This Movie Is Truly Demented!
Even by the standards set by such big-screen surrealists as Luis Buñuel and Terry Gilliam, movies don’t come much trippier than “The Saragossa Manuscript,” which I have caught up with on a relatively recent DVD. The paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and Francisco Goya likely influenced Wojciech Has’ adaptation of Jan Potocki’s 1813 picaresque novel, which was distinguished by its audacious scope and unexpected zaniness. Originally released in 1965, at the dawn of the worldwide psychedelic craze, “The Saragossa Manuscript” was embraced by hippies and foreign-film buffs alike. Before he died, that Titan of Trippiness Jerry Garcia donated money for the movie’s restoration and re-release.
