Daisies [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

Criterion Collection / (Mono)

Overview

Jitka Cerhova and Ivana Karbanova star as two teenage girls who leech off of older men for fun in this lighthearted comedy. The girls, both named Mary, seem to have no particular ambition or vocation and are content to let the various men in their lives pay the way. The two start out on a beach before meeting some men at a nightclub, and they end up smashing items in an empty banquet hall. There is a pie fight and one of them attempts suicide before her friend saves her by turning off the gas valve to the stove. The two teens end up on the beach where they began their adventures. This avant-garde styled comedy takes satirical jabs at society, materialism and has an anti-establishment flavor. It is considered one of the key films of the Czech New Wave movement.

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:	3,661

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ivana Karbanov?	Marie II the Blonde
Jitka Cerhov?	Marie I the Brunette
Marie Ceskov?	Woman in the Toilet,nm11884753
Jirina Myskova	Toilet Assistant
Marcela Brezinov?	Toilet Assistant
Julius Albert	Elder Playboy
Oldrich Hora	Playboy(as Dr. Oldrich Hora)
Jan Klusak	Younger Playboy
V?clav Chochola	Josef Kon?cek
Josef Kon?cek	Dancer in the Cabaret
Jarom?r Vom?cka	Cheerful Man
Miroslava Bab?rkov?	Woman in the Train Window
J. Bartos	Muscle Man
Oldrich Basus	Musician
A. Dr?bek	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

V?ra Chytilov?

Pavel Jur?cek

Ester Krumbachova

Jaroslav Kucera

Zdenek Bl?ha

V?clav N?vlt

Bohumil Sm?da

Ladislav Fikar

V?ra Chytilov?	Screenwriter
Pavel Jur?cek	Screenwriter
Ester Krumbachova	Screenwriter
Jaroslav Kucera	Screenwriter
Zdenek Bl?ha	Screenwriter
V?clav N?vlt	Screenwriter
Bohumil Sm?da	Screenwriter
Ladislav Fikar	Screenwriter
Ladislav Hausdorf	Sound/Sound Designer

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.