The poverty of Slovak workers during the Great Depression during the Masaryk Republic reached such a level that it led to a well-organized strike. The capitalists and their minions tried by all means to break it. Even the workers who had not yet been elected soon recognized their place and supported the initiative of the communists, who selflessly led the strike movement. The poster-like, purely ideological story succumbs to paper-like dialogues and plots, and the narrative portrayal hardly convinces of the credibility of the whole story.
Krabat, a beggar boy, is lured to become an apprentice to an evil, one-eyed sorcerer. With a number of other boys, he works at the sorcerer's mill while learning black magic. Every Christmas one of the boys has to face the master in a magical duel, where the boy never stands a chance because the master is the only person who is allowed to use a secret spell: The Koraktor.
The sincere and innocent amorous outburst of a mining apprentice clashes with the insensitive misunderstanding of adults...
Based on a novel by Maria Majerova, this well-photographed but routine romantic drama is directed and co-scripted by Vaclav Krska. Set in a more old-fashioned time, the story centers around Lenka (Suzana Fisarskova), a young woman with a domineering, psychologically abusive father. When Lenka falls in love she suffers the ultimate injustice when her father and her family forbid her to marry the man. They see no advantage in such a union and want her to marry a wealthy local landowner instead, for obvious reasons. But Lenka is not as submissive as they think and she runs away to the city to look for the man she loves -- only to find a serious problem, though a surmountable one, is waiting for her.
Dr. Lorenc selects excerpts from older Czech films for a symposium on laughter.
Car transport of the locomotive is difficult, as the cargo is bulky. The three-man crew of the tractor therefore experiences many difficulties on the long journey across Bohemia...
A group of children are investigating a chain of mysterious events during the seventies.
The waterman Puškvorec fell in love with the pretty gingerbread woman Rozárka and it took him a while to understand that happiness awaited him in the pond alongside the gingerbread woman Leknička...
Young knight John travels the world in search of fame and fortune, but also to help others and prove himself. However, things go dire fast and he becomes burdened with life's hardships. But then he meets a pretty water nymph, Mary.
In this crime story, surprisingly, neither the all-powerful criminals nor the spies or saboteurs are pursued, as was once common. The plot is almost mundane: someone unwittingly siphoned off alcohol from a tanker, unaware that it was deadly methyl alcohol, intended for industrial use. Finding out where the poison has been transported and which people it endangers requires painstaking work.
Spy film about a man with a face lift who gets recruited by western organisations.
A bunch of old friends reunite for the start of the rail tunnel construction. The miner Vojta Balvín is a dedicated worker, but at the same time a stubborn man. It is only a work accident that clarifies relations between him and the other workers...
The family is connected with Prague's "Kolbenka", the ČKD locomotive factory. Grandfather Antonín, already retired, son Rudolf, a master in the locomotive assembly section and grandson Antonín, a promising football player. The film also tells the story of Rudolf's daughter Vera - each generation has its own ideas about life and cannot identify with the others. The film is linked by retrospective sequences from the lives of Antonín the Elder and Rudolf, especially from the war years. It is a realistic take on working-class life, unencumbered by ideology (despite the opening dedication), featuring well-known and time-tested actors in mainly male roles.
The Pioneers are leaving for a holiday camp for young astronomers. And it's going to be an interesting stay, as a large meteorite was observed falling shortly beforehand, and it looks like debris fell into the area around the campground.
An outdated fireclay factory is due to close, but its long-time employees can't imagine stopping what has fed them all their lives and what they do best...
The story of two communist friends, one of whom leaves as secretary to the district committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia and the other remains in the village as a party agitator.
JZD Hořičky is one of the best cooperatives in the district. Its chairman, who knows how to get advice and money wherever he can, is supported by the district secretary - even at the expense of others. The cooperatives will reject high state honours as undeserved... An unconvincing attempt at a critical film from the present day.
Pavel is a Czech partisan fighter in the waning days of the war. Just as peace is declared, Pavel is shot in the spine and sent to the hospital emergency ward. As he fades in and out of consciousness, he recalls the events that led to his participation in the underground. Holding German occupation commander Engelchen responsible for all the horrors and deprivations heaped upon his comrades, Pavel is kept alive by the possibility of recovering and exacting vengeance upon the Nazi officer - no matter how long it takes.
The leader of the fast-track workers' party is appointed worker director of the unprofitable Lucie mine. The wrong decisions he makes to increase production at any cost and to fulfil an unrealistic plan lead to a catastrophe in which his son is accidentally killed. After overwhelming criticism, the failed director wants to quit, but the senior management and party authorities continue to have faith in him...
Káj Mick has always been called Kočka (Cat). He is a sensitive young man who reacts violently to the misunderstanding of both his family and his surroundings. Finding his own way in life is his problem...
Young Jan Stehlík signs up for a job to build a new mine. On the train he meets the pretty Alena, who falls in love with him. However, she means nothing to the superficial Jan, and when the girl becomes his lover, he treats her rudely and insultingly. But Alena's relationship troubles the honest Joseph, who really likes her.
Two aspiring car racers have a big dream: they want to make a journey to the heart of Africa. But their value system is severely skewed, and one of them is willing to steal to do it. What's more, he causes a car accident, from which he tries to escape, and ends up in prison.
Two short stories by Karel Čintamani a ptáci An avid collector of carpets, MUDr. Vitásek discovers a unique piece in Mrs. Severýnová's junk shop - a Persian carpet with a pattern of birds. As a connoisseur, he knows that there are only three of these carpets in existence and they are all owned by different monarchs. Severyn has no idea how rare it is, but the carpet is not for sale. It was saved by the wealthy widow Zanelli, who travels all over the world and rarely visits Prague. Vitásek confides in his lawyer friend Bimbal and with his help tries to retrieve the rare piece. Tales of a marriage fraudster The police headquarters is on high alert as marriage frauds proliferate. The hallmark of the culprit is violin playing and gold teeth. Inspector Pigeon of the train service eventually apprehends the fraudster, Vincent Plichta. The serious criminal doesn't resist arrest, he just bills the costs and goes to serve his sentence. After a while, marriage fraud is reported again.
On the train to Prague, the bride-to-be Zuzana Vítová accidentally meets the clerk Dr. Karel Jánský. Upon arriving in Prague, it seems that Jánský follows the girl on her way from the station, but it turns out that the two of them have only a common journey. When Zuzana discovers that her fiancé Petr Klika is not at home and that she has lost the keys to his apartment, Dr. Jánský gallantly helps her and keeps her company until deep into the night...
The short story explores the often tragic impact of prejudice or suspicion that relies on the appearance of the human face. Guests in a remote pub recount their own experiences of such cases, furthermore influenced by their experiences in the First World War...
Thirty-year-old worker Oldřich Olejník is a pub and wine bar worker, because he is celebrating the birth of his son. It is no wonder that he ends up in the detention center. This is how he meets seventeen-year-old Jirka Kouba. The troubled young man, who was nicknamed Žluťásek because of the color of his favorite T-shirt, left his job after numerous conflicts. His father disappeared for no apparent reason and his mother could not cope with it. Therefore, Žluťásek spends most of his time in a gang led by the bankrupt actor Ancek. Oldřich, in whom paternal qualities have awakened for understandable reasons, begins to take an interest in and care for Žluťásek. In addition to breaking through Žluťásek's initial distrust, this will also mean getting to know Ancek and his dubious gang...
An escort composed of three people transports a huge amount of new one-hundred crown banknotes in a special railway car. At the 196th kilometer, a village girl is waiting at the railway crossing and spots two men removing some packages from the track. The scene is immediately followed by the report of a gun and the unwanted witness is shot dead. Soon afterwards, on the 201st kilometer, the train explodes. Only one of the escorts Lenk (Radoslav Brzobohatý) survives the explosion, taken to hospital with serious injuries. Criminologist Major Kalas (Jirí Sovák) and the very young Second Lieutenant Karlícek (Jaromír Hanzlík) patiently gather facts, leads and testimonies.
The fates of the women are repeated: the 16-year-old daughter of a 32-year-old mother is also pregnant. Like her mother, the child remains unmarried and fatherless. From him, the girl receives only an exotic postcard with the titular three camels...
Black comedy about a genius inventor and two young, smart and beautiful women. Both of them putting all their effort into getting the one man. This will inevitable lead to all sorts of mischief, crime and even a murder. This murder-comedy, shot at the dawn of normalization has intentionally broke off from any connection to the reality of its time. The director Zdeněk Podskalský has focused on creating intriguing story lines, revolving around the two endeavouring female characters who are fighting for the same man. Two competing parties are not only ready to kill the other, but also (if necessary) the potential groom. This film has enabled the members of the cast, composed mainly of the brightest stars of the Czech acting scene of that time, to show an incredible acting range, from the lightest comedy to the darkest cynical morbidity.
A verger, who likes to dress as a priest, is invited, by one of the villagers, to be the pastor at a vacant church. The atheist teacher resents the pastor, and tries to embarrass him in various ways, including being caught with the local girl, Majka.
Matylda, who lives in the Czech countryside, is trying to arrange burial plans for her dying husband, Jan. While Matylda hopes to have a funeral for Jan in the small town where they once lived, there are complications. Years earlier, Jan spoke out against the Communist government and was consequently expelled from the town. When Matylda fails to convince a local politician to allow the ceremony, she uses her husband's funeral as a public show of dissent.
Marek (Jirí Holý), formerly a driver of a long-distance lorry, has served his term for smuggling art works abroad and is released from jail. Years ago, he sacrificed himself and confessed his guilt on behalf of his companions - the drivers Krása, Jelínek, Hess and Novák from the Ministry of Culture who gave them tips. Marek finds Hess and tells him that now he expects the gang to compensate him for the wasted years of his life.
In the morning twilight of Prague, the dead body of the safe-breaker Toufar is found floating on the river Vltava with a knife in his back. Police inspectors visit Toufar's lover, the prostitute Anna Kulatá (Jirina Bohdalová), nicknamed Umbrella, and it is apparent that the moment before she opened the door of her flat, someone fled through the window. Umbrella is summoned for examination to the head of the criminal police - Police Councilman Vacátko Jaroslav Marvan, but although shocked by the photograph of the dead man, she does not confess to anything. Before Toufar, Umbrella lived with the safe-breaker Penicka (Radoslav Brzobohatý), who loved her very much and made her quit her street trade. But when he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, Umbrella began to live with the brute Toufar, who chased her to street again. In the case of the murder, Penicka is therefore the prime suspect.
A tale based on novel by Czech writer Bozena Nemcova.
When a man stops at a motel one evening in 1961, his tormenting behavior drives one of the people present at the motel to remember his experiences in a concentration camp during WWII.
The apartment in the old house is occupied by a large family: a couple with three daughters, one of whom lives here with her husband and child. The young people want their own apartment, while the mother, who is indiscriminately directing the whole family, wants to exchange the current apartment for a larger one. At the moment when the son-in-law wants to show the housing committee of the cooperative the apartment in the worst possible condition, the mother frantically cleans up the artificial mess, because at the same time more people are coming in to exchange it. The confusion reaches its peak...
It is 1905. The police director gets Jindrich Legenda (Eduard Cupák) shadowed as, yet Legenda had served his sentence for a burglary, the jewels have not been found. Russian revolution encouraged also Czech workers to fight for their rights. Radical anarchists are followed by Legenda's friend Karel Wohryzek (Vladimír Mensík) who was forced to collaborate with the police as he was convicted of pornography distribution.
In 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.
Stanek, a truck driver, is working on a large construction site far from Prague. He hasn't been home for several weeks and is tormented by the idea that his wife is unfaithful. So he sets off to Prague underground and has many adventures along the way. He is stopped by a policeman just outside the building and gives a lift to a group of young people, where he is attracted by a charming girl, a single mother... At home, however, he does not find his wife Ruzena and finally succumbs to the seductions of a neighbour whose husband has left for the night shift. On his way back to the building site on a foggy night, he meets a broken-down ambulance, in which the girl from the youth group who attempted suicide is a patient...
Energetic Dr. Alice Váňová becomes the pit doctor at Mír Mine and spearheads a silicosis prevention study requiring miners to drink milk regularly. The miners, led by a tight-knit group, stubbornly refuse public participation. Determined union chair Janeček resorts to psychological tactics and pressure campaigns to force their compliance, turning a health initiative into a tense battle of wills.
Prague in the 1930s. A young, pretty girl gets on a crowded tram. She immediately catches the attention of a young man who not only appreciates the girl's charm, but also tries to steal her handbag discreetly. And so we meet one of the main characters of the film, a swindler, pickpocket and generally strange being Josef Kořínek alias Pépi. In addition to him, the story is populated by other characters from the Prague outskirts. Of course, the film also features the shrewd councilman Vacátko and his inseparable investigators Brůžek and Bouše. They have a sad duty - to track down the murderer of the collector Krále, who was found dead and who lost a sum of money on the way from the bank that could interest many people from his surroundings...
A detective story set in a youth mountaineering club. One of the members, Ivan Kočička, nicknamed Kocour, single-handedly investigates the mystery of the body of an unknown man, which he discovered in a cave on top of a rock.
A certain Mr. Mlácen is brought to the asylum, wanting to sell two church bells. He first offers them to merchants in an inn. He claims that he received them as an inheritance from his uncle, but he doesn't know what to do with them. But no one wants to buy them. Because of this, he first finds himself in a commissary and is eventually sent to an asylum. The professor (L. Kopřiva), who believes that Mr. Mlácen suffers from some kind of fixed idea and is mentally ill, promises him that he will buy his two bells back...
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.
Mikolás 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.
This story from the time of the occupation tells how the students of the teachers' institute decided to hold a traditional ball despite the ban. However, they had to cope with conditions more than threatening: the presence of Nazi thugs who intend to execute captured partisans as a warning...
In 1955, a detained agent feigns loss of memory, speech and hearing. According to his written statements, his name is Karel Neumann and he was born in Radhost...
The plethora of heroines living in the makeshift former Women's Homes share one feature - they mostly feel lonely. Some of them got used to this state and resigned, others still believe in a happier future...
Princess Terezka was a girl like a pod until the moment when Mrs. Madam took over her upbringing. The princess even cries from her etiquette. Famous doctors and their potions do not help. However, when Terezka is secretly taken from the castle by her beloved Tonek to her parents in a country cottage, her illness is over. The king promises that whoever finds Terezka and brings her back to the castle will get her hand in marriage and half the kingdom to go with it.
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.
It is the summer of 1968 and also in South Moravian Pálavice appear political clashes. The so far peacefully farming Unified farmers' cooperative starts splitting. Some of the farmers have found the cooperative called Vidrupa and want to deal with wine in private trade. Michal Janák, chairman of the farmers' cooperative is a deliberate man and refuses the latent return to the capitalism. As an excellent farmer he continues preparing planting out new vineyards. His adversaries do not agree - the returns will come many years later. Jozka Hrdlicka, an émigré, notices on the Austrian TV the interview with the representatives of Vidrupa and decides to visit his native village. The new suit and the hired car transform the bankrupt and criminal to the successful businessman with wine.
A colour-printed melodramatic selanca from the beginnings of the organised labour movement in Bohemia... Antonín Zápotocký, the second workers' president, is the author of the literary novel Rozbřesk - the plot is said to be inspired by the fate of his grandmother and mother.
Princess Valerie is a bit spoiled and bossy. So when she sniffs the magic rose of the devil's grandmother, whom she had previously offended, she loses her voice. And this causes real hell for Valerie, because the lady-in-waiting pretends to be her spokesperson and passes off everything she herself wishes as the princess's opinions. On her advice, the king organizes a ball, to which the princess is to wear an ugly green dress that does not suit her, and to get Albino of the Capes, whom the lady-in-waiting has chosen for her, as her groom. When Valerie gets rid of her nasty nature and finds out who really loves her, the rose will certainly help to undo what she has done.
Princess Georgina is just returning from the Imperial Court full of news about fashion and good manners. However, she starts to behave arrogantly and overprotective not only towards her cousin Blažej, but also towards mushrooms, frogs and nature in general. This, of course, wakes up Pindrus. Haven't you ever heard of those mischievous ghosts? Then this fairy tale is for you. You'll find out what happened to the pretentious princess who had a toadstool growing out of her head and croaking.
In the forest near the village of Drahovice, a nurse from the local health center is found murdered. Three months ago, another young woman died nearby and a sexual motive was proved in the case of her murder. In the case of the nurse, the motives are not so clear. Two criminologists from Prague - Major Kalas (Rudolf Hrusínský) and Lieutenant Varga (Radoslav Brzobohatý) - patiently collect all available leads and question the villagers.
Government bureaucrat Ludvik becomes suspicious after several colleagues disappear and he overhears something strange at a cocktail party. Returning home with his wife, Anna, he finds their house under surveillance and spends a fraught night worrying about his possible arrest in the morning. Marital difficulties come to light as Ludvik and his wife attempt to act normal in front of the cameras while dredging up their problems out of sight.
The cheeky, energetic Plajznerka, whose body is filled with the desire for a thick slice of happiness, tames and whips the forgotten devil to make him a "hardworking and honest musketeer", who would be able to properly wield the blacksmith at the anvil and on Plajznerka's small farm. And to help her overcome all the worldly pitfalls, slander and the hostility of her neighbors. From the eloquence of this charming woman, Trepifajksl soon understands that he will be much better off as a human being than as an old, worn-out devil...
The second part of the free comedy cycle about the orphaned siblings Alice and Zbyněk Kučero further develops Zbyněk's relationship with Kateřina, the "lodger" from the previous comedy. After all is revealed and Alice has given her "blessing" to their relationship, she begins to consider the possibility that after Zbynek's wedding, Kate's parents will enter her life. What will they be like? A curious Alice goes "exploring" just as Zbynek starts to introduce his future mother-in-law and father-in-law...
The specter of collectivization looms over Malšín. Young Čeněk Kotál returns to his native village after completing his university studies. His uncompromising father Bedřich and his father's unmarried and embittered sister Marie run the family farm. While old Kotál is having an affair with the innkeeper Božena, young Čeněk falls in love with the maid Gabriela.
An attractive and challenging 16-year-old girl has no shortage of admirers, but she becomes the cause of a small-town problem when she accuses her charming uncle of rape after trying in vain to seduce him. The bitter comedy, the only film directed by actor Václav Lohnisky, relies on the lively acting of both Vladimír Menšík as the eloquent uncle and Lucie Žulová as the mischievous seductress.
The 50th anniversary of the Barrandov studios was celebrated with a spectacular show: many directors and other important people gathered in the expensive decorations of the Variety Theatre auditorium (built for the Circus Humberto series). They smiled and showed well-deserved relaxation after a job well done in managing socialist cinema. Vladimir Sís interspersed this with excerpts from films, mainly his own and also a little of others who had worked on the "Hill of Dreams".
Two criminal gangs are ruthlessly fighting for a 1-million dollar check that, purely by chance, got into the flat of shy high school teacher George Camel. As the number of victims sharply increases, Camel is mistakenly regarded as a mass murderer and cunningly uses his horrifying reputation to get the respect and heart of his beloved Sabrina, a journalist from a local newspaper. But this game turns out to be risky and in the end, both gangs don't hesitate to seize the check at all costs, including an improvised operation
The town is waking up. The bus driver Josef Král is saying goodbye to his wife Vera who is in a state of advanced pregnancy. At the rolling mill, the master craftsman Mares is preparing for retirement, which is now only two days away. Elderly Simon who grows and sells vegetables at the market has problems with his wife. Their little home has to give way to a new development but the wife Simonka refuses to move out. The chairman of the workers' council has troubles with the miner Adam, who has started drinking. He doesn't know that Adam is getting divorced and fears he may lose his young son to his wife.
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.
A poor miner, Kuba Dařbuján, cares for his wife Markýtka and eleven children. When a newborn arrives, he seeks a godfather and, finding only Death fair to all, accepts a pact: as a doctor whom Death accompanies at the foot of a patient’s bed, he can heal; but if Death stands at the head, no cure is possible. Kuba eventually heals even a miserly brewer, violating the pact and imprisoning Death, leading to a world where no one can die and unforeseen chaos follows.
A story of a young boy called Bobesh and his funny adventures.
Three blue collar workers have a night out in big city Prague.
Dana Martinová, a young woman of loose morals, dies at the hands of a mentally unstable young man, Pavel Zach. In a fit of jealousy, he could not restrain himself and killed the girl with a blow to the head. The police find the corpse thanks to Dana's friend Eva Simonova. And it's Eva who becomes Pavel's second victim. The young man, afraid of being found out, attacks the girl and drowns her in the bathtub. Lieutenant Zeman, a criminal investigator, is put in charge of the double murder as his first case, assisted by his more experienced colleague Suchánek. However, the investigation initially goes nowhere. While Pavel's father tries to have his mentally ill son committed to a psychiatric hospital, Pavel commits another murder out of fear. Neither he nor the investigators know that Pavel has been a mere tool in the hands of someone else for some time...
While on vacation with their bickering parents, young Eva and her little brother Johnny find in a polluted lake two strange friendly sentient octopuses made of strange material that attracts electricity. They take them as pets.
Eva and her younger brother Johnny own two sentient octopuses made out of strange matter. Will their parents divorce and ruin Christmas? Will a scientist find a way to use their pets as fuel? Live action film with stop-motion octopuses.
A West German businessman Friedrich Schmidt is arriving to Czechoslovakia with private mission and mission for Intelligence service. He wants to settle the old event from the time of the Second World War when he as a student of the Czech grammar school in the town of Kostelec took part at the denunciation of his schoolmate Pavel Richter. Pavel was during the period of Nazi terror following the assassination of Acting Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia Heydrich executed. Schmidt has also to enter into relations with persons suitable for cooperation with the West Intelligence service. Schmidt - earlier, before the German occupation Smíd - meets the schoolmates and endeavors to avert suspicion that arose already at the time of the tragic event.
An elderly landowner still refuses to sell her farm and fields to one of her neighbors, who has an obvious interest in her farm. So one day, the neighbor visits the grandmother with an offer she can't refuse.
Three Men Travelling is billed as a loosely related sequel to Tri chlapi v chalupe (1963), sending our country protagonists set out from their family nests in the village of Ouplavice into the big wide world. Grandpa Potucek, (Lubomír Lipský) and his son Václav (Jan Skopecek) take part in the cooperative's excursion to spa town Karlovy Vary, a Pilsen brewery and some agricultural enterprises in western Bohemia. During the course of a series of misunderstandings and merrymaking, grandfather Potucek decides he will not let problems with sick calves unsettle him, and that he will persevere in his role as the leader of the cooperative.
Lieutenant Vasátko is spending Christmas vacation in a mountain cabin where a diverse group of people have gathered. The painter Horác and two married couples, the director Skorkovský and his wife and his new discovery, the not very clever Jájinka and her husband. There is a murder and an unusual denouement.
Three separate short stories by Jan Drda from the collection The Dumb Barricade: The Dynamite Watchman, Hatred and Traces.
A small town is one day visited by a priest who is there on a secret mission. He is a member of the Inquisition sent to investigate the activities of a local miller. The miller and his son are the descendants of an old family whose ancestral home burned down a century ago, but was rebuilt from scratch. The miller inherited much of his knowledge about the land, water, and a building's stability from generations of family experience. His reputation for finding water and predicting when a structure might collapse have come to the attention of the Inquisition -surely he must be in league with the Devil.
In 1960, farmer Walter Wagemühl learns from the West that his life is coming to an end. In order to pass the farm into loyal hands, he sends his adopted daughter Catharina to the East to marry his prudent nephew Ewald. The surprising request puts him in a huge quandary. He is about to take his final exams and the university officials have earmarked an academic career for him. But Ewald wants nothing more than to become chairman of the socialist cooperative in Hullerbusch. And now this too...
Radek Simek, the driver of a postal car, is shot dead on his regular route. The Investigators give up initial suspicions of robbery, because he carried no greater amount of money. Even questioning Honza Marek, another mail car driver, brings no result. When the circumstances are becoming more and more suspicious. Marek decides to track down the killer on his own.
In the early 1970s, the class struggle flared up in full force on the big screen - the hero of this film, set in the interwar period, is a staunch communist journalist who arrives in the Ostrava region during the economic crisis to instigate a strike. The impoverishment and hopelessness of the miners had exceeded all limits...
A Czech satirical comedy, filmed according to a script by the State Prize laureate Jiří Marek based on several of his satirical short stories. The film contains three stories, the first of which mocks careerism, the second takes aim at the inadequate attitude of some of our literary critics, and the final story is a satirical picture of how irresponsible construction work is still done in some parts of our country.
It is 5 May 1945 and the uprising against the hated German occupiers has broken out in Prague. The Czech guards open the gate of the Pankrác prison to allow the prisoners to escape en masse. Many of them are shot dead by the German guards but young Ruda (Jaromír Hanzlík) manages to run away. He is taken care of by one of the Prague fighters, concierge Kytka. Kytka hides him in the flat of the house's owner where only the young maid Karla (Jana Brejchová) is left, ordering her to take care of Ruda.
The relationship between a mother and daughter living in a village, the confrontation of two lives - the life that is ending and the life that is beginning. The daughter is not a mere observer of her mother's life, but rather watches it, criticizes it, warns her mother against loving a person who does not deserve her. But her actions are futile and her mother's life, her mother's fate, becomes a warning to the daughter.
In 1944, the popular film actress Hlínová is arrested by the Gestapo for sheltering a Resistance man. A film producer uses his connections with the Nazis to promote her in order to finish the film. Just before the last day of filming, actress Hlínová realizes that she is under constant guard and wants to escape. However, she is arrested again.
Five young people take off in a lighter-than-air machine at the Prague Centennial Exhibition. A live-action/animated film based loosely on Jules Verne's novels Two Years' Vacation and The Mysterious Island. The film in Art Nouveau style consists of live-action scenes, generally shot in black and white, as well as hand-drawn, stop-motion, and cutout animation. Various live-action and animated elements are often composited into the same scene.
A cunning plan to deprive an "illegal millionaire" of his ill-gotten wealth. But the catch is that someone else has an even more subtle plan...
In autumn 1941, Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich’s brutal rule in occupied Bohemia and Moravia fuels Czech resistance. In spring 1942, the government-in-exile sends trained paratroopers led by Lt. Král on a mission to assassinate him. Masters Strnad and Vyskočil ambush Heydrich’s open Mercedes in Prague’s Libeň district, mortally wounding him despite a jammed submachine gun. Their success triggers harsh Nazi reprisals, mass executions, and an intense manhunt for the operatives.
Czech nobleman Petr Vok of Rozmberk (Milos Kopecký) is no longer so young, but his amatory adventures continue to arouse the envy of men and the indignation of respectable ladies. In his "female retinue" at the chateau in Bechyne he has twelve comely girls, but he still manages to seduce the miller's wife and the maid. Lord Vok is in great financial difficulties. His elder brother Vilém advises him to marry a rich woman. Petr surprises him by announcing his intention to marry the very young Katerina of Ludanice.
Honza Vavrinec (Rudolf Hrusínský) works in the investment department of a large office. One day he gets involved in the case of an unjustly convicted worker who mistakenly considers him a parliamentary deputy. Honza as a "deputy" interferes in the case and helps the worker. Encouraged by the success and possibly also out of love for the beautiful secretary Svatava (Blanka Bohdanová), the then shy and fearful Honza stands up for the chief of the department, Hofmánek (Ladislav Pesek), who has been removed from his position.
Captain Záruba investigates after an anonymous tip flags the seemingly extravagant lifestyle of Chemotex technician Dagmar Králová. Summoned to discuss the matter, Králová’s quarrel with engineer Vaněček, who secretly runs a suburban bootleg alcohol factory, triggers panic among the illicit network led by hotelier Černý. When Králová is found dead near the site of a murdered hitchhiker, autopsy reveals a different killer, launching parallel murder investigations. Forensic teams uncover the clandestine distillery, and gradually piece together motives and perpetrators behind both deaths.
Television lighting engineer Honza borrows an apartment from successful architect Zdeněk so that he can meet his love Marta alone. The architect pretends that Honza's request is convenient for him, because he has a program in the early evening anyway. However, the opposite is true, the architect spends the most important time of the year in a pub. He is successful and carefree only on the surface, but in reality he is unhappy, his marriage has ended in bankruptcy. On the other hand, Honza and Marta are happy, although they lack their own apartment to be happy. They have their love...
In the era of the rise of Nazism in Germany, a strange man, exhibited in a circus for the amusement of the audience, is found to be the heir to a large fortune. The new owner must learn social behaviour and resist the advances of those who would like to seize his fortune themselves.
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.
An astronomer, wooing the hand of King John's daughter, builds a royal puppet. King John considers it blasphemy, but when a puppet is shot and killed in an assassination attempt by an evil prince from a neighboring kingdom instead of King John, nothing stands in the way of the astronomer and Princess Korunca.
JUDr. Kroupa will take over as President of the Civil Court from his colleague who is retiring. His job description is mostly to judge married couples who are divorcing and arguing over alimony, with the very least concern for the welfare of their children. With his new job, Kroupa "inherits" a handsome but peculiar secretary, Zdenka, who takes a liking to him. However, his attempts at courtship are occasionally thwarted by strange events...
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.
A fairy tale in which the devil can make hell for people on earth, but is powerless against common sense.
Dora, a lazy and evil woman, is in love with her servant, Hannes. Hannes, however, loves her sister-in-law, Margareta. When Dora learns about this, she vows revenge against the couple.
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.