
Acting
Rudolf Hrušínský
Born 1920-10-17 · Nová Vcelnice, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]
Rudolf Hrušínský was an acclaimed Czech actor during his country's era of communism. He was born in Nová Včelnice to Hermina Červičková and Rudolf Hrušinský (original name Rudolf Böhm, also took the stage name Otomar Otovalský). He was born, literally, back stage during a showing of the play Taneček panny Marinky. Initially he travelled from place to place, wherever his father could find a gig, but eventually his family settled in Prague. He dropped out of law school to pursue acting. Initially he starred in minor plays, but managed to escalate to famous film roles, many of which won him fame abroad
Acting credits
6.7A group of outcasts, including a vagabond and a prostitute, gather at the outskirts of the industrial area of a large Czech city, one of the things that helps some of them survive is alcohol.
The Hope
1964
7.3A comedy about exchange of 12 apartments , which, its organizer, lawyer Radosta, rightly called Action Ball Lightning. To prepare, organize and execute the exchange of twelve apartments is a work worthy champions. Radosta, who was excellently played by Rudolf Hrušínský, solved all sudden difficulties and complications on the fly and with grace. To be sure that the on the D-day everything goes well he prepares a little rehearsal, which reveals many minor issues caused for example by wedding ordered to inappropriate term or hesitation of some participants. Last but not least a night exercise announced by drunk psychologist Knotků, creates a lot of confusion that nearly sabotaged the whole operation.
Ball Lightning
1979
7.4The year is 1943. The war is raging between the Germans and the Allies in North Africa. A truck with a Czech crew, Lieutenant Navara and six soldiers, escapes from the Foreign Legion fortress. Their aim is to reach the Allies and fight against Nazism. The truck is destroyed by a German army plane, which is hit by enemy fire in its turn. One Czech soldier dies in the attack, the driver is badly wounded, and Navara has serious burns on his face. The group has very little water and must reach an oasis that is 60 km away.
Oasis
1972
The story of six men and one woman who, while exploring the underground part of an old palace, discover that they are trapped here and that there is no return. One can survive here, but is mere survival life? This is the question each of them asks, only the answers differ. A guide who is the epitome of a dictator type takes charge of the group. In a liminal fantasy situation, the characters of other, mutually unknown people are tested over time.
Pasiáns
1990
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Vůně jehličí
1987
6.7Four short stories by the greatest Czech satirist Jaroslav Hašek. "Soup for Poor Children" tells the story of how Prince Robert himself cooked soup for poor children, "Meeting of the Municipal Council in Mejdlovary" is the history of filling the position of municipal policeman, "Trampotes of Mr. Tenkrát" shows how strange events lead to marriage and promotion, "Revolt of the Convict Šejba" depicts the victorious fight of the convict Šejba for a dumpling for ministering at mass.
Hasek’s Tales from the Old Monarchy
1952
6.7About the great Czech satirist Jaroslav Hašek, who was captured by the Russians during the First World War. Not wanting to fight for the interests of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, Hašek enters the Red Army and, as a commissar of the international brigade, goes the military way from Samara to Irkutsk.
A Great Road Ahead
1963
7.8In 1930s Prague, a Czech cremator who firmly believes cremation relieves one from earthly suffering is drawn inexorably to Nazism.
The Cremator
1969
7.4A 20th century man lands on the Moon and discovers that Baron Munchausen has beaten him to it, accompanied by Cyrano de Bergerac and the characters from Jules Verne's novels about the conquest of the satellite.
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
1962
No synopsis available yet.
Svatební noc
1970
7.0An elderly rich lady, Hyacinta Horáková, is leaving for a spa. She entrusts her terrier Bobík to her sister-in-law Ludmila and her daughter Marcela, who live in her villa. The dog mysteriously disappears before long and there is no choice but to publish an advertisement promising a reward. In the newspaper's administration, advertising artist Ludvík Zoubek notices Marcela. He would like to please the girl who has charmed him and starts looking for the dog...
Neviděli jste Bobíka?
1944
7.5Good-natured and garrulous, Schweik becomes the Austrian army's most loyal Czech soldier when he is called up on the outbreak of World War I -- although his bumbling attempts to get to the front serve only to prevent him from reaching it. Playing cards and getting drunk, he uses all his cunning and genial subterfuge to deal with the police, clergy, and officers who chivy him toward battle.
The Good Soldier Švejk
1957
No synopsis available yet.
Už komedianti jedou...
1987
7.0A writer of pulp crime novels is drawn into a series of real crimes. This film was one of the first Czech attempts on a genre parody.
The Hard Life of an Adventurer
1941
7.4Reviewers found this somewhat surreal film so visually stunning as to be worth watching even when it was not clear to them what was going on. In the story, Jozef Schrevek is a man with unusual powers which he wishes to pass on to his son before his death, which is coming soon. Unfortunately, his son is much more interested in boozing and womanizing and being a well-known habitué of nightclubs, than in taking his father seriously and receiving his powers and the responsibilities which come along with them. The tension between the two escalates when a young woman enters their lives.
Paths of Death and Angels
1991
7.8It is a story of three veterans released from the army. During one night spent camping in the country they one by one wake up and meet three elvish brothers. Each of the veterans is given a magic item - one gets magic harp that provides him with servants by wish, other one endless pouch of gold and the last one owns magic hat that can create all the staff excluding money and people.
The Three Veterans
1984
7.2Mr 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...
The Hit
1981
6.4Middle-aged Antonin and his friends, the major, now retired, and the canon, are in the river, swimming and philosophizing. Then it starts to rain. It just seems to be that sort of summer. Antonin runs the swimming bath with his portly wife Katherine... A man appears with his horse-drawn caravan. He lays a striped pole across the river and walks over. With a handstand and a magic trick, Ernie the Conjuror invites everyone to that evening's performance... Ernie is a tightrope walker of only modest skill, but with a slim and beautiful assistant, Anna. Antonin speaks to her. The two spend the night in the change room by the river, Antonin massaging her feet all night long. Katherine decides to move into the caravan with Ernie. But now the major and even the canon sense Anna's attractiveness...
Capricious Summer
1968
6.6An episodic film about the inhabitants of Kersko, their hardships and their joys, most prominently hunting. A lyrical and humorous adaptation of writings by Bohumil Hrabal.
The Snowdrop Festival
1984
7.4The 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.
My Sweet Little Village
1985
7.3Josef Lachman, once a security officer, serves twelve years for aiding an SS fugitive’s escape. Upon release, he works as a driver on a dam project, hunting buried English pounds Meyer told him about. With miner Rokos’s help, he retrieves the cash and hides it with his daughter Eva, but she spends some at Tuzex, Rokos blackmails him, and they discover the notes are WWII forgeries.
Konec cesty
1960
No synopsis available yet.
Talenty a ctitelé
1960
6.3The first part of the "Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy", completed with Jan Žižka (1955) and Proti všem (Against All Odds, 1957). The film captures the period from May 1412 to the summer of 1415, a turbulent time in the Czech Kingdom, during which there were protests in Prague against the sale of "omnipotent indulgences" whose sale throughout the kingdom was announced by Pope John XXIII. The ideological leader of this movement is the preacher Master Jan Hus, whose words, calling for the elimination of church abuses, are listened to in the Bethlehem Chapel by thousands of ordinary Praguers, Czech lords and Queen Sophie, wife of the Czech King Wenceslas IV.
Jan Hus
1955
6.0In 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.
The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians
1981
Behind the camera
8.0No synopsis available yet.
Jarní píseň
1944
7.0The foolish Pedro is supposed to marry the beautiful Rosita, who is also attracted to the adventurer Pancho - during his journey to see her, Pancho finds himself in prison, where he is tricked by a cunning desperado who decides to win Rosita for himself.
Pancho se žení
1946
7.0The foolish Pedro is supposed to marry the beautiful Rosita, who is also attracted to the adventurer Pancho - during his journey to see her, Pancho finds himself in prison, where he is tricked by a cunning desperado who decides to win Rosita for himself.
Pancho se žení
1946