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Cut to ten years later and the Criterion Collection released the film on Blu-ray after Janus Films toured a brand new 4K restoration. Using the original camera and sound negatives, this absolutely stunning work was made in collaboration between the Národní filmový archiv, Prague, the Czech Film Fund and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (where earlier this year a magnificent restoration of her 1970 film “Paradise Fruit” was also screened).
Chytilová begins her film with bombed footage from World War II with scenes of a spinning gear. Militaristic drums announce the arrival of her main characters: Mari (Ivana Karbanova) and Mari (Zhitka Cherkhova). Deciding that since “everything goes wrong in this world” they might as well go bad. What follows is 76 minutes of pure riotous mayhem. From stalking fine dining professionals to upsetting respectable couples in a nightclub, the Marias devote themselves to hedonistic pleasures while trying to find signs of their own existence.
In one of the Blu-ray extras, film programmer Irena Kovarova discusses how Khitilova “always wanted to get to the heart of the film’s theme, and for ‘Daisies’ that theme is destruction.” That destruction—sometimes by setting fires, trampling crops , slashing each other with scissors and destroying a formal banquet through the biggest food fight in all of cinema—contrasts with the rich colors of the girls’ world. Their bright dresses, the greenery of their apartment—designed by co-writer Ester Krumbachová—stand out more vividly in this restoration than any version available before.
Other special features on this disc include an insightful 2004 documentary by Yasmina Blazevic, which includes extensive interviews with Hytilova herself. During the 55-minute documentary, the director reveals that she decided to attend the School of Film and Television at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) because she did not like the rigidity of the films made by the institution. “I wanted absolute freedom. Even if it was a mistake,” she recalls. Blazevic mixes footage from Khitilova’s interview with rare 16mm home movies shot by Chytilova’s then-husband and associate cinematographer Yaroslav Kucera. Anyone who loves Agnès Varda’s open candor towards the end of her career will find herself fascinated by Chytilová’s clear-eyed and often scathing examination of her own creative and personal life.
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