piotr Szulkin, DoP Witold Sobocinski, and sound engineer Nikodem Wolk-Laniewski with additional restoration work by Radiance Films, presented on three discs, on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK
• Uncompressed mono PCM audio
• New and improved English subtitles for each film by Dobrotka Więckiewicz
• Programme of complementary grotesque and absurdist short films
• Newly designed artwork based on artworks by celebrated artist Andrzej Pagowski
• Limited edition 80-page booklet featuring new writing by Michal Oleszczyk, Olga Drenda, Ela Bittencourt, Piotr Kletowski and Daniel Bird
• Limited Edition of 3000 copies, presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

WAR OF THE WORLDS: NEXT CENTURY

• Samosiuk. The Independent Film Republic - a documentary on War of the Worlds cinematographer Zygmunt Samosiuk and his work, featuring interviews with Szulkin and Andrzej Wajda among others (Adam Lewandowski, 2012, 29 mins) 
• PRL - Polish Post-Apocalyptic Fables - A video essay by Dobrotka Wieckiewicz on how science fiction, surrealism and the grotesque was used to explore themes of consumerism, reification and alienation by Piotr Szulkin and others during the Polish People's Republic (2023, 6 mins)
• Labyrinth (Jan Lenica, 1963, 15 mins)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork

O-BI, O-BA: THE END OF CIVILIZATION

• Audio commentary by Michael Brooke (2023)
• Retrofuturism - Interview featurette with production designer Andrzej Kowalczyk on creating the world of O-Bi, O-Ba (2023)
• Cages (Miroslaw Kijowicz, 1967, 8 mins) 
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork

GA-GA: GLORY TO THE HEROES

• Audio commentary by Daniel Bird (2023)
• Sunday with Piotr Szulkin - An archival interview with Szulkin and writer Tadeusz Sobolewski in which the pair discuss the director’s films (2009, 22 mins)
• Banquet (Zofia Oraczewska, 1977, 8 mins)
• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork

Year: 1973
Cert: TBC
Format: Blu-ray
Region: ABC
RAD030BDLE
EAN: 5060974680580
Release date: 04/12/23