ŠVANKMAJER’S EARLY FILMS ARE DOMINATED BY HIS BACKGROUND IN PUPPETRY AND HIS INTEREST IN THE SECRET LIFE OF OBJECTS.
In The Flat (1968), the hero finds himself in a locked room, a victim of objects that change their shape. In A Quiet Week in a House (1969), a camouflaged and unshaven man inhabits a black and white world from which he spies on objects. A version of the 18th century play, Don Juan (1970) is closer to traditional puppet theatre. In Leonardo’s Diary (1972), images from Leonardo’s sketchbooks—grotesque faces, images of anatomy and alchemy—are intercut with ‘real’ images of institutionalised aggression. In one of his best known films, Dimensions of Dialogue (1982), heads constructed from fruit and vegetable, kitchen utensils and stationery devour each other. In Down to the Cellar (1982), a little girl goes to the cellar to fetch potatoes and confronts unnameable fears.