The Pied Piper +Jiri Barta Shorts (region-A 2 Blu-ray set)

THE PIED PIPER (KRYSAŘ), 1986, Czechoslovakia, 53 min. Director Jiří Barta's stop-motion animated masterpiece, based on The Pied Piper of Hamelin, is set in a dark and twisted medieval village of narrow streets and weird Gothic arches, half-CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI and half-Jan van Eyck. The money-obsessed citizens, carved out of wood blocks and speaking in an onomatopoeic babble, are like George Grosz caricatures, literally spouting coins from their mouths instead of words. The rats are far more organic and sympathetic, made of real fur and whiskers, constantly tunneling and burrowing under the towering arches and cobblestone streets above. (In one of the film's many surreal moments, a rat emerges from a gargoyle's gaping maw.) Fans of fellow Czech animation legend Jan Švankmajer and the Brothers Quay will adore Barta's eerie, Expressionist gem, recently restored by Deaf Crocodile and Comeback Company. This new Deluxe 2-Disc Edition features seven beautifully restored Barta short films: RIDDLES FOR A CANDY (1978), DISC JOCKEY (1980), THE DESIGN (1981), THE VANISHED WORLD OF GLOVES (1982), A BALLAD ABOUT GREEN WOOD (1983), THE LAST THEFT (1987) and THE CLUB OF THE LAID OFF (1989), plus 2 director interviews, a new visual essay and more.