Jaromil Jireš

Directing

Jaromil Jireš

Born — Died

1935-12-10 — 2001-10-24

Place of birth

Bratislava, Czechoslovakia [now Slovak Republic]

Known for

Directing

Credits

45 titles

Jaromil Jireš (December 10, 1935 – October 24, 2001) was a director associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement. His 1963 film The Cry was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. It is often described as the first film of the Czechoslovak New Wave, a movement known for its dark humor, use of non-professional actors, and "art-cinema realism".

Known for

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders poster
7.0

Valerie, a Czechoslovakian teenager living with her grandmother, is blossoming into womanhood, but that transformation proves secondary to the effects she experiences when she puts on a pair of magic earrings. Now seeing the world around her in a different light, Valerie must endure her sexual awakening while attempting to discern reality from fantasy as she encounters lecherous priest Gracian, a vampire-like stranger and otherworldly carnival folk.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

1970

No artwork available
NR

Television series Golden Sixties examines new insights into Czech and Slovak cinema of the 1960s and the role of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Each episode focuses on a different filmmaker.

Golden Sixties

2009

Double Role poster
7.3

An intimate psychological film which elaborates the Faustian theme about the dispute between the body and the soul - a study on human identity. Two young doctors carry out the surgical exchange of the brains of two women who are dying after a car accident - a young girl and member of a criminal gang, and a lonely seventy-year-old associate professor of oriental studies. The young girl wakes from the operation thinking like the elderly intellectual and tries in vain to live with her new identity. (https://www.filmovyprehled.cz/en/film/22344/double-role)

Double Role

1999

No artwork available
6.6

This early short by Jaromil Jireš anticipates the formal and stylistic experimentation that would characterize VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS.

Footprints

1961

The Joke poster
6.5

In the 1950s, Ludvik Jahn was expelled from the Communist Party and the University by his fellow students, because of a politically incorrect note he sent to his girlfriend. Fifteen years later, he tries to get his revenge by seducing Helena, the wife of one of his accusers.

The Joke

1969

Lion with a White Mane poster
6.0

The film tells the exciting life of the great Czech composer Leos Janácek (1854-1928), also known by the thick silver hair that crowned his head and his strong character, which could overcome the adversities of fate.

Lion with a White Mane

1987

Film credits

Series credits

Behind the camera

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders poster
7.0

Valerie, a Czechoslovakian teenager living with her grandmother, is blossoming into womanhood, but that transformation proves secondary to the effects she experiences when she puts on a pair of magic earrings. Now seeing the world around her in a different light, Valerie must endure her sexual awakening while attempting to discern reality from fantasy as she encounters lecherous priest Gracian, a vampire-like stranger and otherworldly carnival folk.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

1970

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders poster
7.0

Valerie, a Czechoslovakian teenager living with her grandmother, is blossoming into womanhood, but that transformation proves secondary to the effects she experiences when she puts on a pair of magic earrings. Now seeing the world around her in a different light, Valerie must endure her sexual awakening while attempting to discern reality from fantasy as she encounters lecherous priest Gracian, a vampire-like stranger and otherworldly carnival folk.

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders

1970

Double Role poster
7.3

An intimate psychological film which elaborates the Faustian theme about the dispute between the body and the soul - a study on human identity. Two young doctors carry out the surgical exchange of the brains of two women who are dying after a car accident - a young girl and member of a criminal gang, and a lonely seventy-year-old associate professor of oriental studies. The young girl wakes from the operation thinking like the elderly intellectual and tries in vain to live with her new identity. (https://www.filmovyprehled.cz/en/film/22344/double-role)

Double Role

1999

Double Role poster
7.3

An intimate psychological film which elaborates the Faustian theme about the dispute between the body and the soul - a study on human identity. Two young doctors carry out the surgical exchange of the brains of two women who are dying after a car accident - a young girl and member of a criminal gang, and a lonely seventy-year-old associate professor of oriental studies. The young girl wakes from the operation thinking like the elderly intellectual and tries in vain to live with her new identity. (https://www.filmovyprehled.cz/en/film/22344/double-role)

Double Role

1999

No artwork available
6.6

This early short by Jaromil Jireš anticipates the formal and stylistic experimentation that would characterize VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS.

Footprints

1961

The Joke poster
6.5

In the 1950s, Ludvik Jahn was expelled from the Communist Party and the University by his fellow students, because of a politically incorrect note he sent to his girlfriend. Fifteen years later, he tries to get his revenge by seducing Helena, the wife of one of his accusers.

The Joke

1969

The Joke poster
6.5

In the 1950s, Ludvik Jahn was expelled from the Communist Party and the University by his fellow students, because of a politically incorrect note he sent to his girlfriend. Fifteen years later, he tries to get his revenge by seducing Helena, the wife of one of his accusers.

The Joke

1969

Lion with a White Mane poster
6.0

The film tells the exciting life of the great Czech composer Leos Janácek (1854-1928), also known by the thick silver hair that crowned his head and his strong character, which could overcome the adversities of fate.

Lion with a White Mane

1987

Lion with a White Mane poster
6.0

The film tells the exciting life of the great Czech composer Leos Janácek (1854-1928), also known by the thick silver hair that crowned his head and his strong character, which could overcome the adversities of fate.

Lion with a White Mane

1987

The Cry poster
7.0

While a woman is in the hospital preparing to deliver her child, her husband has all day to reflect upon his wife and their relationship. As he tends to his job as a television repairman, Slavek fondly remembers how he first met Ivana and the days they spent getting to know one another. Slavek also grows increasingly aware of the environment that surrounds him and questions the society his new child will be entering.

The Cry

1964

The Cry poster
7.0

While a woman is in the hospital preparing to deliver her child, her husband has all day to reflect upon his wife and their relationship. As he tends to his job as a television repairman, Slavek fondly remembers how he first met Ivana and the days they spent getting to know one another. Slavek also grows increasingly aware of the environment that surrounds him and questions the society his new child will be entering.

The Cry

1964

The Young Man and Moby Dick poster
4.2

Good-looking Edita Beningerová (Jana Brejchová) arrives at a chemical factory in the North Bohemian town of Ústí nad Labem together with her young assistant Nada (Zlata Adamovská). She is hoping that her ex-husband, outstanding practical chemical engineer Vik Panc (Eduard Cupák), will help her conduct an experiment to validate her proposed theoretical method of isolating cholesterol from lanolin. The success of Edita's invention is crucial for her career at the Prague Institute of Chemistry. Vik's roommate from his hostel Bréta (Ivan Vyskocil) is thrilled. He will finally meet the mysterious and fascinating Edita about whom he has learned so much from Vik.

The Young Man and Moby Dick

1979

The Young Man and Moby Dick poster
4.2

Good-looking Edita Beningerová (Jana Brejchová) arrives at a chemical factory in the North Bohemian town of Ústí nad Labem together with her young assistant Nada (Zlata Adamovská). She is hoping that her ex-husband, outstanding practical chemical engineer Vik Panc (Eduard Cupák), will help her conduct an experiment to validate her proposed theoretical method of isolating cholesterol from lanolin. The success of Edita's invention is crucial for her career at the Prague Institute of Chemistry. Vik's roommate from his hostel Bréta (Ivan Vyskocil) is thrilled. He will finally meet the mysterious and fascinating Edita about whom he has learned so much from Vik.

The Young Man and Moby Dick

1979

Helimadoe poster
6.0

A lyrical story from the beginning of 20th century, with the atmosphere of a small-town environment, distinctive characters, and a subtle analysis of human nature. It takes place in a small town in southern Bohemia, where a perceptive adolescent boy experiences his first emotional enchantment and a deep crisis. Helimadoe are also the initial letters of the names of the five distinctive daughters of Hanzelín, a rough country doctor who not only treats a seriously ill boy, but also helps him overcome his painful emotional turmoil with his wisdom.

Helimadoe

1993

Extended Time poster
7.3

The dramatic story of Karel Svozil, an aging professor of art history, tells of love and old age, illness, death and the worries of everyday life with a humorous touch. A diagnosis of a cancerous tumour unexpectedly interferes with the life of the wise and sophisticated man and his love affair with the much younger Alena, leading him to contemplate suicide. However, the gloomy thoughts are soon replaced by feverish activity, with which Professor Svozil tries to make the most of his remaining time. He finishes his book, marries his mistress, and openly speaks out against his superior. However, an accident radically changes the whole situation.

Extended Time

1985

Extended Time poster
7.3

The dramatic story of Karel Svozil, an aging professor of art history, tells of love and old age, illness, death and the worries of everyday life with a humorous touch. A diagnosis of a cancerous tumour unexpectedly interferes with the life of the wise and sophisticated man and his love affair with the much younger Alena, leading him to contemplate suicide. However, the gloomy thoughts are soon replaced by feverish activity, with which Professor Svozil tries to make the most of his remaining time. He finishes his book, marries his mistress, and openly speaks out against his superior. However, an accident radically changes the whole situation.

Extended Time

1985

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Naděje má hluboké dno

1989

Escape Home poster
8.0

A twelve-year-old is looking for his biological parents after discovering the fact that he was adopted.

Escape Home

1980

Escape Home poster
8.0

A twelve-year-old is looking for his biological parents after discovering the fact that he was adopted.

Escape Home

1980

Flying Saucers Over Our Village poster
6.3

A model Communist village is visited by a flying saucer.

Flying Saucers Over Our Village

1977

Flying Saucers Over Our Village poster
6.3

A model Communist village is visited by a flying saucer.

Flying Saucers Over Our Village

1977

Opera ve vinici poster
9.0

The peculiar Fanoš Mikulecký is the originator of many well-known songs from Podluží, generally considered folk songs. Next to him, the other main protagonist of the story is Honza, a musician and an uneducated journalism student. On one of his journeys he meets his former professor. He suggests that together they visit one of those who compose folk songs but do not claim authorship, Fanoš Mikulecký. With him, Honza understands the meaning of artistic creation and the fulfilment of human life...

Opera ve vinici

1982

Opera ve vinici poster
9.0

The peculiar Fanoš Mikulecký is the originator of many well-known songs from Podluží, generally considered folk songs. Next to him, the other main protagonist of the story is Honza, a musician and an uneducated journalism student. On one of his journeys he meets his former professor. He suggests that together they visit one of those who compose folk songs but do not claim authorship, Fanoš Mikulecký. With him, Honza understands the meaning of artistic creation and the fulfilment of human life...

Opera ve vinici

1982

And Give My Love to the Swallows poster
5.2

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.

And Give My Love to the Swallows

1972

And Give My Love to the Swallows poster
5.2

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.

And Give My Love to the Swallows

1972

The Dynamite Watcher poster
7.0

Three separate short stories by Jan Drda from the collection The Dumb Barricade: The Dynamite Watchman, Hatred and Traces.

The Dynamite Watcher

1963

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Il Divino Boemo

1974

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Il Divino Boemo

1974

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

O Háderunovi a víle Elóře

1988

The Island of the Silver Herons poster
7.0

The late summer of 1918. Paul, Willi and Heinrich from an age-old German town are good friends, although there is a great deal that divides them. Heinrich comes from an officer's family with an army tradition and is preparing to enter cadet college. Paul's father and grandfather are workers, and Willi, left to depend on himself, works as a hotel messenger. The last year of the war is hard for everyone, but while Paul and Willi know their own minds and do not hesitate to help the war fugitives Tony and Sepp, for Heinrich everything is more complicated.

The Island of the Silver Herons

1977

No artwork available
10.0

A television reporter visits the clerk, Mr Drobny, who answers dating ads and makes appointments with many women.

Don Juan 68

1968

No artwork available
10.0

A television reporter visits the clerk, Mr Drobny, who answers dating ads and makes appointments with many women.

Don Juan 68

1968

Učitel tance poster
6.3

A special story about love, dance, and immortality takes place in the late 1940s. A young man, dance master Mayer, arrives at a pulmonary sanatorium. His diagnosis is serious—tuberculosis. However, he does not give in to his illness and begins to actively fight it with dance and optimism. Gradually, he wins over other patients who had previously resigned themselves to their fate. Soon, however, his illness breaks out in full force and insidiousness. Facing death, he embodies human courage and a positive attitude towards life.

Učitel tance

1995

Labyrinth poster
8.5

Film makes the creative process visible by letting its narrative flow in the mind of a foreign director who is researching a film about Franz Kafka in Prague. Based on the principle of dreams and free association, segments unfold that deal with the various points of view that Kafka's work, personality and fate offer. In the labyrinth of his mind, the fictional director projects himself into situations from the author's life, with Kafka himself as his guide. At the same time, he delves into the history of the persecution of the Jews and glimpses the monstrosity of the bureaucratic apparatus that Kafka anticipated but could not have foreseen the monstrous size and function it would grow to a few years after his death in the institutionalized genocide and overall machinery of Nazism.

Labyrinth

1991

People from the Subway poster
4.8

Three short stories. Prague finally sees the approval of the subway construction. Thousands of individuals took part in preparing, course and finalizing construction of subway and their lives crossed at certain points of this construction.

People from the Subway

1974

People from the Subway poster
4.8

Three short stories. Prague finally sees the approval of the subway construction. Thousands of individuals took part in preparing, course and finalizing construction of subway and their lives crossed at certain points of this construction.

People from the Subway

1974

Jestřábí moudrost poster
7.0

A gloomy tale about a king whose pride robbed him of love, friends and power. A cruel curse is at the beginning of the story of this fairy tale based on an old Irish legend. Until the king's newly born son raises his sword against his father, there will be no spring in the Hawk Kingdom. Although the king orders the counselor Ordon to kill the child, the nurse saves him and entrusts the child to the care of a bird. He names him Christopher and raises him together with his son Janko. Twenty years later, the king succumbs to Ordon's urging to war with the neighbouring King Ubald. It is in this war that the curse is fulfilled and the tragic fate of the new king, who cannot listen to the right mouth, begins to unfold.

Jestřábí moudrost

1990

Pearls of the Deep poster
5.8

A quintet of vignettes based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal: an eventful trip to the motorcycle races results in drunkenness, long-winded discussions, and death; two elderly men create false biographies; insurance agents visit an eccentric painter/goat farmer and his mother; guests at a wedding reception remain oblivious to outlying misery; and a working-class boy romances a Roma girl.

Pearls of the Deep

1966

Pearls of the Deep poster
5.8

A quintet of vignettes based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal: an eventful trip to the motorcycle races results in drunkenness, long-winded discussions, and death; two elderly men create false biographies; insurance agents visit an eccentric painter/goat farmer and his mother; guests at a wedding reception remain oblivious to outlying misery; and a working-class boy romances a Roma girl.

Pearls of the Deep

1966

No artwork available
10.0

In a mountain village in eastern Moravia, J. D., a well-behaved and hard-working young man, his parents' only hope, mysteriously disappeared from home some time ago. At first it was judged to be a misfortune or a crime; the human imagination was left free. It was not until a few days later that a notebook was found in the chamber, which revealed the secret of the disappeared...

Zápisník zmizelého

1979