Three by Wojciech J. Has Collection (Blu-ray)

The Saragossa Manuscript Set during the Napoleonic wars, the film follows the exploits of Alfons von Worden, an officer traveling through the Sierra Mountains and with each passing traveler, the interweaving stories grow stranger. One of Wojciech Has’s most acclaimed films, this surrealist cult epic has attracted support from Luis Buñuel, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and even Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. The Hourglass Sanatorium Józef visits his dying father at a remote mental institution, where time itself doesn’t seem to exist and the line between dreams and memories become indistinguishable. Adapted from a selection of short stories from Polish-jewish writer Bruno Schultz, Wojciech Has’s masterpiece of surrealist Polish cinema is a phantasmagoric look at the collective trauma of the Holocaust. How to Be Loved During a trip from Warsaw to Paris an actress reflects on the last few years of her life during the German occupation while hiding a fellow actor wanted for murder. Based on a novel by Kazimierz Brandys and told in a series of vignettes, Wojciech Has’s psychological tragedy marks the end of the Polish Film School and an important transition in the Polish director’s career. The Saragossa Manuscript: - Introduction by Columbia University Film Professor and author Annette Insdorf - Critical Assessment from Annette Insdorf - Interview with film critic Sebastian Smoliński - Essay by Annette Insdorf The Hourglass Sanatorium: - Introduction by Columbia University Film Professor and author Annette Insdorf - Critical Assessment from Annette Insdorf - Interview with film critic Sebastian Smoliński - Essay by writer Samm Deighan How to Be Loved: - Introduction by Columbia University Film Professor and author Annette Insdorf - Critical Assessment from Annette Insdorf - Interview with film critic Sebastian Smoliński - Essay by writer Michael Brooke