The Ossuary

A surreal vision of an ornate ossuary built from the bones of Black Death victims.

Czech animator Jan Švankmajer's wonderful portrait of the famous Sedlec Ossuary which was constructed in the 19th century from thousands of skeletons of victims of the Black Death. The film was commissioned as a straightforward documentary, but became an ode to the macabre.

See also Jan Švankmajer's other short films, The Castle of Otranto, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Pendulum, The Pit and Hope.