Before Tonight is Over world premieres on Blu-ray

UK-based company Second Run has published so far six Slovak films licensed by the Slovak Film Institute (SFI). The latest entry, Peter Solan's Before Tonight is Over (1965), will world premiere on Blu-ray on 14 June 2021.

One winter’s night in a Slovak mountain resort, customers gather in a nightclub seeking laughter, flirtation and fun. As the alcohol flows the evening unfolds in unpredictable ways, revealed through snatches of conversation and often absurd encounters.

Blu-ray edition includes special features. Two short films Operation BL (1959) and High Tatras (1966) reflect the locale and milieu of the film. A new filmed appreciation of the film A Conversation About Peter Solan and His Film ‘Before Tonight is Over’ (2020) talks about the socio-political situation in Czechoslovakia, the beginnings and other work of Peter Solan and, last but not least, the specific approach of shooting the film Before Tonight is Over. „Within the context of Slovak cinema, Solan’s experiment was something totally unusual. It broke with conventional narrative, traditional approaches to visual storytelling, and character motivation. While it emerged at the same time as the early New Wave films of Miloš Forman, it doesn’t replicate his ‘documentary’ style and concern for a ‘working class’ environment. Solan uses actors who are consciously ‘acting’ yet placed in situations in which they are required to respond to unexpected developments and situations. They are not observed with the same detachment as Forman or Loach but their situations also give rise to insecurities and spontaneous reaction.“ – an excerpt from the booklet essay by Peter Hames.

Second Run specializes in the release of important and award-winning films from all around the world. Its portfolio includes The Sun in the Net (1962) by Štefan Uher, Birds, Orphans and Fools (1969) by Juraj Jakubisko, Pictures of the Old World (1972) by Dušan Hanák, Dragon's Return (1967) by Eduard Grečner, The Miraculous Virgin (1966) by Štefan Uher and Tenderness (1991) by Martin Šulík.

Related AIC articles:
2020: Tenderness world premieres on Blu-ray
2018: Second Run will release The Miraculous Virgin on Blu-ray and DVD
2015: Second Run releases Pictures of the Old World
2015: Second Run releases Dragon´s Return
2014: Second Run Releases Jakubisko´s Birds, Orphans and Fools
2013: The Sun in a Net on Second Run DVD
2013: Malavida collection of films by Stefan Uher
2010: Slovak films released on malavida DVDs

published: 10.06.2021
updated: 10.06.2021