The Golden Fern Blu-ray presents one of the most unjustly overlooked fantasy films of the 1960s, a haunting and visually ravishing Czech fairy tale directed by Jiří Weiss. Shot in breathtaking black-and-white widescreen, the film blends folklore, romance, and melancholy fantasy with a lyrical intensity that places it alongside the great works of European poetic cinema.
 
A young shepherd stumbles upon a mythical golden fern hidden deep within the forest, unknowingly setting fate in motion. The forest spirit Lesanka, sent to retrieve the enchanted plant, instead falls deeply in love with him. When the shepherd is conscripted into the army and sent to war, she sews a seed from the fern into his clothing to protect him. While away, however, he becomes entangled with the cold and commanding daughter of a general, who demands impossible trials to prove his devotion.
 
Balancing mythic romance with cruelty, longing, and transformation, The Golden Fern unfolds as a tragic fairy tale shaped by war, desire, and fate. Weiss collaborated with cinematographer Bedřich Baťka, also known for Marketa Lazarová, to create one of the most hypnotic black-and-white fantasy films of the era — rich in shadow, texture, and dreamlike imagery.
 
Long neglected outside its home country, the film has been lovingly restored and released by Deaf Crocodile in collaboration with the Národní filmový archív and Comeback Company. A major rediscovery for fans of dark fantasy and poetic cinema.
 
directed by: Jiří Weiss
starring: Karla Chadimová, Vít Olmer, Dana Smutná
1963 / 115 min / Czech with English subtitles