Review by Colin Dibben
The set presents 2 of Trnka’s most beloved and intricate works: his breathtaking collection of Bohemian myths in Old Czech Legends (1953), and his debut feature, a hymn to the Czech land, history, and people, The Czech Year (1947). These 2 epic animation spectacles combine elaborate camera work, design, and puppetry with magical storytelling and casts of delightfully fanciful creations.
The cinematography is really spectacular: the chiaroscuro effects in passages of Old Czech Legends and the dynamic tracking shots in both films are much more engaging than you would expect from animation. The puppets and their stop-motion movements add a very uncanny feel to proceedings, and the close-ups of polished wooden faces are nicely weird and woozy. Old Czech Legends has a more sombre tone than The Czech Year, which is packed with delightful song and dance sequences which reminded me of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
That reference tells you something about the tone of those films. I wouldn’t really recommend these for young children to watch on their own, because of both the slower pacing than your bundles of joy are probably used to; and the darkness and outright spookiness that creeps in from time to time, as in a ‘gypsy circus’ sequence in The Czech Year.
Many of the wonderfully weird folkloric elements in these films receive a nationalist overcoding that will make the films fall flat for some people. I preferred The Czech Year for this reason.
These are world premiere, region-free Blu-ray releases for both films, which are presented from 4K restorations by the Czech National Film Archive.
The Blu-ray 2-disc Special Limited Edition extras include:
- Michael Brooke on Jiri Trnka and Czech animation: a new and expansive video essay.
- Introductions to both films.
- The Puppets of Jiří Trnka: an archival Czech documentary.
- A Beginner’s Guide to Jiří Trnka and A Beginner’s Guide to Czech Animation docs.
- Archival Czech newsreels on Trnka.
- The Hand (Ruka, 1965): Trnka’s renowned, politically defiant animated short film.
- Badly Painted Hen (Špatně namalovaná slepice, 1963): the acclaimed animated short film by co-writer of Old Czech Legends and regular Trnka collaborator, Jiří Brdečka.
- Booklet with writing by Peter Hames and Jonathan Owen.
Jiří Trnka: Puppet Master is out on region-free, 2-disc Blu-ray Limited Slipcase Edition from Second Run on 27 July 2026
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