DVD review (region 2)
Directed by Wojciech Has
Starring Zbigniew Cybulski, Iga Cembrzynska
Release date Out now

In the Napoleonic wars, an army captain unearths a book which tells the story of his grandfather’s strange adventures in the Sierra Morena mountains…

The Saragossa Manuscript is one of those titles that is as well known for its famous fans (most notably Martin Scorsese, Jerry Garcia and Francis Ford Coppola who financed its 1990s restoration) as it is for the film itself. Hopefully this DVD release will introduce Wojciech Has’s mesmerising and frequently baffling experience to a whole new audience.

Admittedly, a three-hour dose of Polish magic realism doesn’t sound like a fun night in. Yet thanks to its flourishes of humour and captivating characters, the film remains surprising accessible, and is more like a collection of loosely linked short stories than an unwieldy epic. Has’s eerie-looking movie takes in ghosts, love, madness, religion, war and much more. You emerge feeling slightly dazed, but better off for the experience.

As good as it is to see the movie on DVD for the first time at all, there are no accompanying extras. James Skipp

VERDICT: 8/10
A lengthy but rewarding oddity.