The Czech Republic (both as an independent country and as a part of former Czechoslovakia) was a seedbed for many acclaimed film directors.
The first Czech film director and cinematographer was Jan KřÞenecký, who since the second half of the 90s of 19th century filmed short documentaries called "Newsreels". The first permanent cinema house was founded by Viktor Ponrepo in 1907 in Prague. Sound was first used in Czechoslovakia in the film Když struny lkajà (1930). Then the Czech movie industry experienced a boom period which lasted until WW2. Barrandov Studios were launched in 1933, it is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. At present the studios are often called the "European Hollywood" or "Hollywood of the East" due to increasing interest of western productions.
Famous movies of the 50s include: Journey to the Beginning of Time, The Good Soldier Å vejk, The Emperor and the Golem, The Princess with the Golden Star, The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, Proud Princess and Once Upon a Time, There Was a King....
Three Czech/Czechoslovak movies that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film were The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze) by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos in 1965, Closely Watched Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky) by Jiřà Menzel in 1967 and Kolya (Kolja) by Jan Svěrák in 1996. Several others were nominated.
The Czechoslovak New Wave, the golden age of Czech cinema, is most frequently associated with the early works of directors such as MiloÅ¡ Forman, VÄ›ra Chytilová, Jiřà Menzel and others, although works by older, more established Czechoslovak directors such as Karel Kachyňa and VojtÄ›ch Jasný are also placed in this category. Encompassing a broad range of fresh and original works in the early to mid-1960s, the Czechoslovak New Wave cannot be pinned down to any one style or approach to filmmaking. Examples range from highly stylised, even avant-garde, literary adaptions using historical themes (e.g. Jan NÄ›mec's Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci)) to semi-improvised comedies with contemporary subjects and amateur actors (e.g., MiloÅ¡ Forman's The Firemen's Ball (HoÅ™Ã, má panenko)). However, a frequent feature of films from this period were their absurd, black humour and an interest in the concerns of ordinary people, particularly when faced with larger historical or political changes. The acid western comedy film Lemonade Joe was a famous parody of old-time westerns. Cinematic influences included Italian neorealism and the French New Wave, although the Czechoslovak New Wave also builds organically on developments in Czechoslovak cinema in the late 1950s when directors broke free from the influence of Stalinism in the film industry.
The most viewed Czech film ever is Proud Princess from 1952. It was seen by 8,222,695 people. The film also won a prize for a child film at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
Among the most successful Czech films after Velvet Revolution include: Kolya, Divided We Fall, Cosy Dens, Loners, I Served the King of England and Walking Too Fast.
Czech films
- List of Czechoslovak films 1898â€"1990
- List of Czech films (List of Czech Republic films) 1990 - today
List of notable Czech directors
- František Čáp
- Věra Chytilová
- Frank Daniel
- Miloš Forman, twice won the Academy Award
- Martin FriÄ
- Saša Gedeon
- Juraj Herz
- Jan Hřebejk
- Vojtěch Jasný
- Jaromil Jireš
- Karel Kachyňa
- Karel LamaÄ
- Oldřich Lipský
- Gustav Machatý
- Jiřà Menzel, won the Academy Award
- Jan Němec
- Ivan Passer
- Břetislav Pojar
- Karel Reisz, Czech-born British director
- Bohdan Sláma
- Jan Å vankmajer
- Jan Svěrák, twice won the Academy Award
- Jiřà Trnka, puppet motion-picture animator
- FrantiÅ¡ek VláÄil
- Petr Zelenka
- Karel Zeman
See also
- Czech Lion - Annual awards of Czech Film and Television Academy
- Barrandov Studios - Prague's famous film studios (Hollywood of the East).
- Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
- Film Festival ZlÃn - International Film Festival for Children and Youth
- Ateliery Bonton Zlin - Animation Film Production Company
- Czechoslovak New Wave
- Cinema of the world
References
External links
- GreenCine primer on Czech and Slovak Cinema
- History of Czech cinematography
- List of essential Czech films by Prague Life
- Resources on Czech Cinema, Literature and Politics