Product Details

• Actors: Csaba Czene, Gergely Trócsányi, Marc Bischoff, István Gyuricza, Piroska Molnár
• Directors: György Pálfi
• Writers: Lajos Parti Nagy, György Pálfi, Zsófia Ruttkay
• Producers: Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Alexandre Mallet-Guy, Emilie Georges, Gabriele Kranzelbinder
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Hungarian
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: E1 Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: April 6, 2010
• Run Time: 91 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0030U1TUW
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,305 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Taxidermia" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the nightmarish imagination of György Palfi comes Taxidermia, a surrealistic assault on the senses following three generations of men (an obese speed eater, an embalmer of giant cats, and a man who shoots flames out of his penis), who are all damned from birth.

BONUS FEATURE: Making-of Featurette.

Product Description

TAXIDERMIA - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another fine movie without an American release-- surprise!, February 7, 2009

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taxidermia ( Taxidermia - Der Ausstopfer ) ( Taxidermie ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ] (DVD)

Taxidermia (Gyorgy Palfi, 2006)

Much has been made of the weird factor in Gyorgy Palfi's Taxidermia; I'm not sure whether it says more about the film or about me that I didn't see anything terribly out of the ordinary until the last ten minutes or so. There certainly wasn't anything weirder than one might find in an average John Waters movie until then. So why all the hate-on for what is, when it comes right down to it, a clever and well-crafted family drama, what might happen were, say, Dusan Makavejev to team up with Alexander Mackendrick to film a version of Jeffrey Archer's Kane and Abel, except about the lower-rent portions of society? (And yes, those who have been following my review for a very long time will know the accord I give all three of those artists, and yes, I'm placing Palfi in the same stratum.) Given my lack of weirdness-perception, the question then becomes, is it a good movie for someone who doesn't recognize the weird? Go back and reread the sentence before the question, and I think you'll already know where I stand on the issue. But my job is to review things, not just tell you how great they are. So I must keep typing, and you, dear reader, must keep reading.

Taxidermia tells the story of three generations of a dysfunctional Hungarian family. Grandfather, whose name is Vendel Morosgovanyi (Csaba Czene), is a low-ranking soldier during World War II who likes spying on the camp women when they bathe. This leads--though not at all in the natural way--to the birth of a son, Kalman Balatony (Gergely Trocsanyi), who, thanks to his upbringing, becomes a competitive eater in the seventies. He, in turn, marries the female competitive eating champion and the two of them have a son, Oreg (Gabor Mate), a taxidermist in contemporary Hungary. Needless to say I'm skipping over the details; the spoilerific nature of the film has little to do with its plot and everything to do with the details of the lives of these three men and those around them.

Not that there's actually much to spoil here. This isn't a movie whose story lends itself to a great deal of suspense; it is spectacle, in the grand meaning of that term. It shows us what we already know. (For some reason, from here I want to draw a comparison to Cecil B. DeMille's biblical epics. I am resisting the temptation.) It does so in notable, and somewhat extreme ways; while I'm not willing to go as far as weird (and certainly not as far as shocking), these aren't images one sees on film all that often. (And yet there is very little here one didn't see in Bela Tarr's Satantango, which is probably also a telling comparison, at least as to how my head works.) If you're going into it without really knowing much about the imagery, then I should probably caution you that the movie does contain some things, simulated or no, which some folks might find offensive, including animal slaughter, male full frontal nudity, and the consumption of forty-five kilos of red caviar in twenty minutes. I leave it to the prospective viewer to decide which of those is more offensive (and I've left out a choice item or two to prevent this review from being redlined). Still, I recommend the movie unreservedly, given that it manages to combine a slow pace and a gripping narrative, something that very few films are able to do successfully. I believe Palfi has a bright future in the film industry. (Someone in Hungary obviously agrees with me, as Taxidermia was Hungary's entry in the 2008 Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards, and deservedly so.) ****

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where's the Pepto-Bismol?, November 22, 2009

By 

sft (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taxidermia ( Taxidermia - Der Ausstopfer ) ( Taxidermie ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - Australia ] (DVD)

This is a mordant, darkly comic tale of obsession spanning three generations. Captivating in its grossness, this is definitely not one for the squeamish. It's difficult to divine exactly what this movie is supposed to tell us, if it's attempting to tell us anything at all. The characters are uniformly grotesque, the plot is slight, and any possible meaning is distinctly nebulous. Palfi appeals to the viewer's voyeuristic tendencies and, it has to be said, not much else. But as a study of bodily compulsions it's interesting enough.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intelligent black comedy with plenty of nastiness, March 23, 2011

By 

Patrick Wilkinson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taxidermia (DVD)

What do you get when you put together an orderly during WWII, a professional eater, and a taxidermist? Well, I'll tell you. You get a concoction of grotesque imagery, hilarious situations and a strong need for a shower. This is a story about a very strange Hungarian family over the course of three generations. A disturbing film with a lot of dark comedy "Taxidermia" also provides an intelligent commentary on the lengths humans take with their obsessions of the body.

"Taxidermia" is director György Pálfi second feature film following the highly unique "Hukkle". Pálfi takes a more discomforting turn in this outing but keeps the dark humor he showcased in his first feature. This film has it's "WTF" moments, but in the end it is a well made film with some unforgettable scenes and a successfully artsy ending.

"Taxidermia" is film about three generations of Hungarians. First, an orderly during WWII who is abused and mistreated. During a night of insanity he fathers an illegitimate son who ends up being raised by the orderly's Lieutenant. The son grows to be a champion in the sport of speed eating, a sport that is on the brink of epicness it seems. Finally the speed eater marries and produces a skinny pale son who grows to be a skilled taxidermist. We witness the psychosis of the orderly, the gluttony of speed eating and finally the beauty of the taxidermist. Be prepared to laugh, puke, laugh and puke a little more.

Visually the film is remarkable. Cinematographer Gergely Pohárnok returns from "Hukkle" providing excellent camera transitions and some unique "crane" shots. Veronika Merlin's art direction is also wonderful, the set pieces and costumes were very impressive and lent to the films gloomy yet comedic undertones. Along with the photography the music was phenomenal. Scored primarily by electronic artist Amon Tobin, I would say the music was the highlight for me.

Make no mistake about it, "Taxidermia" is a difficult watch. Most probably won't even get through the first sequence. But with an open mind and an understanding of where this film is coming from it can be a very enjoyable experience. The mixture of troubling visuals, intelligent inner commentary and family relationship lessons makes this an easy recommendation for me.

I look forward to more from director György Pálfi. I've enjoyed his first two films and know that his uniqueness will bring forth even more depraved yet intelligent films in the future.