Jaroslav Hasek's episodic 1923 novel, which might be described as a World War I counterpart to Catch 22, receives committed but overly broad treatment from adapter-director Karel Stekly in this 1956 film. Rudolf Hrusinsky, who looks rather like the Three Stooges' Curly Howard, stars as the naively honest, obstinately self-confident but invariably clumsy Czech commoner who stumbles into a series of misadventures in the aftermath of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo in 1914. Accused of disloyalty to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he's declared mentally incompetent and hospitalized before becoming the servant of a drunkard army chaplain and then of a snooty officer (an inveterate womanizer whom he helps rescue from an angry husband only to later get him into trouble with a general). The overarching theme, of course, is the absurdity of war and the military mindset, with Schweik serving repeatedly as the catalyst for revealing the ineptitude and villainy of his purportedly more respectable superiors. The problem with this version of the story is that while it has spirit (and Hrusinsky makes an engaging fool), it lacks style, though it is preferable to the 1960 German adaptation by Axel von Ambesser with Heinz R(hmann in the lead. Be advised, however, that this DVD ends in mid-story, just as Schweik is about to be sent into battle, so prospective buyers will also want to acquire the 1957 sequel The Good Soldier Schweik 2 (Beg to Report, Sir), also newly available (separately for $29.95, or together for $49.95). Bonus features on this disc include a still gallery and a video scrapbook of press books and newspaper ads. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
The Good Soldier Schweik
Facets, 101 min., in Czech w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 20, Issue 3
The Good Soldier Schweik
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