Criterion Collection: Diamonds of the Night

Director: Jan Nemec Jan Nemec

Overview

Diamonds of the Night is set in Czechoslovakia during World War II. Ladislav Jansky and Antonin Kumbera play two Jewish youths who escape from a concentration camp-bound train. Captured by local peasants on a charge of stealing bread, the boys are sentenced to a firing squad. It turns out that the villagers have no real stomach for killing, and the boys merely go through the motions of a mock execution. They are let go, and continue their journey to freedom. Diamonds of the Night was originally released as Demanty Noci.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/16/2019
UPC:	0715515228619
Original Release:	1964
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Time:	1:07:00
Sales rank:	16,637

Special Features

New 4k digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack; Interview from 2009 with Director Jan Nemec; A Loaf of Bread, Nemec's 1960 student thesis film, based on a short story by Arnost Lustig; Arnost Lustig Through the Eyes of Jan Nemec, a short documentary from 1993; New interview with film programmer Irena Kovarova; New video essay on the film's stylistic influences by scholar James Quandt; New English Subtitle Translation; Plus: An Essay by film critic Michael Atkinson

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ladislav Jansky	1st Boy
Antonin Kumbera	2nd Boy

Technical Credits

Jan Nemec

Arnost Lustig

Jan Nemec	Director,Screenwriter
Oldrich Bosak	Art Director
Miroslav Hajek	Editor
Ester Krumbachova	Costumes/Costume Designer
Jaroslav Kucera	Cinematographer
Arnost Lustig	Screenwriter