Classic Czech cinema fans have much to rejoice as Deaf Crocodile is gearing up to release the iconic Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera (1964) on Blu-ray. Lemonade Joe, or Soda Pop Joe as it is called on this release, comes armed with a beautiful new restoration, a thick booklet, a video essay, and four rare short Czech films. Deaf Crocodile carries the limited slipcover edition, while MVD has the standard version on sale.
A wonderfully weird, wild and wacky absurdist satire on the American West and consumerism, Soda Pop Joe is a stylistically dazzling and frequently hysterical film. Directed with great anarchic exuberance by Oldřich Lipský, Soda Pop Joe is a marvelous film and great work of surrealist art.
Lipský was nearing his 40th birthday when he made Soda Pop Joe. Still fairly fresh as a filmmaker, Lipský created Soda Pop Joe after his 1962 production Man in Outer Space. Written by the famed director and fellow filmmaker Jiří Brdečka, Soda Pop Joe’s tale of a traveling gunfighting salesman who convinces an Old West town to ditch alcohol in favor of a lemonade beverage makes for an extremely awesome and wholly distinctive film.
Shot in a wicked yellow tint by cinematographer Vladimír Novotný, Soda Pop Joe feels like it is from another dimension. A musical, comedy, and savage satirical look at a ridiculous mythology, this 1964 film feels far, far ahead of its time, while simultaneously feeling part of a distant past.
Novotny had been working steadily as a cinematographer since the forties, but it isn’t until the sixties that his career really begins to blossom. His work behind the camera here on the film’s complex color design is remarkable, and I loved the photography throughout Soda Pop Joe. Matching Novotny’s skills is editor Miroslav Hájek, whose wondrous cutting throughout the film helps ensure it feels quite unlike any other. A key member of the Czech New Wave, Hájek’s editing remains one of Soda Pop Joe’s most refreshing aspects. He’d edit Daisies just a few years after this.
Cast wise, Soda Pop Joe features a variety of actors familiar to both Czech film fans as well as admirers of Lipský’s films in general. Karel Fiala gives a fun performance as the title-character and striking blonde Olga Schoberová damn near steals the film with her wide-eyed and completely captivating performance. The cast as a whole shines throughout the film’s controlled chaos.
I honestly had no idea how I’d respond to Soda Pop Joe, as I love New Wave Czech Cinema but dislike traditional American Westerns. Well, this certainly scratched the cinematic itch I had, as I pretty much dug every frame of this. I didn’t love it as much as some classics Lipský had coming up but this is delightful.
This 2024 restoration of Soda Pop Joe looks marvelously cinematic, and it is easy to imagine how thrilling this must have been on the big screen. This Blu-ray was a fabulous way to discover this film. Extras include a really packed booklet with excellent essays by Jonathan Owen and Walter Chaw as well as an informative video essay by Stephen Broomer. We also get a great fact-packed commentary track by critic Tereza Brdečková and Czech film expert Irena Kovarova.
Best of all, supplement-wise, are these four rare Czech short films:
My Darling Clementine” – 1959, 6 min. Dir. Jiří Brdečka.
“Song of the Prairie” – 1949, NFA, 19 min. Dir. Jiří Trnka.
“The Face — 1973, 3 min. Dir. Jiří Brdečka.
“Reason and Emotion” — 1962, 15 min. Dir. Jiří Brdečka.
Of these, “Song of the Prairie” is the most accomplished with its wonderful stop-motion effects. I also found “The Face” an especially devastating short about how our faces self-destruct as we age. All in all, Soda Pop Joe is a tremendous release from Deaf Crocodile and one of my favorites of the year. Amazing stuff.
-Jeremy Richey, October 2026-
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