
Acting
František Velecký
Born 1934-03-08 · Zvolen, Slovakia
Velecký was a very particular figure of Slovak acting, being antipode to venerated mainstream showbiz celebrities. Although he had never received any formal training in acting, he managed to earn great respect of both filmmakers and audience members. He performed in some 50 Slovak, Czech, German, Hungarian and UK/US movies, but he will be most remembered for portraying the lead character of Mikoláš in the Czech movie Marketa Lazarová. Velecký was born 8 March 1934 in Zvolen. He originally studied civil engineering and worked as a designer for few years. However, since his early age he was attracted by the world of cinema and finally in his 30s managed to get his first major roles. Practically at the beginning of his acting career, after a few minor films including Každý týždeň sedem dní (1964) and Nylonový mesiac (1965), he received the role of his lifetime in Marketa Lazarová (1966). This experience deeply influenced the rest of his life. In interviews, he described with gratitude how the director František Vláčil completely changed his way of seeing the world during the long production of this movie. Despite the impact the role had on the film (widely considered the best Czech cinema) and on his life, Velecký would probably be more recognized by Western audiences for his appearances in The Brothers Grimm (released 2005) and the Academy Award-nominated Želary (2003). For most of his career, Velecký was free of any theatre company ties except being briefly associated with the Theatre of Spišká Nová Ves in the 1980s. During his professional career, Velecký was not limited to acting. He was assistant director to Juraj Jakubisko on the film Zbehovia a pútnici (1968) and he applied his talent in fine arts during the 1990s. Velecký died of cancer 5 October 2003 in Bratislava.
Acting credits
5.9Folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. However, they are put to the test when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.
The Brothers Grimm
2005
7.7Mikolás and his brother Adam end up with a young German hostage of noble blood during a robbery. While their clan prepares for the wrath of the German king, Mikolás is sent to pressure his neighbor Lazar into a defense pact. Persuasion fails and he abducts Lazar's daughter Marketa on the eve of her initiation as a nun in an act of vengeance.
Marketa Lazarová
1967
4.6This film, set at the beginning of the 17th century, is the first East-European "Eastern". Bocskai István orders the free Heyducks to shepherd a huge herd of cattle through the country torn to three parts, to the Dalmatian coast, where he can get weapons in exchange, for fighting the Austrians.
Unruly Heyducks
1974
8.0Second movie of the famous Czech adventure trilogy: Osada Havranů Na veliké rece Volání rodu
On the Great River
1978
The tragicomedy of a man who, by inappropriately attending the wedding of his subordinate, wants to demonstrate humanistic thinking in a society that is not ripe for such ideas. However, it turns out that even for him humanism is just a declared empty concept, serving to gain popularity. His whole democratization "mission" results in a farce, for which, out of offended vanity, he takes merciless revenge on his subordinates and on the whole environment...
Zlý žart
1993
No synopsis available yet.
Crainquebille
1982
9.0Epic recalling the early days of the Republic of the councils.
Palm Sunday
1969
6.3Set in the 1890s on the Hungarian plains, a group of farm workers go on strike in which they face harsh reprisals and the reality of revolt, oppression, morality and violence.
Red Psalm
1972
6.1It has been fifteen years since the death of her father, Agamemnon, and Elektra still burns with hatred for Aegisztosz, who conspired with Elektra's mother to kill him.
Electra, My Love
1974
5.8A stuffy middle-aged foreigner, a businessman named Fabricius, lonely and looking for a night's diversion, finds it in the form of a mysterious blonde. In an abandoned cemetery, she tells him three tales involving black magic and erotic obsession. In "The Last Golem," a young rabbi struggles to fashion a massive, silent giant out of living clay — until he's distracted by a mute servant girl. In the second episode, "Bread Slippers," an 18th-century countess indulges her passion for sweet cakes, adulterous affairs, and secret kisses with pretty maids until a mysterious visitor whisks her away to an abandoned mansion, where Fate has a different kind of dance in store for her. And in the final story, "Poisoned Poisoner," a ravishing murderess in the Middle Ages dispatches lecherous merchants to the tune of upbeat '60s Czech pop songs.
Prague Nights
1969
7.4A funny outlaw tale inspired by traditional folk humour. Pacho is no ordinary outlaw. He detests injustice and feudal oppression and he copes with each troublesome situation with the help of his cleverness and wit.
Pacho, the Brigand of Hybe
1976
6.2The hero of this popular fairy tale is a young prince who, after the death of his parents, goes out into the world. During his travels he meets a magical talking horse and falls in love with the beautiful princess Slavna. On the advice of his horse, he binds one eye and pretends to be dumb and enters into service as the castle gardener.
Prince Bajaja
1971
6.1Sixteen-year-old students of a grammar school are supposed to write essays on "Love". The class best student Andrea (Jaroslava Schallerová) writes about a patriotic love to a country as she has no experience with a partner love. She has been living alone with her divorced pretty mother Eva (Milena Dvorská), a dentist, for many years. Recently, however, Eva met her former school-days love at a graduates' party, nowadays a famous hockey goalkeeper Brukner (Frantisek Velecký). Also his marriage fell apart; he leaves the national team and decides to leave Prague for his home town and to share flat with Eva. He takes with him his son Petr (Oldrich Kaiser), in Andrea's age, who gets his last chance to finish a grammar school in the town.
Love
1973
No synopsis available yet.
Právom lásky
1984
A dramatic love story in the front line.
Na druhom brehu sloboda
1984
5.2A satiric tragi-comedy about two women and their lover Robert who is an emigrant that keeps coming back. This film shows chaotic post-communist Europe after the fall of totalitarianism. Two opposite characters, women, meet during the Velvet Revolution in November 1989. Intellectual dissident Nona and a Communist secret police boss’ mistress Ester. They meet at an anti-regime demonstration and become friends. They don’t want anything to do with politics, both want to get married and have kids, but also get rich. Crazy plans and risky attempts to realize their shared dreams land them in many sticky situations in the post-revolution chaos. Too much money gets in the way of the power of friendship.
It's Better to Be Healthy and Wealthy than Poor and Sick
1992
6.6In 1757, the second year of the Seven Years' War, Frederick II the Great stands at the gates of Prague. He has been trying to take the city for weeks, as the enemy commander Duke Charles of Lorraine is inside. Frederick has just defeated him, but the tide could soon turn against the Prussians, as new Austrian troops are approaching. None other than the famous master thief Andreas Christian Käsebier is to sneak into Prague to open the gates from the inside. As a reward, the king promises him freedom. Käsebier accepts the offer because he is tempted to steal an entire city. But by chance, Käsebier learns that the king wants to betray him. After a successful battle, he is put back behind bars for life. This doesn't suit the master thief at all, especially as he has just fallen in love with Katka in Prague.
The Stolen Battle
1972
7.0Comedy about the "Husarenstreich", the 1757 Berlin raid during the Seven Years' War.
Husaren in Berlin
1971
Slovak partisans, bravely fighting against Nazi superiority, would never have succeeded to such an extent if they had not been supported by the villagers. Despite the threat of repression, it is the villagers who care for the wounded, hide them, and behave conscientiously. Although the film was made in the late 1960s, it fully adopts the patterns of partisan stories, perhaps the only thing it can be credited with is a more developed sense of authenticity in the story, characters, and setting.
Stopy na Sitne
1969
A television film, an adaptation of Vladimír Mináč's first novel. The dramatic story of two brothers during the Slovak National Uprising provides artistic testimony to authentic events from the Slovak mountains in 1944.
Smrť chodí po horách
1979
No synopsis available yet.
Bludička
1977
6.3Impressionistic film based on a Maupassant story about five friends who fall in love with the same beautiful girl one summer.
Sweet Games of Late Summer
1970
7.0A biographical film about the Slovak nationalist Ľudovít Štúr. It captures the revolutionary events of 1848 in Austria-Hungary, when Štúr, as a member of the Diet, led the fight for the national rights of the Slovak people.
Niet inej cesty
1968
8.5It 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...
Zločin v Modré hvězdě
1974