Fruit of Paradise

The late, great Czech filmmaker V ra Chytilová, followed the success of her ground-breaking exercise in anarchic cinema DAISIES (1966) with the even more extraordinary FRUIT OF PARADISE. An experimental, densely symbolic retelling of the Adam and Eve story, Chytilová utilizes every cinematic tool to create a ravishing tapestry of ideas, textures, and visual tropes.Cementing Chytilová s reputation as cine-anarchist, FRUIT OF PARADISE was condemned by the authorities, banned from export and the funds withheld from Chytilová so that she would be powerless to realise her vehicles of nihilism . Unseen for many years outside of its native Czechoslovakia the film is a cornerstone of the Czech New Wave and remains a stunning tour-de-force of colour, technique and formalism.Released for the first time ever in the UK, the FRUIT OF PARADISE is presented from a new HD digital transfer with restored picture and sound, and also includes a new HD restoration of V ra Chytilová s renowned 1961 short film CEILING (Strop) - plus an accompanying Booklet featuring a new essay by author, Czech cinema expert and film programmer Peter Hames Chytilová's film is as visually stunning and thrillingly experimental as her previous work DAISIES All Movie Guide Luridly subversive... impossible to summarize and hard to resist Village Voice Chytilova's wild, extravagant, and ravishing romp... intoxicating on a sensual level Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader An audacious combination of allegorical narrative and the avant-garde... a brilliantly executed aesthetic exercise. It is formalism at its most beautiful Daniel Bird, Central Europe Review.Extras:All new HD digital transfer + short film Ceiling (Strop)Special Features:Booklet essay by Peter Hames