New 4K Restoration!

Dissatisfied with single life and eyeing marriage, an unnamed fortysomething bachelorette (Bohdalová) decides to rekindle a relationship with her old childhood friend (Mensík). But when he arrives for an elaborately prepared dinner rendezvous, her suitor reveals himself to be a boorish, arrogant glutton. Undeterred, she pushes herself to increasingly absurd and surreal ends in romancing this nightmare date… who may just be the devil himself!

The sole directorial outing from legendary Czechoslovakian New Wave costume designer and writer Ester Krumbachová (DAISIES), MURDERING THE DEVIL is a feast for the senses, pushing Krumbachová’s signature production style to dizzying and sumptuous heights. Boasting all the makings of an uproariously funny New Wave classic in 1969, the film’s potential was quickly hamstrung by Eastern Bloc censorship. Half a century later, this prescient skewering of rom-com conventions has been beautifully restored in 4K by the Czech Film Archive and is finally ready to meet the audience it’s always deserved. – Arbelos Films

“After decades in the shadows of film history, the time to rediscover this eccentric gem has come!” – Olaf Möller, IFFR

“A subversive anti-rom-com that cooly cuts male chauvinism down to size and luxuriates in female pleasure” – Film at Lincoln Center

“The 1960s saw a remarkable cinematic renaissance in what was then called Czechoslovakia, and Ester Krumbachová was its renaissance woman” – Jonathan Owen, Criterion Collection