Lunacy is a 2005 Czech film by Jan Švankmajer

Jan Švankmajer

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his surreal animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, the Brothers Quay, and many others.- Life and career :Jan...

. The film is loosely based on two short stories, "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether

"The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether" is a comedic short story written by American author Edgar Allan Poe.-Plot summary:The story follows an unnamed narrator who visits a mental institution in southern France known for a revolutionary new method of treating mental illnesses called the...

" and "The Premature Burial

The Premature Burial

"The Premature Burial" is a horror short story on the theme of being buried alive, written by Edgar Allan Poe and published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper. Fear of being buried alive was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest...

", by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

. It is also partly inspired by the works of the Marquis de Sade

Marquis de Sade

Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...

. The film was shot between October 2004 and April 2005, on location in the village of Peruc

Peruc

Peruc is a market town in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 2,100 inhabitants.The villages of Černochov, Hřivčice, Chrastín, Pátek, Radonice nad Ohří, Stradonice and Telce are administrative parts of Peruc....

 close to Prague, and in Švankmajer's studio in the village of Knovíz

Knovíz

Knovíz is a village and municipality in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is located about 25 km northwest of Prague and 4 km southeast from Slaný. The municipality covers an area of 4.23 km² and as of 2006 it had a population of 515. Knovíz...

.

Box office

The film grossed $48,324 in the US and $85,658 from foreign markets for a grand total of $133,982.

External links

• Lunacy at Metacritic
  Metacritic
  Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...