Krakatit: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (4K UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: Czechoslovakia, 1948
Director: Otakar Vávra
Writers: Otakar Vávra, Jaroslav Vávra
Cast: Karel Höger, Florence Marly, Eduard Linkers, Jiří Plachý, Nataša Tanská, František Smolík, Miroslav Homola, Vlasta Fabianová 

Release Date: May 12th, 2026
Approximate Running Time: 101 Minutes 2 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Czech
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.95

"“Long wandering,” a voice whispers in the brain of a man staggering along a misty riverbank, the night as fog-shrouded as his shattered mind.  Czech director Otakar Vávra’s astonishing KRAKATIT is a literal fever dream of a movie that mixes 1940s Film Noir, paranoid thriller and speculative atomic-bomb Sci-Fi in the story of a chemist named Prokop who hallucinates fragments of how he's invented a proto-nuclear weapon -- and the mystery of what's happened to the formula for it." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (4K UHD), 4.25/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Deaf Crocodile is thrilled to present the first-ever 4K UHD + Blu-ray release for this overlooked classic of Czech cinema and World Noir, beautifully restored in 4K by the Národní filmový archiv (NFA) in Prague and co-presented with the Comeback Company.

The goal of the digital restoration was to make the film available in a form similar to how it could have been seen and heard by an audience at the time when it was first released in 1948. As a result, various features that originate from the shooting of the film or its laboratory processing have been preserved and are evidence of the technologies and creative approaches of the time.

The source for the digitization was film materials preserved in the National Film Archive in Prague. The image was digitized from the original negative and the sound from the duplicate positive.

The restoration was done by the Hungarian Filmlab in Budapest, under supervision of the National Film Archive in Prague, in 2016."

Krakatit comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 77.6 GB

Feature: 68.1 GB

The restoration looks remarkable. That said, outside of a few very minor moments, the source looks excellent. Flesh tones look healthy; image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and there are no issues with digital noise reduction.

Krakatit comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 38.4 GB

Feature: 29.3 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 4.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Czech with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced, and ambient sounds are well-represented.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a video essay by film historian Clayton Dillard titled Krakatit: Moral Vertigo in the Nuclear Age (18 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with non-removable English subtitles for Czech film clips), an interview on Krakatit’s restoration with archivist Tereza Frodlová of the Národní filmový archiv, Prague, moderated by Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile (48 minutes 37 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with film historian Peter Hames and Czech film expert Irena Kovarova of Comeback Company.

Extras are the same on the Blu-ray disc.

Summary:

Krakatit was directed by Otakar Vávra, a filmmaker who was part of the Czech New Wave. He’s most known for The Merry Wives, Romance for Bugle, Witchhammer, and Veronica.

An engineer who creates a deadly bomb that could wipe out humanity retraces where he went wrong as he slips in and out of consciousness after being gravely injured from an explosion.

Krakatit is an adaptation of Karel Čapek’s novel of the same name. His novel features a nuclear-like explosive two decades before work on such a device began, while the film came out three years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The film serves as a strong condemnation of nuclear weapons, presenting an unflattering portrayal of those in power who desire war.

There is a striking text that opens the film that perfectly captures the protagonist's state of mind. That text reads, "The story takes place in the midst of a feverish dream. After the initial setup reveals what happened to the engineer and how he reached his current state, the narrative unfolds mainly through hallucinatory flashbacks. While many moments are rooted in reality, there are instances that challenge those boundaries, creating a juxtaposition between the two.

While the premise and its message against world annihilation are core to the film's foundation, one must overlook the importance of Karel Höger’s portrayal of Prokop, the engineer who created something that could wipe out humanity. Throughout the narrative, there are many instances where someone who wields power tries to get Prokop to give them his formula. He’s a man of strong moral character who now regrets what he’s created; unfortunately for him, he unlocked a Pandora's box.

Krakatit is a film that effortlessly blends genres until they no longer have borders. It is a mystery film, a science fiction film, and, at times, a surreal cinematic experience. The visuals are striking; they often employ odd angles, are filled with symbolism, and have a film noir-like quality to them. The mood of Krakatit is greatly enhanced by Jiří Srnka’s soul-piercing score that does an extraordinary job underscoring the protagonist's fractured mind. Ultimately, Krakatit is a powerful piece of filmmaking that has not lost any of its potency.

Deaf Crocodile gives Krakatit a definitive release. Highly recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of Krakatit that comes in a slipcase and a 60-page book with an essay by film critic Jonathan Owen and an essay by film critic Walter Chaw (Film Freak Central).

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer