IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

In recent years, Second Run, a British boutique video label dedicated to art films and classics, has become my “go to” place for weirdo Czechoslovakian films (not that I knew I needed a “go to” place for weirdo Czech films prior to diving into the Second Run catalog). While Second Run is situated in the United Kingdom, most of their Blu-ray releases have been Region Free, allowing cinephiles worldwide to discover and enjoy the forgotten classics that they’ve restored and distributed. Amongst their releases in the past few years were pristine restorations of the Czech fantasy films of Karel Zeman, Invention For Destruction a.k.a The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958) and The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1961), both of which made my “Picks of the Year” lists. I also had the pleasure to review Second Run’s release of the 1963 Czech science fiction film, Ikarie XB 1, which was a forerunner of serious-minded sci-fi like Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) and Solaris (1972). 

I’ve come to expect interesting things from Second Run, and they certainly do not disappoint with their latest region-free Blu-ray release, Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea (Zítra vstanu a opařím se čajem, 1977). This intriguingly titled film turns out to be the work of Jindřich Polák, the director of Ikarie XB 1. However, the two movies could not be more different. Ikarie XB 1 is a cold, serious black & white film that feels like the missing branch in the family tree between Forbidden Planet (1956) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Whereas, Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea is a goofy, colorful time travel comedy with special effects on par with Tom Baker-era Doctor Who.

The plot is wonderfully complex. In the far future of 1995, a luxury time travel industry has grown up in Prague. Tourists can rocket to the past to view dinosaurs, ancient Egypt, or the French Revolution, while safely locked inside a space capsule, to avoid accidentally disrupting the timestream. A group of Nazis (Jirí Sovák, Vladimír Mensík, and Vlastimil Brodský), who have managed to stay alive using anti-aging pills, hatch a plan to to travel back to 1944 to deliver a stolen atom bomb to Adolf Hitler (František Vicena) and win World War II. The plan requires an inside man in order to open the rocket, so they enlist womanizing pilot Karel Bures (Petr Kostka). Fortunately for world history, Karel chokes to death while eating breakfast the morning of the flight. When Karel’s nicer, more responsible twin brother Jan (Petr Kostka again) cannot bear to tell Karel’s fiancée Eva (Zuzana Ondrouchová) of Karel’s death, he has the doctor write “Jan” on the death certificate and takes his brother’s place. Being a rocket designer, he knows how to do Karel’s job, but he knows nothing of the Nazi plot he’s stepping into.

The plot is the best thing about Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea. While the script was based on a short story by Josef Nesvadba, the farcical sensibility of the screenplay was the result of the involvement of Milos Macourek, a writer known for genre-bending comedies. Macourek was responsible for many of the unexpected plot turns (which I won’t spoil here), some of which Nesvadba poo-pooed until he saw the finished film. The latter half of the movie is filled with the paradoxes that inevitably crop up when time travel is involved. These paradoxes are well thought out, and the ultimate payoff is satisfying and unpredictable.

The vision of the “future” of 1995 is also well considered. Life is presented largely unaltered from the 1970s, with the exception of the time travel element and a handful of technological innovations that are sparingly sprinkled throughout the story. Some may find the low budget special effects used to bring these futuristic touches to life to be cheesy, but I found the artificiality of the opticals to be part of the fun.

While I was heavily invested in the plot, I did have one major issue with Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea. I didn’t find it very funny. Of course, humor is subjective, so your mileage my vary. I can only speak for myself when I say that I found the humor lacking. I don’t think my problems with the film were due to any deficiency in the script or a case of humor being culturally lost in translation. In fact, I found the farcical situations humorous and clever throughout (so much so that I did enjoy the film despite the lack of laughs). My problem was more in the approach that was taken with the material. The physical bits were poorly staged and came off as awkward. Worse yet, attempts at humor were sometimes punctuated by sound effects or musical “Mickey Mousing,” which I personally find more annoying than a laugh track. My overall takeaway was that Jindřich Polák may simply not have been a good director of comedy.

The performances are a bit of a mixed bag, which could also be due to the director’s unease with the genre. Petr Kostka is immensely likeable in the dual role of Jan and Karel. Whether he’s playing laid back (Karel) or flustered (Jan), he is believable and charming. However, he does seem uncomfortable with some of the physical comedic business. For example, his choking scene feels more amateurish than intentionally ridiculous. Other actors acquit themselves perfectly. Jirí Sovák strikes just the right comedic tone as the lead Nazi, and František Vicena is one of the best cinematic Hitlers I’ve seen, coming off as both pathetic and menacing. However, I found Vladimír Mensík, as Rolf Kraus, a loudly dressed, boorish Nazi, to be painful to watch at times, as he alternatively mugged too much or reacted too little.

While far from a perfect film, I’m thankful for Second Run’s Blu-ray release of Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea. I would have never heard of the film otherwise, and I ultimately enjoyed it. In fact, I hope that Second Run releases more Milos Macourek-scripted films. I’d be interested in seeing his work handled by a different director. In fact, I kept thinking that there are so many good elements in Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea, it would be an excellent candidate for a modern remake.

I’m unsure whether Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea is a good bad movie or a bad good movie, but I do know that several days after my initial watch, it is a film that I can’t get out of my head. I’m sure I will revisit it. If you enjoy weird cinema, Second Run’s region-free Blu-ray is well worth a look.

Czech/C-95m./Dir: Jindřich Polák/Wr: Jindřich Polák and Milos Macourek (story by Josef Nesvadba)/Cast: Petr Kostka, Jirí Sovák, Vladimír Mensík, Vlastimil Brodský, Marie Rosulková, Otto Simánek, Zuzana Ondrouchová, Valerie Chmelová, Slávka Budínová, Josef Vetrovec, Frantisek Vicena

For Fans of: If you like classic Doctor Who circa the 1970s or if you simply enjoy time travel movies, you may find this movie to be your scalding cup of tea.

Video: Second Run has given Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea its worldwide HD debut with their region-free Blu-ray. The scan is from a new HD transfer from original materials by the Czech National Film Archive. However, don’t expect a pristine viewing experience. While the image is sharp throughout, the elements are not in the best of shape. There are marks and scratches on the print throughout. However, the occasional blemishes did not detract from my enjoyment of the film. If anything, it gave the movie more of a cult feel; and after a few minutes I didn’t notice the weathered aspect of the print. The linear PCM dual-mono track (16-bit) in the original Czech language is clear, and a new and improved subtitle translation was produced for the Blu-ray.

The film is supplemented by a nice group of extras:

• An all-new Projection Booth commentary with Kat Ellinger, Jonathan Owen, and Mike White — This is my favorite type of commentary track. The participants are well informed on the subject, but the discussion is light, spontaneous, and conversational. The commentary is as entertaining (or more so) than the film itself.
• Original Czech theatrical trailer – The trailer is not subtitled, but being that the scenes are all from the film itself, you will already know what’s going on.
• A 16-page booklet, featuring a new essay by writer and filmmaker Graham Williamson

Streaming: There is a low-res copy of the film on YouTube (until the rights holders pull it down), but it includes older, less authentic subtitles. Of course, the video presentation is much better on the Blu-ray.

More to Explore: Second Run released a Blu-ray of director Jindřich Polák’s Ikarie XB 1 (1963), which I previously reviewed. The screenwriter, Milos Macourek, also wrote a prior time travel comedy, I Killed Einstein, Gentlemen (Zabil jsem Einsteina, pánové, 1970). In that film, an atomic bomb explosion causes women of the future to grow beards. Consequently, a group is sent back in time to murder Einstein. The 1970 film also stars Jirí Sovák. Unfortunately, it is only currently available on a Region 2 Pal DVD.

Trivia: This film developed a bit of a cult following in Britain, due to a single, unscheduled television airing on BBC Two at 9:30 on January 16, 1982. Film fans became eager to see the movie, which was never re-broadcast, based upon the half-remembered recaps of others.

For more info: Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea was based on a short story by Josef Nesvadba.  The author is celebrated online with The Josef Nesvadba Page,  which features a biography, bibliography, a first person interview, and a handful of short stories.