Jiří Zahajský

The life story of Blessed Zdislava of Lemberk, about whom legends rather than sparse historical references tell us that she was a deeply religious woman with healing powers who devoted herself entirely to the humble service of her sick and suffering neighbors.

A woman discovers a conspiracy while searching for her missing travel companion.

Unlike any other opera, the so-called Beggar's Opera is not just one composition, but a lineage of adapted compositions, beginning with the original hugely successful 1728 political satire written by Englishman John Gay. Composers and writers have penned variations on it ever since. The most famous of these was A Threepenny Opera by Bertholt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Some things these compositions share in common is their setting among the poor and criminal classes, and the roguish character Macheath. This production is based on an adaptation of Gay's original by Vaclav Havel the freedom-fighter, writer and philosopher who became the first (and only) president of the united post-communist country of Czechoslovakia, and it retains many traces of its theatrical origins. Film reviewers were not too tolerant of what they called "slavish adherence" to the noted Czech writer's stage production, but theater, philosophy and history buffs may feel otherwise.

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No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

A cheerful fairy tale about a devil who went among people to find a sinner and found much more. This cheerful fairy tale tells the story of how two young devils, Drmáš and Mezoul, took their final devil exams, but neither of them wanted to finish first! The reward for the winner was to be Lucifer's unpleasant daughter Lucinda. However, the fairy tale is not only about devilish marriage, but also about Drmáš's love for an earthly girl and the fact that, without any of us realizing it, hell is sometimes "devilishly" close!

An old English legend about a poor boy who became mayor of London served as the basis for a television adaptation. The orphan Dick Whittington was blessed with nothing more and nothing less than honesty, hard work, sincerity, a sense of honor, and justice. Together with a stroke of luck, it is precisely these character traits that help him become a respected and wealthy young man and a loving husband. And so this charmingly old-fashioned story, in which decency, diligence, and personal effort lead to success and fulfillment in life, retains its appealing and necessary relevance to this day.

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Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Ladislav Smoljak, about the fictional national hero Jára Cimrman (universal genius, inventor, sportsman, criminalist, poet, writer and philosopher).

A police inspector and inexperienced trainee search for a mysteriously disappeared manufacturer of ointments for hair growth.

Matej and Jenda, two of the eight children of the poor Pelc family in the Giant Mountains, help in a glass works where the oldest brother Francek works. They hide into a tub not to be seen by supervisors checking on the ban of children labor. They miss the Epiphany carol (songs and treats door-to-door) and all neighbor village boys again on them in all the neighbor houses. On their way home they are passed by a fast moving big man with a large backpack. The boys send the customs officers, who are pursuing the strange man, to the opposite direction. The man then thanks them and rewards them the next day. Based on fairy-tales and legends the boys think the man is Krakonos (the giant living and ruling in the Giant Mountains).

The opening image that begins the suspenseful story is marked by a tragic event: an eight-year-old girl is brutally murdered in the forest and the dog that accompanied her is shot. The crime sets in motion an extensive search operation. Time is running out for the murderer, and the detectives have many years of experience and knowledge of local conditions on their side. According to the law of a good detective story, the circle of possible perpetrators is wide. Everyone from the neighborhood of little Stán is a suspect, because the results of the investigation showed that the girl knew her murderer...

Tomás lives in a very small Czech town and is a nature lover and a birdwatcher. He struggles to keep the forests he loves clean and constantly fights his "archenemy" whose sister and Tomás's classmate is secretly in love with him.

Why? (Czech: Proč?) is a 1987 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Karel Smyczek. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. The film deals with the hooliganism in Czechoslovakia, particularly with the fans of football club Sparta from Prague, whose supporters were the pioneers of the football fan riots in Czechoslovakia, starting with hooligan actions already in the 1960s, like breaking the trains in which they travelled when they went on Sparta's away games. The film deals with one of such episodes

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The trenches of World War I provide for a captivating backdrop to the drama of Corporal Hoferik. In his devotion to the Habsburg Monarchy, he fanatically carries out his military orders, but he ultimately suffers the Empire's disfavor.

The director and choreographer from Prague are preparing a show performance "Oriental Fairy Tale" - a ballet on ice with the participation of vocal and instrumental ensembles and pop singers. They are shooting their picture in Kazakhstan at the Medeo high-altitude skating rink.

In his feature debut, Dneska přišel nový kluk (A New Boy Started Today) from 1981, the director Vladimír Drha set the tone for a number of Czech films, which critically depicted the state of society from the perspective of young protagonists. Although, Drha primarily found scope for his work in television, he returned to the world of a “working youth” in his second film Mezek (The Mulish Victor, 1985) – albeit following him from the point of view of an educator. NFA.CZ

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The biggest threat to a successful crackdown on drug traffickers and consumers is the international hitman Barták, sent to the Czech Republic to eliminate all his collaborators...

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Christmas is approaching and with it comes moments of surprising events and unexpected encounters. For example, such as those experienced by two inseparable friends and bachelors. Saša is looking forward to finally enjoying life and also really forces Karel to go to entertainment venues. But everything changes by chance, because when Karel moves, he discovers that his first love Eva, whom he once lost due to his indecision, lives on the floor above. The meeting on Christmas Eve turns out to be fateful...

A pair of criminals, an escaped prisoner and a young thief, are about to make a joint, obviously illegal, escape across the border. They escape for a long time, even managing to infiltrate Polish territory. They head for the coast, from where they intend to transport themselves to Sweden. But the Polish security authorities are vigilant.

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March 1945. It is already quite obvious to the Nazis that they cannot win the war. So it is time to think about the future after the war and to cover their tracks. One concentration camp must be completely cleared out and the prisoners buried in the mines. Only the mine-hunters remain - among them Ernest, a veteran of the Spanish Civil War from Vienna, and Kim, a resistance fighter from Prague. One day they decide to escape with the other prisoners, but they are betrayed and most of the escapees are shot. The pair of heroes are not alone, however, and on the way they are joined by a guard dog from the camp that Kim used to feed. In the coming days, Ernest leads young Kim through the unrelenting cold on his journey to freedom, teaching him that there is only one rule to follow in this time - kill or be killed.

After her parents' divorce, Petra lives in her mother's new harmonious family in a small town. However, she feels that she was cheated of a lot when she was unable to spend two years in Cuba with her own father. Therefore, she welcomes her father's offer to move to Prague with him. She is especially attracted by his promise to help her get into art school. However, she misses the warm family atmosphere in Prague very much, even though her father's new wife tries to understand her. Although her father provided for her materially, he did not really care for her. Petra's crisis is compounded by a negative opinion from an expert about her artistic talent...

A fairy tale about three princes, enchanted into dog form... The shepherd Jirka is herding sheep when a mysterious hunter with three dogs named Drž, Dech and Vševím passes by. The hunter treats the dogs badly. And because Jirka has a good heart, he exchanges the dogs for three sheep that belong to the farmer. He says goodbye to his girlfriend Anička and goes into the world, arriving in a sad kingdom. There he meets Bětuška, who takes him to the king, whose three sons and daughter have been lost...

An evil and calculating stepmother chases her stepson out of the house. Petr tries in vain to find a job, but he is sent to hell everywhere. So he goes to serve in hell. As you will see, he could not have done anything better.

Vera, wife of the plumber Simandl (Josef Somr), is found murdered in the cinema next to the IDOC (Information and Documentation) agency where she worked. Police captain Marha (Frantisek Nemec), who is leading the investigation, is informed by Simandl that on the day of the murder Vera promised to bring home fifty thousand crowns to buy a car. Marha's primary suspects are the three men working at the agency: deputy editor-in-chief Brandl (Jirí Pleskot) and editors Pernata (Eduard Cupák) and Remes (Ludek Munzar, and of course also Simandl.

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As the Khmer Rouge carves a path of death throughout the land, a Czech doctor falls in love with a Cambodian woman. Their relationship, though sorely strained by the war's horrors, produces a child. The doctor is separated from his family once Pol Pot assumes control.

The classic fairy tale, based on the original by Božena Němcová, tells the story of a young coal miner who must overcome many obstacles to win the hand of the desired girl.

Julie, the youngest daughter of a bankrupt merchant, sacrifices her life in order to save her father. She goes to an enchanted castle in the woods and meets Netvor, a bird-like monster. As Netvor begins to fall in love with Julie, he must suppress his beastly urge to kill her.

The plot begins in the Soviet Union showing first efforts to establish the Czechoslovak legion in 1942. The film also shows the assassination of Heydrich and the subsequent annihilation of Lidice. The main topis of the film is battles with German troops for Sokolovo.

Sarcastic comedy about the Czechoslovakia of the seventies. A young gynaecologist can't figure out whether to get serious with a young nurse or to stay casual with his married lover. Things get complicated when both women don't want to play his game anymore.

This film, chronicling the last days of Czech resistance fighter Maruska Kuderikova (played by Magda Vasaryova), is based on her diaries. Though she was tortured and eventually executed by the Nazis, her diaries indicate that she was optimistic for the humanity of her captors and did not by any means hate them. Told with simple dignity, this film makes clear why Maruska became a national hero.

Taxi driver Koukal (Miroslav Machácek) is stopped by the police for a routine traffic check. In the boot of his car the police find the body of a naked man. Koukal is arrested even though he claims he knows nothing about it. The case is assigned to Major Mlynár (Milan Sandhaus). The police identify the corpse as that of an Austrian citizen called Mitrik. Koukal has been regularly driving people interested in gambling to a secret gaming den. The police are put onto the gambling den by another taxi driver, who admits that he drove Mitrik there. Mlynár and officer cadet Pecka (Ivan Vyskocil) feign interest in gambling and visit the gaming den incognito.

The director of films for kids called Bonzurka together with her loyal assistants Drahuska and Honza are looking for the actors for a new movie "The Knee". Children for this movie should not be afraid and shy and they must have talent for acting. Thus the scouting is quite difficult. The most difficult is to find an actress for a main character who lost her hair after a serious illness and now has to spent the whole holiday in the countryside with a bald head resembling a knee. Although the makeup artist does his best an artificial baldness does not solve anything. From the selected little girls only the self-assertive Rosemary has the guts to let her long hair to be cut and shave off her head.

The drama of a man for whom work has become the only meaning of life. His cold and impersonal manner arouses the disapproval of his colleagues and family members and leads to alienation. Eventually, he realizes the need for "time out" to reflect on his own life...

The problematic protagonist is the head designer of a housing association who wants to make a profit at any cost. His unwitting opponent is a bar pianist who accidentally witnesses the murder of a young man and sets out to investigate on his own. An old-world and somewhat comical figure, he poignantly interferes with the cops' work, only to find that he is the one who is credited with catching the perpetrator...

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No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Wartime events from a child's perspective were a popular theme during the previous regime - here it is a twelve-year-old village boy who experiences dangerous situations with retreating Nazi troops in picturesque South Bohemia... Any attempt to achieve a more believable depiction is destroyed by the staging's grandeur, and in the end the result is an awkward piece, suitable at most for celebrating the relevant national holidays. A longer copy with a tragic ending is stored in the NFA. Milda is shot unnoticed by an SS major.

Second movie of the famous Czech adventure trilogy: Osada Havranů Na veliké rece Volání rodu

An 11-year-old boy is the only survivor of a tragic car accident in which both parents are killed. It's not until he meets a travelling student theatre company that he is able to shake off the long-term shock...

The thrilling story begins in 1318, during the reign of John of Luxembourg, when the Czech nobility rebelled against the king. However, the lord of Zlenice, Oldřich of Zlenice, did not join the resistance. He summoned the surrounding nobles to his castle for negotiations... and in the morning he was found dead. He had been murdered in his chamber, which was locked from the inside!

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The car thief Halama, the shy groom Poupě, the divorcing jealous Pic and the mustachioed cinema projectionist Vlk are suspected of robbing the cinema box office. They are so similar, however, that the sharp-witted Public Security investigator Doll doesn't know them at all...

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Three short stories ("Zelenáči 1945", "Silvestr 1948" and "Zimní vítr 1951") about members of the SNB units guarding the Šumava border in the post-war years. Ivo Toman had artistic supervision over the debutants. The theme of the third short story was made in 1959 for the film "Entry Forbidden" by František Vláčil, who was also starting at the time.

The film was based on the novel "Milión" by Karel Štorkán. The book and the film depict the events surrounding the great construction disaster in Prague in 1928, in which 46 construction workers died. The disaster thrilled the entire republic at the time, yet was never fully explained. The filmmakers focus on the story of Ing. Vondrák, the designer of the construction.

A girl from a dance ensemble from Uherské Hradiště and an amateur jazz musician from Strakonice will meet at the II. National Spartakiada. Life under victorious socialism is presented as a permanent folk festival with mass gymnastic performances, dance and music. The film was said to have been very popular in Cuba at the time.

The young Marta has made a break in her medical education to fully invest in her career as a model. We follow her for a day in her life, almost completely without hearing her voice. It is seldom that Marta gets the space to speak, instead she is mostly subject to the voice of others.