Taxidermia

Chasm Films is a label dedicated to curating a catalogue of under-seen, under-appreciated and underground world genre cinema.

In Hungary during World War II, Vendel Morosgoványi (Csaba Czene) indulges his outlandish sexual fantasies while stationed at an isolated military outpost. Decades later, his illegitimate child Kálmán Balatony (Gergely Trócsányi) has become a professional speed-eater who dreams of consuming his way to fame and fortune. Instead, he grows old and immobile, cared for by his son Lajoska Balatony (Marc Bischoff), a taxidermist determined to leave behind a great work of art when he dies. Written and directed by perhaps Hungary’s greatest working filmmaker, György Pálfi’s Taxidermia blends body horror, black comedy and astonishing aesthetic beauty to paint a fascinating portrait of Hungary from the 1940s to the twenty-first century.

BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES

• World Blu-ray premiere
• High-definition digital transfer
• New interview with director György Pálfi
• New audio commentary by writer and film historian Michael Brooke
• The Making of Taxidermia (2006)
• Shaman vs Icarus (Táltosember vs Ikarus, 2003) and The Fish (A Hal, 1997) – two short films by György Pálfi
• Erdő (2006) – music video by Hollywoodoo presented in original and director’s cut versions
• Géza Szöllősi’s Artbook – extensive image gallery of work by art designer Géza Szöllősi
• Deleted scenes
• Trailer
• Newly improved English subtitles
• Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Anna Batori, author of The Extreme Cinema of Eastern Europe (2023) and Space in Romanian and Hungarian Cinema (2018)
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, featuring an O-card slipcase with new artwork by John Dunn, full-height Scanavo packaging and reversible sleeve featuring original artwork by Géza Szöllősi and alternative artwork by John Dunn