Jan Hraběta

The film consists of five parts - a live-action framing story and four distinct animated episodes - each by a different creative team and in a different animation style, from Pojar and Koutský’s semi-plastic “Princess Who Never Smiled,” through Žabka’s puppet fable “The Fairy and the Bookkeeper,” Dlouhá and Váša’s paper-cut “Fisherman, His Wife, and the Golden Fish,” to Pixa’s near-future parable “Mr. Vincent”.

The Jára Cimrman Theater staged its first premiere exactly 50 years ago, on October 4, 1967. Its members celebrated the half-century anniversary with a special program that included scenes from plays by the trio of authors Cimrman, Smoljak, and Svěrák, which have since become cult classics. Psaní do nebe (Writing to Heaven) is a letter written by Zdeněk Svěrák to his long-time friend and colleague Ladislav Smoljak in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Jára Cimrman Theater. It became the backbone of the entire gala evening at the Žižkov Theater. The performance also included excerpts from productions and a number of other items.

No synopsis available yet.

As the name suggests, the movie is about football. It is not about big league soccer, making huge money. It is about football, which lives just from village fans enthusiasm, from the enthusiasm of fathers and their sons and club officials. And yet on this battlefield, where the pub and silent household alternates, it is often about everything: friends, family, the meaning of life. It is about playing fair, but also about fighting below the belt. It is about winning, but also about falling into the abyss of the league wilderness.

Jára Cimrman in the whirlwind of the past forty years, as discovered, recorded, and brought to life by the theater.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

The original score was in a sorry state: the notes were carelessly marked, the lines were broken, and the paper was covered in smudges. I took the utmost care in reconstructing it: I erased the smudges, traced the lines with a ruler, blackened the bellies of the quarter notes, and added tails to the eighth and sixteenth notes. I believe that today's version of the work will stand up to even the most rigorous standards.

The play itself tells the story of a harrowing journey aimed at restoring Princess Goldilocks’s feminine beauty—she had been enchanted by the evil giant Koloděj. In the first scene, Prince Jasoň arrives at the royal castle and discovers that his beloved bride—Princess Zlatovláska—has (thanks to Koloděj’s magic) a beard and a foot size of “45.” Jason decides to free Zlatovláska from the evil curse, and together with her, her royal father, and Bystrozrakým, he sets off to see Děd Vševěd for advice on how to deal with Koloděj. Watching everything from afar is Jasoň’s twin—the evil Prince Drsoň, who is preparing to intervene at the right moment and claim the princess for himself...

No synopsis available yet.

Famed outlaw Lotrando sends his son to a strict Catholic boarding school to learn manners, but the boy becomes too polite to lead the band. When they inadvertently arrive in a sultanate where the princess Zubeida lies gravely ill and are mistaken for physicians, father and son must overcome their inexperience and imposture to heal her and save the realm.

The time is 1945-46. 10 year old Eda and his friend Tonda live in a small village outside Prague. In school, their class is so wild and indisciplined that their teacher quits and is replaced by the militant Igor Hnidzo. He is very strict – but also very fair. His weakness though, is his interest in young women.

The film, which opens with students arriving at a police academy, is a crazy comedy that is more a series of zany episodes and jokes than a coherent story. They are linked by a simple plot in which the commander of the police academy, Major Maisner, searches among his recruits for an alleged FBI spy and, after a not-so-subtle practical joke, gets into a dispute with his subordinate, a dispute that ends in a genuine bank robbery.

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Prince Victor looks in vain for a swan which was wounded by one of his servants. Instead he discovers a beautiful girl with golden hair who has an arrow in her shoulder. She is dumb and can't explain her origin. He falls immediately for her. The girl quickly recovers, but disappears mysteriously.

Capturing the dark humor of Czech author Michal Viewegh's chronicle of life after the Velvet Revolution, this black comedy chronicles three decades in the life of a small Czech family. While the original novel centered on the protagonist Kvido from his conception through his adulthood, first time director Petr Nikolaev and screenwriter Jan Novak changed the focus to his parents Milena, an extremely self-effacing lawyer who acts on stage in her spare time, and Ales, a rather aimless government worker who tends to drift wherever the wind takes him. The lives of Ales and Milena change dramatically following the Russian invasion of Prague in 1968.

It all begins at Prague Airport, where American agents have brought Major Maisner, who has been expelled from the United States, in handcuffs. He returns to his place of work, the Central Police Academy, despite having been demoted to lieutenant for his "performance" and his position as academy commander having been taken over by the newly promoted Captain Hrubec. Maisner meets his former students, who now teach at the school. They all welcome him enthusiastically and receive gifts from him. While psychologist Kudláková, who is attracted to commanding types, has lost interest in the demoted Maisner and is now passionately in love with Hrubec, Boženka Vinklářová, who has broken up with the gypsy Štefan and now teaches dactyloscopy at the school, focuses her attention on him. Maisner recounts how he jumped off a skyscraper in America to defend himself against Simona Ptáčková's advances.

When late in life was presenting Cimrman his artistic activity, came arresting knowledge: none of the works he had signed, not recognition. And so he decided to retreat to the anonymity of the author and become folklore. Clairvoyantly recognized that the modern era marked for extinction of folk creativity in areas such as the national song, story, legend, proverb or weather lore. The only thing from the oral folklore of die and stay alive is an anecdote. And she plays a significant role in his play Lijavec.

Dr. Štěpán, dismissed for his outspokenness, returns to his hometown determined not to bend his ethical principles to the ruthless new capitalism surrounding him. When he meets a young woman who may become the meaning of his life, he must confront the tension between his ideals and the demands of a changing world.

Young English gentleman Richard travels with his uncle Archibald to Prague, Czech kingdom. There he meets a beautiful girl Olivia, a young noblewoman with a secret. They fall in love with each other but he doesn't know Olivia is a companion of evil count Kronberg, ruler of pack of Prague vampires.

The fate of father and son Horáček, but this time they switched roles. Jirka has married, settled down and grown up, while his father is in trouble because he has "second lymphoma" and, feeling that he is missing the last train, he starts a relationship with a stripper, Ala, dyes his hair, but mostly he likes a pretty and kind nurse, Lucie. Although he behaves in such a way that it seems to others as if he has lost his mind, everything turns out well, of course.

This time, the eight-year-old girl must fight to keep her parents from turning the House of Horrors, which she received as a gift from her grandfather, the Viennese Czech Swoboda, into a family villa. Helping her are her old friends, with the help of a magical clockwork mannequin, the witch Bertha, the charming Elvira and Dr Caligari. She arranges for notary Weber to come from Vienna to check that the terms of the gift agreement have been kept and that the attraction is fit for purpose...

The sick King Jorgen worries about the marriage of his daughter Elena. The fairytale-like, dramatic confusion triggers a shimmering golden fire bird with its wondrous song every full moon night - it makes the king heal and brings the "good" prince as husband of the "good" Princess Elena.

The common theme of the short story film is the famous duels between two important historical figures: Pushkin and Casanova. Pushkin's tragic duel, which ended his life prematurely, is portrayed in connection with the creation of his short story "The Dirty Shot", while Casanova's story is conceived in a rather ironic and humorous way. The point is that the famous seducer never actually seduced, on the contrary, all his life he was in a constant battle with female seductions.

Two different productions of Václav Havel's Beggar's Opera reveal the political dynamics of Czechoslovakia before and after the velvet revolution.

The story begins in 1984 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, few years before the end of Communist era. The band Pražský výběr (Prague's selection) has just received the news thier 5-year ban has expired and they are alowed to perform once again. This half fantasy half document about the band would draw the atmosphere of middle european late Communist era and the eufory of it's end.

Two short stories in which novice detective Sergeant Zahrádka is tasked with carrying out trivial orders, which he fails to do due to his innate clumsiness.

The theatre director encounters the disinterest and irresponsibility of the acting troupe, whose members are scheming and looking for side income. The tired and sick artist wants to finish his work at any cost.

No synopsis available yet.

This traditional seminar will introduce you to the most basic facts about Jára Cimrman. The ensuing play will show how difficult it is for some people to come to terms with new knowledge from their past.

Two little girls get ahold of magic and hijinks ensue.

The result of a clash between two intellectual forces: the artist's irrepressible creative instinct and the equally irrepressible instinct of the small Czech self-sufficient farmer. While on the one hand we see an admirable effort to understand and portray the world and get to the essence of human behavior, on the other hand we encounter only a mundane effort to dry a few mushrooms for the winter. In the case of this play, Josef Padevět's small, bitter world unfortunately prevails.

The fate of an unlucky director of a dismantled cultural house who temporarily believes in the meaningfulness of his actions, exposed to the pressure of many different difficulties.

In the fifites the 10 year old boy Honza lives with his single mother in Prague. The mother is a dedicated communist in the beginning but she changes her mind when a show trial is held. She speaks about her dissatisfaction with the government and is immediately arrested. Honza is given to another family.

Oligophrenic Fany (Bohdalová) lives with her aunt who suddenly manages to travel abroad. Fany has to move to her sister (Jirásková). Two very different women, one mentally disabled and the second one intelligent doctor has to live together and learn from each other about tolerance, loneliness, life and why call dogs "Mister".

No synopsis available yet.

The common denominator of the five stories, preceded by a brief prologue by Artem Benki, is the setting of a giant open-pit mine in the Podkrušnohoří region in northwestern Bohemia and its surroundings, including the dominant feature of the landscape, the ruined Jezeří Castle.

Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed reports by Maryska, who has organized a pig-killing feast and is ably assisting the butcher. When she invites the old curmudgeons on the board to enjoy the fresh pork, they are too happy to agree. Francin doesn't know whether he is going to get a permanent contract. To make things worse his brother Pepin - eccentric, noisy and garrulous - turns up on an indefinite visit.

The movie's main storyline follows the life of Otík, a young man, in a tight-knit village community. The sweet-tempered Otík works as an assistant truck driver with Mr. Pávek, his older colleague and practical-minded neighbor. Pávek's family takes care of Otík, whose parents are dead. However, the two coworkers become at odds over Otík's inability to perform even the simplest tasks. Pávek demands that Otík be transferred to assist another driver, who happens to be a choleric and suspicious man named Turek (Turk in Czech). Rather than work with Turek, Otík decides to accept an offer of employment in Prague, but finds he does not fit in to the city life. After discovering that the transfer of Otík to Prague was a trick by a crooked politician to get a deal on Otík's large inherited house, Pávek agrees to give Otík a second chance and retrieves him from the city to resume their work together.

A comedy concerning a down on his luck bookshop owner with a penchant for women who decides to make some money by pretending to be a waiter and collecting cash from unsuspecting diners.

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.

Petr and Lída Kadlec are moving to a dilapidated mill in the Bohemian Forest, which they plan to convert into a restaurant. Unsuspected obstacles from the locals get in the way of their dreams and ideas.

Engineer Pavel Hnyk is successful at work, but not very happy in his private life. He is approaching his fiftieth birthday and he can't shake the feeling that life is slipping away from him. The most effective medicine for such woes is amorous adventures, and Pavel indulges in them. His wife Alice is a lawyer by profession, so she knows about such cases, and because she is a wise woman, she passes them over in silence. One day, however, a new colleague appears at Pavel's workplace - the charming Slovakian Julie. A friendly relationship soon turns into a love affair, and over time it grows into a headless, destructive passion that cares for nothing and no one...

Viktor Průcha, a successful small-town architect, lives well but knows his comfort rests on compromises. When an elderly man—whose granddaughter was hurt at a school Viktor approved beside a busy road—attacks him and then takes his own life, Viktor abandons his home for a rural studio. There he rediscovers nude photography; his acclaimed exhibition forces him to confront past concessions and choose his future.

The small group of actors have to face many problems while preparing a new performance.

Dana is young medical student with no self esteem, she can't deal with life, people and even not with herself. After her boyfriend leaves her, she changes to selfish woman, manipulating people and making them to serve her. She plays with her husband, neighbors and friends - for her own good and for fun.

The main character of the story, which is a sensitive probe into the soul of a little girl, is five-year-old Kačka Znamínková, who lives with her parents in a picturesque village in the foothills. And because she has a very vivid imagination, she becomes not only a princess with a golden star on her forehead, but also a princess on a pea or a crocodile hunter. Together with her parents, she is expecting a new sibling to be born any day, but she will only be happy if it is a little sister. She doesn't even want to hear about a little brother. But in the end, instead of the expected little sister, she gets two brothers, so...

A directors autobiography about his debut during the rise of socialism.

A coming of age drama about a young boy Jirka who lives in Prague.

During the change of functions in the Fortuna medical ceramics company, Bohouš Fisher, an independent clerk, became deputy director of the company against his will. As a result, he is forced to make even greater compromises than before. He takes part in unnecessary meetings for which he has to raise money from company funds because of his position, or he jocularly solves a "work" accident of two employees who were engaged in love games instead of work. It's not much better in his private life. He would like to do some meaningful work, like building a stove.

Lying in the construction industry used to be a criminal offence, but skilful people could do a lot of things. This somewhat embarrassing tragicomedy convinces us that even builders should be honest. The protagonist here is a moral designer who occasionally drops in to sing to enjoy something other than work.

Antony is obsessed with the idea of a happy family life, but his young daughter has to be cared for by the parents of his wife, who died in a car accident. Unfortunately, Martha, whom Antony has somewhat recklessly married, has a fundamentally different vision of her future than he does.

Two brothers live with their mother in an old house on the outskirts of town. They both work in a printing house. Elder Bóža is a quiet, responsible person with views determined by the Christian faith. Dan is a dude who revels in pub fun. Only after the tragic death of a person, he begins to understand that something is missing in his life.

The idea of mystery unites the three debut stories - the original Bermuda Triangle with its mysterious phenomena has begun to shift and can be traced anywhere in the world, including Czech and Slovak territory. Here, too, unexplained shifts in space and time occur. This idea is supported by the aforementioned short stories, but the inventiveness of the subject matter and staging is very heavy-handed, and the film passed through the cinemas without much interest.

The story of a music academy student Zdenek, who meets a charming girl, and without realizing also gets a son with her. Dealing with such a situation is not easy, especially when one day the child's mother disappears. Twenty year old Zdenek faces a serious decision. Although he is aware that a child may endanger his studies and perhaps even future career, he refuses to entrust him to the care of the state institution.

Mr Jiš managed to give his first script at Barrandov. Already in the preparatory phase, he discovers with horror that the filmmakers have completely bypassed his intention - instead of a probe into the life of a contemporary village, they are preparing a spectacular musical show, which they are convinced will be a hit with the audience. The very first shots speak volumes. An elegiac arrives in the village of Lipovec and is greeted with singing and dancing by all the local officials and ordinary citizens, as this coveted expert is to help them increase their hectare yields with his progressive methods. The filming continues in a similar vein, and the newly minted screenwriter can't help but wonder...

Building themes, however modified, permeated the nationalised cinema throughout its existence. This time, director Július Matula has focused on a young engineer who, with high hopes, accepts a position in a famous agricultural cooperative. However, he soon discovers that behind the proclaimed phrases there is in fact hypocrisy and protectionism. The authors criticise the fact that incompetence is often covered up, that shortcomings end up being cleverly camouflaged, that the social mood favours the mediocre and the adaptable. The hauers present a statement that is courageous, so to speak, within the limits of the law, and call for increased work consciousness.

The lead character is a young woman who becomes close with a colleague of her husband. She finds herself at an important crossroad in life and considers whether to take a decisive step.

People can be addicted to things, like high-calorie food. But the struggle against overweight and overeating is often futile, so the unfortunates have no choice but to lose weight under the guidance of experts - and they don't mind that the conditions in the sanatorium in question are quite oppressive and humiliating. Although, with a lot of good will, one could detect some metaphorical elements, the bitter comedy, reveling in naive stylisation, ultimately wants to be nothing more than an entertaining piece of work.