Józef visits his dying father at a remote mental institution, where time itself doesn’t seem to exist, and the line between dreams and memories become indistinguishable.

Adapted from a selection of short stories from Polish-jewish writer Bruno Schultz, Wojciech J. Has’s masterpiece of surrealist Polish cinema is a phantasmagoric look at the collective trauma of the Holocaust.

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Video Quality

The Hourglass Sanatorium debuts on Blu-Ray in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with a 1080p master derived presumably from the recent 4K restoration of the original camera negative which was touring around repertory screenings the past few years. The best word to describe this presentation is beautiful. The whimsical photography which captures the varied environments sparkles in high definition with natural grain intact and nicely resolved. There is a fantastic amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and the insanely intricate production design.

The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail even when the visuals are intended to be hazy. There are certain elements of the makeup and production design that look quite striking in their clarity. Black levels are pretty deep with no trace of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and there is virtually no print damage to be found outside a few stray moments. Colors are not extremely vibrant, but if you watch the special features you will understand this is by design and due to the quality of the film available in Poland. Yellow Veil Pictures has done a miraculous job with this transfer in a way that should make anyone who decides to pick up this obscure feature extremely happy.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio split mono track in the original Polish (with optional English subtitles). Dialogue comes through perfectly clear without sound effects or the score overshadowing important information. The film employs some unique sound effects in the form of environmental peccadilloes that are given the appropriate presence within the mix. The film is largely dialogue-driven, but the odyssey undertaken by Józef is filled with prominent sonic characteristics that spring to life in the mix. The score comes through nicely in relation to the competing sounds. This track presents everything accurately with pleasing fidelity and without damage or other unwanted issues. Yellow Veil Pictures has done a fine job with this release.

Special Features

Introduction: An optional seven-minute introduction is provided in which Film Professor Annette Insdorf discusses her personal relationship with the work of Wojciech Has, the source material from which the film was adapted, the filmmaking style of the feature, the journey of the lead character and more that gives some nice context to the feature.

Critical Assessment By Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf: A nearly ten-minute piece in which the scholar discusses the way in which the movie tells you how to watch it, how sexuality and femininity is portrayed in the film, various visual motifs and more.

Interview with Film Critic Sebastian Smoliński: A 20-minute featurette in which the critic delves into the film with a greater focus on how it relates to the world at large, where it stands within Polish cinema, the visual aesthetic of the film, the surrealistic tendencies of the narrative, the involvement with Jewish themes and more that is well worth a watch.

Booklet: A multi-page booklet is included in this release which features the essays “Sanatorium: From Bruno Schulz To Wojciech Has” by Film Professor Annette Insdorf and “The Dreamer Is Still Asleep: Living Memory In Wojciech Has’s The Hourglass Sanatorium” by Film Historian Samm Deighan, both of which gives a great amount of context to the filmmaker and the movie itself in a way that is quite illuminating.

Final Thoughts

The Hourglass Sanatorium is a bizarre and stunning journey through time and the human psyche. You can feel the influence this had on higher profile favorites that followed, but this is a fantastical odyssey that deserves its own time in the spotlight. The vision of Wojciech Has is a bit of a wonder to behold, and you cannot help but admire all the boundaries that are pushed throughout this film. This is one that you will want to return to more than once to get even more out of it. Yellow Veil Pictures has released a terrific Blu-Ray in conjunction with Vinegar Syndrome which sports a top-tier A/V presentation and a nice assortment of special features. If you enjoy cinematic oddities that do not adhere to realism, get to this one sooner rather than later. Highly Recommended

The Hourglass Sanatorium is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Yellow Veil Pictures and Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.