I’m going to assume that Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet was a big hit in Czechoslovakia back in 1977 since the Iron Curtain didn’t report their box office numbers to Variety. Why the assumption? Because someone wanted to reunite the key creative members and cast for a second equally absurd comedy. Instead of a sequel mystery with Michal Dočolomanský as detective Nick Carter; Director Oldřich Lipský and screenwriter Jiří Brdečka teamed up to adapt Jules Verne’s Gothic/Science Fiction novel The Carpathian Castle. In order to bring Verne’s futuristic inventions to life in an 1897 setting, Jan Švankmajer (director of Alice) was brought back after previously creating Adela. The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians proves be as bizarre and hilarious as their previous film.
Count Teleke z Tölökö (Michal Dočolomanský) and his assistant hike through the Carpathian wilderness in 1897. They find Vilja Dézi (Jan Hartl) half-buried near the trail. They rush the injured gamekeeper back to the town of Werewolfville. Turns out Dézi was investigating the sinister castle on top of a mountain near the town. Everyone is impressed at their visitor’s arrival since it’s been a while since a noble person has visited their remote town. Not only is the Count royalty, but a renowned Opera star whose voice can shatter a chamber pot. Eventually the Count can’t resist the pull of the strange castle that is visible in every window of the Inn. Turns out the place isn’t abandoned and ruined. The castle is inhabited by Baron Gorc z Gorcu (Miloš Kopecký), who has his own security camera system and reusable rocket thanks to a mad inventor that’s part of his household staff. A major thing that the Count senses the Baron has in his collection is the legendary and missing Opera diva Salsa Verde (Evelyna Steimarová). The two performed together for years and the Count remembers the Baron stalking her. While exploring the castle, the Count hears her voice. Can the Count free her from the clutches of the Baron?
The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians is an outrageous comedy that holds up after all four decades. The weirdness on screen crosses cultures. You don’t have to grasp the history of post-World War II Czechoslovakia to laugh. You don’t even have to know the Jules Verne novel. Visually, the film captures your eyes with the steam punk creations from Jan Švankmajer. The ending reveal of the Opera Diva will leave you aghast. Castle just screams that it should have been a midnight movie at art houses in the early ’80s to swap off with Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits. It appears that film did play a few art houses in America in 1983. But The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians didn’t make a proper impact. This is a movie that didn’t crop up in the Foreign Film section of the Video Rental shops I frequented. I’d never heard about The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians until it showed up in the mail. Lipský and Brdečka should be thought as a great comedy film tandem with their three films: the western Lemonade Joe (not yet out on Blu-ray), Adela Has Not Had Supper Yet and Castle.
After The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians was released in 1981, there would be no other collaborations between Oldřich Lipský and Jiří Brdečka since Brdečka would pass way in 1982 at 64. Lipský departed in 1986. Their weirdness lives on.
The Video is 1.37:1 full frame. The 1080p transfer brings out the details of Jan Švankmajer’s devices. The Audio is Czech LPCM 2.0 mono. You’ll hear those Opera notes clearly. Hide your chamber pots. The subtitles are in English.
Video interview with Czech film critic and screenwriter Tereza Brdečková (37:38) focuses on her father, Jiří Brdečka, writer of Mysterious Castle.
Ilustrated booklet with essay by film historian and expert on Eastern European cinema Jonathan Owen. Along with context for the film, Owen points out that most cold war era Czechoslovakian films are not as entertaining as the ones that Deaf Crocodile have put out on Blu-ray over the last few weeks.
Audio commentary by Tereza Brdečková and Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company goes into how the film came about. Oldřich Lipský and Jiří Brdečka were planning a Nick Carter sequel that didn’t work out. There was a production slot and Lipsky grabbed it along with the Jules Verne book. Even though Lipsky’s health was failing, he agreed to work on the script. They were working on the script during production which was unheard of in the communist country where the government looked over everything.
Vzducholoď a láska (Love and the Zeppelin) (8:45) is an animated cartoon by Jiří Brdečka from 1948. A guy invents a zeppelin in order to impress his girlfriend.
Třináctá komnata prince Měděnce (Prince Copperslick aka Prince Měděnec’s Thirteenth Chamber) (9:39) was directed by Jiří Brdečka in 1980. The animated short is about a royal who can’t stop eating meat. This does this help him when he goes courting?
Universum Brdecka (88:18) is a feature length documentary by Miroslav Janek on the life and career of filmmaker, animator, screenwriter and illustrator Jiří Brdečka that came out in 2017. The film covers his solo work and collaborations with others including Oldřich Lipský. There is archival interview footage of Brdečka.
Deaf Crocodile presents The Mysterious Castle In The Carpathians. Directed by Oldřich Lipský. Screenplay by Jiří Brdečka and Oldřich Lipský. Starring Michal Dočolomanský, Jan Hartl, Miloš Kopecký, Rudolf Hrušínský, Vlastimil Brodský, Jaroslava Kretschmerová, Evelyna Steimarová, Augustín Kubáň & Jan Skopeček. Running Time: 99 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: March 11, 2025.
