Karel Houska

In 1897, in a castle near the town of Werewolfville in the Carpithians, a slightly deranged Professor Orfanik experiments with his new inventions which include, even at this early date, television and a film camera. He is also an obsessed opera fan, keeps the body of his favorite diva preserved in a crypt in the castle. In order to keep away nosy visitors, the baron's mad-scientist assistant invents all sorts of spooky phenomena in order to give the castle a creepy reputation.

No synopsis available yet.

A Polish criminalist specialises in various historical mysteries. He is aided by a miraculous car, with the help of which he also reaches Prague, where he unravels ancient cabalistic mysteries.

While Kendy returns to his hometown as an assistant director to film a thirteen-part series with a television crew, Štěpán Šafránek, equipped with his mother's advice after graduation, takes up his first position - as an intern at the local hospital. However, his inadaptability to local conditions and his sense of ethics in his chosen profession do not suit his other established colleagues. While they are amused by his zeal and responsibility, Štěpán has increasing problems with his superiors, until he is finally transferred to the position of rural district doctor, which everyone rejects. In Bezdíkov, however, he meets a new, perhaps permanent and reciprocated love, with whom he eventually decides to live and work in northern Bohemia.

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

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

The Czech film Svítalo All Night was made to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the liberation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Army and is dedicated to all those who fought and gave their lives in Prague in the May Uprising of 1945. Behind the historical events, the creators see mainly their simple, unassuming participants. Thus, we are presented with a number of apt portraits, whether it is the central hero Dr. Soukup and nurse Daniela on the side of the fighting Czechs, or a captain and a simple private in a Red Army unit coming to the aid of the fighting Prague, or an old, war-weary German major, who only realises the senselessness of the war at the sight of a fanatical, cynical lieutenant for whom Nazi ideology represents the meaning of life.

The distressing fate of the Czech great Jan Amos Komenský, forced to leave his homeland after the White Mountain disaster. It depicts his encounters with various European personalities of the 17th century - the Queen of Sweden, artists and scientists. It emphasises the hero's nobility, but also his inner resilience, which allowed him to overcome many personal and professional tragedies. The parable of The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart becomes part of the story. However, Comenius's concept is sculpturally lifeless and, in particular, the religious dimension is "erased" from it. The simplistic biography therefore does not avoid schoolboyish dryness.

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The story of the chief prosecutor Dr. Klapka - a self-confident, cold-blooded, calculating man who lives in the comfort befitting his position - and his attractive wife. Dr. Klapka sues the factory owner Muller for murdering his brother and, years ago, his mistress for selfish reasons. The prosecutor has no direct evidence and must rely only on his oratory skills to propose the maximum sentence. In his desperate attempt to win the trial, he grabs at every straw. In this case, such a straw is a mysterious exotic stranger with alleged clairvoyant abilities to read the writer's character from a manuscript just by touching it with his fingers.

A mysterious man named Michael Allan Jones arrives in Prague to search for his ancestors. Specifically, he is interested in the year 1611, when a meteorite allegedly crashed near Dobruška. The search for him is helped by nice writer Marcela, who writes a short story about this topic. He thinks it wasn't a meteorite, but a UFO. With her, Michael visits several Czech locations with a mysterious past.

Vladimír Menšík in a dramatic story of a suddenly rich peasant. The play tells the story of the tragic fate of A. Špáta, who, as a poor second time, unexpectedly inherited 15 thousand gulden. He is convinced that the capital ensures him for life that he will live "like Prince Rohan". He submits to his proud mother and underestimates a good and modest woman. He buys two houses in the countryside, hosts sycophantic neighbors in a pub - he tries to live like a rich man. The classic of Czech realistic prose K. V. Rais, whose novella "Špáta" was adapted for television by J. Z. Novák, realistically affected a person in relation to property and his desire to rise socially. In Špáta, he created a social type that surpassed his time.

The film is essentially a feature-length commercial for an exhibition to mark the 40th anniversary of the nationalisation of the Czechoslovak film industry, to be held at the Prague U Hybernu venue. The protagonists of the piece are comedians Oldrich Kaiser and Jirí Lábus, who are set to accept an award from Japanese television representatives at the exhibition. At the same time, five gangsters plot to seize a revolutionary invention devised by professor Suzuki - a super holograph, which enables any figure from television to be transported in the flesh into the real world, and vice-versa.

Every one of us has certainly been in a situation for which he or she is not prepared and is not able to orient him or herself immediately and correctly. And the hero of our story also finds out in a rather unpleasant way that it leads to a number of misunderstandings and bitter mistakes... Jaroslav Falta (J. Abrhám), a nondescript clerk, cannot resist the pressure of several people interested in buying his aunt's house after the hospitalization of his wealthy aunt (A. Hegerlíková). He is charmed and won over by the charm of a colleague from work - Alenka (J. Asterová) - after departure of his girlfriend on a business trip.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

After a soldier cuts off the arm of king's cousin, king decides to deactivate the army. Of course, generals don't like it at all and they try to kill the king. The assassin should be artificial body in the shape of actress Evelina Keleti and with brain of psychotic serial killer Fany Stubová. They also manage to kill king's astrologer Stuart Hampl, who warns the king. Accidentally, Hampl's brain is implanted into assassin's body, actress Keleti is killed and chaos begins.

A British citizen by the name of George Reiner (Jirí Sovák) arrives at Prague airport. He was once a Czech safe-breaker, and has now returned home after thirty years to steal twenty-dollar gold coins still kept in the safe at a private villa in Pilsen whose owner fled to the West.

There are still water spirits among us. One group lives in Prague, led by Mr. Wassermann, who is using his wife's family as a servants. All they need is their old house near the river. But the house is to be demolished. They have to stop it. And the only way is to drown Dr. Mrácek, who is responsible for the demolition. But he falls in love with Wassermann's niece Jana. He changes to fish, is mistaken for water spirit from Germany, is drowned and revived again. The other problem is the flour with ears... and so on...

A teenage witch escapes to the world of humans rather than endure a 300-year detention, and causes chaos in a small Czechoslovakian city.

In 363, somewhere in Mesopotamia, on a campaign against the Persians, the emperor Julian, who had succeeded Constantine after his victory over Gaul, was going through a personal crisis. He sees that the new philosophical trend, Christianity, is as cruel and implacable as the old paganism, and so he returns to the ancient philosophers. He knows that, as a potentate, he is surrounded by a pack of careerists who are all about loot, and in the face of an insidious external enemy. But his future fate is in their hands...

It is 1920, political unrest is growing in Prague and the Social Democrats are about to betray their historic mission by prioritising their own selfish interests instead of those of the working class. An extortionist scandal falls on the Social Democratic deputy Jandák, forcing him to renounce his convictions. Under these circumstances, the seriously ill Hungarian revolutionary Kerekes, who had to flee his homeland, is hiding in Prague...

The film from 1976, a film that is exemplary in its devotion to the canons of normalised cinema, is the work of director Stanislav Strnad. He brought to life the script of an unusual author - the secretary of the SČDU, Arno Kraus - in this psychological drama. The protagonist of the story also has his cadre materials in order according to the requirements of the time - he is a worker director Kabát, who besides problems at the workplace also copes successfully with difficulties in his private life - a break-up with his wife.

No synopsis available yet.

In 1972, Czechoslovak Television recorded a performance by the Vinohrady Theatre, which was very well received. Moliere's comedy The Miser was staged on a turntable, but in period costumes and scenery, without any hint of updating, in a traditional translation. However, it was modern and contemporary mainly thanks to the stage direction of Jaroslav Dudek and the excellent acting performances of the main actors, led by Miloš Kopecký in the role of Harpagon. His civil speech, which was not devoid of majesty, anger, imperiousness, dislike and lack of feeling towards those closest to him, was supported by the equally precise performance of Jaromír Hanzlík and Daniela Kolářová in the roles of his children, Jiřina Bohdalová as the matchmaker, and the other actors. The comedy in their performance is timeless and will delight lovers of classical theatre even today.

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An animal lover father brings home a cuddlesome female chimp named Tereza from his latest around the world and adopts her as a pet...

The ship's first officer, Karel Kip, and his brother, engineer Petr Kip, are convicted as mutineers for the mysterious murder of the captain of the ship James Cook. However, thanks to the intervention of the governor, they only receive life imprisonment in a penal colony. There, they build a hot air balloon with which they escape. The brothers remember that a phonograph was left on the ship, which could be used to identify the captain's real killer...

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Soldier Honza Marek got a three-day leave. Marta, whom he dated before the war, did not wait for him, but she prefers him again to her new admirer, the impractical and still dreamy Ivan...

We learn that the greatest virtue of socialist competition is collective cooperation. This is what the young, physically fit assembler refuses to understand. He suspects his co-workers of overlooking his merits out of jealousy. And it takes him a long time to understand that the individual alone can do nothing, that only the collective has the necessary strength - and therefore the truth.

In this zany Czechoslovakian comedy, a scientist invents a machine that projects a sleeping person's dream on a screen; disaster soon follows when the machine malfunctions and the cartoon-like dream characters become very real!

Two families live in a weaver's cottage - the Menecs and the Hroms. The women are pretty from the start. Musicians come, inviting fellow weavers who play in Menec's band to the May Day festival. Wanderers wander through the region, encountering a procession on their way. The police disperse it, so the men, who have various professions, join the wanderers. They wander around the world until they reach a tavern, where they get food and a bed. An old spinning wheeler composes a song at the request of one wanderer, inviting everyone to a "wanderer's convention". And so they get together and play together...

A dark fable set in an early 1950s Czech village, a time of Soviet-style socialism which saw the implementation of collectivized agriculture and the mass closure of monasteries and convents.

The inhabitants of a picturesque village proud of its ancient linden tree will be disturbed by a disturbing event - a temporary road diversion is supposed to lead through the village. At first the population protests against the increased traffic, but eventually gets used to the bustle and excitement. Some, such as the innkeeper, benefit from the situation...

Ing. Bernard announces that his wife has not returned from visiting relatives in Berlin. Lieutenant Tereza Machátová, who together with Captain Landa is investigating the matter, puts the facts into connection with the discovery of the drowned woman's body.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

A group of children from 1930s Prague follow the news about the polar expedition of the Chelyuskin, whose members find themselves stranded on a floating crust after the shipwreck. The rescue operation they had planned eventually turns out to be an aid to the striking workers of Děčín...

No synopsis available yet.

At the end of May 1918, released prisoners return to the Rumburk garrison from Russian captivity, hoping that the war is over for them. The only thing they want is to get their withheld ...

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Film shows the struggle of the Czechoslovak armed forces against groups of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) under command Burlak, who tried to pass through the territory of Slovakia.

No synopsis available yet.

The happenings in a shoe factory serve as a not very thinly veiled examination of the pros and cons of both socialism and democracy.

Based on book by Svatopluk Turek.

A biographical film about a Czech doctor, Dr. Jánský. The athletically inclined medic Jánský successfully completes his studies. He wants to become a surgeon, but finds himself in Professor Kuffner's psychiatric clinic, where, together with his colleague Kozdera, he tries to uncover the connection between blood clotting and mental illness. They make the surprising discovery that human blood can be divided into four groups and thus prevent it from clotting during transfusions. However, Jánský's discovery is met with misunderstanding by the Czech medical community...

Worker Šebesta does not rejoice with the others in the May Day parade, as his boots are weighing him down. The following working day does not bring him a good mood either. At a plant-wide meeting, he comes into conflict with the young striker Brejcha from the United Engineering Works. He demands an increase in the production of heating elements so that the new hall can be completed before the deadline. The workers react to his passionate speech about the improvement efforts with distrust and, with a bit of mockery, challenge him to prove his words with action in their plant...

An ideologically-oriented film set in a prestigious medical sanatorium - a young doctor sympathizes with the poor people of the area, helping workers and their sick children.

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The course of an organized strike by workers from North Moravian steelworks in 1931 to resist mass layoffs during the economic crisis.

Czechoslovak drama film about soldiers returning from World War II

In an unsightly tenement house, the walls of which are as peeling as the souls of the tenants, an old woman waits for her son to return from prison. However, her neighbors believe that she is hiding a large fortune in her tattered suitcase, which she protects like the apple of her eye, and they want to get hold of it at any cost.

Building a bridge is no simple matter. The city council has to decide between two competing proposals, one of which is submitted by villainous scoundrels and scoundrels who would like to enrich themselves everywhere. Although the film was made before the communist coup, it already anticipates the political diction of the stories that the approaching Stalinist period will produce.

The younger brother of a brave paratrooper killed by the Nazis joins a partisan unit to avenge his death. The story is still naive in many ways, but the foundations of resistance myths are already being laid here.