The first film in František Vlácil’s trilogy of visionary historical epics, The Devil’s Trap prefigures his legendary masterpiece Marketa Lazarová.
In early-18th century Bohemia, an innocent miller finds himself under investigation by the Inquisition after daring to question the judgement of a local landowner. At a time when religious authority is absolute, the miller’s understanding of the natural world is interpreted as evidence of a pact with the Devil. With atmospheric imagery and evocative use of sound, the film depicts a cruel but credible world torn between superstition and science.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• The Devil’s Trap (Ďáblova past, 1961) presented from a new HD transfer from the best existing original materials, created by the Czech National Film Archive.
• In the Web of Time (V síti času, 1989): cinematographer František Uldrich’s documentary portrait of Vláčil.
• The Week Starts on Friday (Týden začíná v pátek, 1962): Elmar Kloss’ short film about Czech cinema exhibition in the early 1960s and which features The Devils Trap.
• 20-page booklet featuring a new essay on the film by author and Czechoslovak cinema specialist Peter Hames.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• World premiere on Blu-ray.
• Region-free Blu-ray (A/B/C)
Technical details:
• Language: Czech
• Subtitles: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Video: BD25 / 1080p / 24fps
• Audio: 2.0 Dual Mono LPCM (48k/24-bit)
• Discs: 1
• Black and white
• Region A/B/C (Region Free)
