The Party and the Guests (Blu-ray)

A group of friends enjoying a bucolic day in the country are accosted by mysterious figures who compel them to join an unexplained lavish banquet in the woods. A barbed satire of authoritarianism and conformity unfolds, as each new guest finds their place amongst the revellers, succumbing to the will of their menacing hosts.

Jan Němec’s surreal and sinister fable was considered one of the most politically dangerous films of its era. Made during the short flowering of the Czechoslovak New Wave in the 1960s, it was subsequently ‘banned forever’ by the authorities.

This edition of The Party and the Guests from Second Run also contains Jiří Trnka's renowned animated short film The Hand (1965), another surreal and savage indictment of totalitarianism (again banned by Czech authorities), making its world premiere on Blu-ray.

• The Party and the Guests (O slavnosti a hostech, 1966) presented from an HD transfer of the new 4K restoration by the Czech National Film Archive.
• The Hand (Ruka, 1965): Jiří Trnka's renowned animated film presented from a new HD restoration and for the first time ever on Blu-ray.
• Audio commentary by author Jonathan Owen.
• Projection Booth audio commentary with film historians Mike White, Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger.
• A filmed appreciation by Peter Hames.
• 24-page booklet featuring Michael Brooke's substantial essay on the film and Jan Němec.
• New and improved English subtitle translation.
• World premiere on Blu-ray.
• Region-free Blu-ray (A/B/C)