Out of the two sisters who primarily populate Juraj Herz’s 1972 Czech film Morgiana, the title character is neither. It is, rather, the all-seeing cat that stealthily stalks around Viki and Klara’s (both Iva Janzurova) estates, the only character that sees through the various hallucinations and guilt-addled manifestations and a natural stand-in for the audience’s eye as well. Herz and co-screenwriter Vladimir Bor adapt Morgiana from a novel by Alexander Grin, but here the visual nature of the film medium seems a natural choice for the paranoia at play throughout the storyline; symbolic imagery is rife throughout, and the Victorian setting allots a beautiful Gothic aesthetic that likely encouraged a number of witch ensembles curated from the bride of Dracula costumery that Viki dons. But most of all, Morgiana‘s evocations of playful debauchery and dread split between two distinct personalities are the main draw, aided by Janzurova’s transformative duality.
The film explores the strife between sisters Viki and Klara, both of whom inherit large sums of money from their deceased father at the outset of the movie. Klara gets the summery home they’ve both lived in, while Viki plans to move to the more isolated Green Flute, away from her sister; quickly Herz makes it clear that Viki is jealous of Klara’s romantic suitors (no surprise with her sunnier disposition) and Viki devises a scheme with a fortune teller (Nina Diviskova) to poison Klara with an odorless liquid that will slowly kill her so as to not arouse suspicions. Unfortunately for Viki, mistrust abounds – she’s not sure she can trust the fortune teller’s poison, and after her move to Green Flute she has no insight into whether Klara’s really sick or not. Throughout Morgiana, Herz transitions between the two sisters in their fraught states: Viki in constant paranoia that her plan is foiled or that she’ll be caught for her misdeeds, and Klara sickened with thirst and hallucinating psychedelic visions while trying to figure out her illness.
Morgiana is a beautiful film, first and foremost. The Bulgarian coastline backdrop and expansive architecture become characters themselves, and for both sisters the sprawling environment almost becomes a nemesis itself. And Janzurova is fantastic trading off between both sisters’ differing viewpoints, excellently morphing into a brooding shrew as Viki until it’s time to shift back to the bright, naive Klara. The change is so good, in fact, that it truly does often seem like Viki and Klara are different actresses, as compelling a critique of Janzurova’s acting as can be given. For those looking for the epitome of Gothic elements, they need look no further than Morgiana – in fact, some could base their whole identities around the Victorian Elvira look Viki sports.
The film is at its best when it’s exploring Viki, too; she’s a more compelling character with additional flaws that her angelic sister doesn’t seem to have. The audience can relate better to her, since Klara is often painted with such perfection that it becomes difficult to see any undermining qualities. Morgiana works in shades of dread, sometimes adding a comical conceit to the proceedings given that Viki doesn’t immediately recognize the dire straits she’s gotten herself into. Throughout, she obsesses over the poison wondering if it’s water, eventually giving it to a dog but walking away before she can verify it truly drinks; then, her obsession shifts to the dog, and a child that possibly drank it instead, and then her cat Morgiana. This element of the unknown means the audience is never quite sure where Herz will take things next, providing the most entertaining elements of the movie.
However, later developments in the film weaken some of the anxiety Herz has created. At some point, the focus moves away from both Viki and Klara to a soldier Klara has been seeing. An elongated poker sequence and a rowdy visit to a brothel follow, effectively dissipating the conjured dread and muddying the direction. It feels unnecessary and overlong, as well as offering little thematic justification. Another obvious complaint is the simplicity of Herz’s imagery, which relies on some age-old ideas like black vs. white and reflection that come off as fairly shallow.
Regardless, Morgiana still manages to feel refreshing with its tale of female deception, and its Poe-like suspense due to unreliability creates a pervading sense of doom that carries throughout. Despite a few missteps, Herz’s depiction of female psychosis is compelling and, when paired with Janzurova’s acting abilities and the excellent Victorian Gothic atmosphere, easily earns a recommendation for the experience alone.
Blu-ray
Morgiana appears on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films’ House of Psychotic Women Volume 2 boxset, and it has received a new scan in 4K from the original camera negative with film materials provided by the Nardoni filmovy archiv, Prague. This release is presented in the original 1.37:1 aspect ratio and looks quite good, retaining a medium-bodied grain scale that resolves nicely throughout the movie. Overall video quality remains consistently strong, showcasing detail of background textures including the various costume designs and Gothic manors. The film utilizes a number of close-up shots which depict appropriate skin textures. Occasional softness is present. The film negative looks to be in good shape with minimal signs of damage or wear. Of note is the particular rosy-hued color grading, which adds an interesting warmth to the proceedings along with remaining artistically and aesthetically appealing. Overall, this transfer looks quite good, and seems to improve on the picture quality of a previous Blu-ray release by Second Run.
Audio also comes from the original sound negative and is a DTS-HD 2.0 mono Czech track with default English subtitles. Morgiana is somewhat unique in that it does not feature much in the way of engineered sound effects, with most on-screen elements remaining silent. The other sounds, including soundtrack, are quite good, with a robust bass offering that enhances the bombastic timpani-led score while maintaining a good dialogue balance.
Severin has collected a nice et of extras for this film in the Psychotic Women series. The first is an introduction to the film by Kier-La Janisse, a quick interview that serves as an excellent recap of the film including a rundown of Herz’s oeuvre and serving to contextualize Morgiana within Czech cinema. A new audio commentary with Briony Kidd and Cerise Howard offers a conversational appreciation of the film and its themes, as well more detail about the creation of the film, including various facts about the shooting schedule and production. It’s a great listen that is aided by the critics’ knowledge of Czech cinema.
A new interview with Iva Janzurova is included where she documents her initial involvement in film and how she came to take on both roles in Morgiana. A new animated featurette called “The Stone Forest” outlines the locales and setting of Morgiana, including a history of the sacred site of stone outcroppings that become important within the film. An archival made-for-TV vampire rock musical called “Nightmares” is also included, directed by Herz and presented without English subtitles. Finally, Rachael Amodeo’s 1998 short film “Rest in Peace” is included with a new 2K scan.
Extra Features
- NEW scanned in 4K from the original camera negative by The National Film Archive in Prague
- NEW Introduction By Kier-La Janisse, Author Of House Of Psychotic Women (1080p; 3:38)
- NEW Audio Commentary With Stranger With My Face Festival Director Briony Kidd And Cerise Howard, Co-Founder Of The Czech And Slovak Film Festival Of Australia
- NEW Little Drop Of Poison – Actress Iva Janžurová Remembers MORGIANA (1080p; 14:42)
- NEW The Stone Forest – Commissioned Short Film On Shooting Location Pobiti Kamani, Animated By Leslie Supnet And Narrated By Kier-La Janisse (1080p; 6:25)
- NIGHTMARES – Juraj Herz’ 1970 Vampire Rock Musical Made For Czech TV (1080p; 26:22)
- NEW REST IN PEACE – 2K scan of short film by Rachel Amodeo (1080p; 13:18)
Verdict
Morgiana is a visually-arresting Gothic film presented in fine fashion with this new 4K scan thanks to the National Film Archive and Severin. This Blu-ray as part of the House of Psychotic Women Volume 2 boxset collects a number of special features adding important context to this release.
