Daisies [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Director: Véra Chytilová, Vera Chytilova Véra Chytilová

Overview

"An exercise in avant-garde cinema that is freshly humorous and accessible, Daisies is a dark comedy that eschews a traditional narrative for a Dadaist construction of events. Perpetually dressed in vibrantly corresponding costumes and dark black eyeliner, Marie and Marie work together to create mischief. Seeing the world ruined and values worthless, they decide to ""go bad."" They stage various dinner dates with stale old men, eat and drink merrily while telling lies, and, in a fast-motion Chaplinesque bit of slapstick, they hop trains and lose the men. Always looking for new adventures, the girls get drunk at a nightclub and get kicked out in a grand physical comedy style. They sit around their apartment and destroy things with a deadpan whimsy, apathetic to the men professing their love. Pursuing adventure about town, the two Maries take a dumbwaiter up to a banquet hall and proceed to delightfully demolish it. Using both black-and-white and color film stock, the girls' antics are enhanced by innovative special effects and camera tricks by cinematographer Jaroslav Kucera. Historically a key film in the Czech New Wave movement, Daisies was banned and director Vera Chytilová was forbidden to work until 1975."

Product Details

Release Date:	11/01/2022
UPC:	0715515278713
Original Release:	1967
Rating:	NR
Source:	Criterion Collection
Language:	English
Time:	1:16:00
Sales rank:	3,840

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ivana Karbanová	Marie II the Blonde
Jitka Cerhová	Marie I the Brunette
Marie Cesková	Woman in the Toilet,Actor
Jirina Myskova	Toilet Assistant
Marcela Brezinová	Toilet Assistant
Julius Albert	Elder Playboy
Oldrich Hora	Playboy
Jan Klusak	Younger Playboy
Václav Chochola	Josef Konícek
Josef Konícek	Dancer in the Cabaret
Jaromír Vomácka	Cheerful Man
Miroslava Babúrková	Woman in the Train Window
J. Bartos	Muscle Man
Oldrich Basus	Musician
A. Drábek	Musician: Violinist
Josef Hruby	Swimmer
Ester Krumbachova	Cabaret Patron
Ivana Karbanova	Marie ll the Blonde
Marie Ceskova	Actor
Jiri Slitr	Composer
Jiri Sust	Composer

Technical Credits

Véra Chytilová

Pavel Jurácek

Ester Krumbachova

Jaroslav Kucera

Zdenek Bláha

Václav Nývlt

Bohumil Smída

Ladislav Fikar

Véra Chytilová	Screenwriter,Director
Pavel Jurácek	Screenwriter
Ester Krumbachova	Screenwriter
Jaroslav Kucera	Screenwriter
Zdenek Bláha	Screenwriter
Václav Nývlt	Screenwriter
Bohumil Smída	Screenwriter
Ladislav Fikar	Screenwriter
Ladislav Hausdorf	Sound/Sound Designer
Vera Chytilova	Director

Editorial Reviews

A surrealist comedy way ahead of its time, Daisies uses unconventional film techniques in its telling of two girls' wholeheartedly creative way of destroying what surrounds them. An exemplary film in the Czech New Wave movement, Daisies was banned and found director Vera Chytilová out of work. With very little narrative structure, the slapstick antics of the two protagonists, both named Marie, are uniquely funny and subversive. They cut up and devour all life around them, sometimes literally with scissors, in defiantly positive acts of boredom and anger. Bookended by found footage of mushroom clouds, it is apparent that the threat of nuclear war is a source of their rebellion. Indifferent to their various dates, the girls also react against traditional values. Foretelling the D.I.Y. punk movement still a decade away, the girls cut images out of magazines and never stop creating. They cover their apartment in handwritten scribbles, break and smash things with glee, steal food, and even set their bedroom on fire. Eating food is a reoccurring theme that follows through to the denouement, where, in one long take, the two girls wreck an entire banquet hall in a wild tribute to the total disregard of domestic virtues. Then, wearing robotic costumes constructed of wrapped newspaper, they attempt to reset the table and clean everything up in a post-apocalyptic dance. While they robotically tend to the damage, their repeated whispers of propaganda messages are looped into a musical lullaby. The entire sound design is strikingly innovative, exaggerating the clicks of their high heels and associating their actions with disjointed sound elements. Stylistically, the film is sprinkled with numerous camera tricks, color filters, and jarring edits. With no character development -- purposely avoided to focus on theme rather than sense of self -- and a general lack of narrative, Daisies remains difficult for mainstream audiences, yet undoubtedly appears to be a visionary exploration of youth gone wild.