Cinema of the Czech Republic


Czech cinema is the name for cinematography of Czech Republic, as well as the Czech cinematography while it was a part of other countries.
The Fabulous World of Jules Verne is considered the most successful Czech film ever made a it was soon after its release distributed to 72 countries in the world and received widespread attention.
Marketa Lazarová was voted the all-time best Czech movie in a prestigious 1998 poll of Czech film critics and publicists.

History

The first Czech film director and cinematographer was Jan Kříženecký, who since the second half of 1898 filmed short documentaries in Prague. The first permanent cinema house was founded by Viktor Ponrepo in 1907 in Prague.

After World War I

Among the most prominent directors were Karel Lamač, Karl Anton, Svatopluk Innemann, Přemysl Pražský, Martin Frič and Gustav Machatý. The first Czech movie with synchronized sound was Tonka of the Gallows in 1930. Barrandov Studios were launched by Miloš Havel in 1933. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. During the war Czech film industry was taken over by the Germans, who made their own movies at Barrandov. Czech movies could only be made in a smaller film studio in Hostivař.

After World War II

Many prominent people of Czech cinema left the country before the World War II including directors Karel Lamač and Gustav Machatý, cinematographer Otto Heller, actors Hugo Haas and Jiří Voskovec and producer Josef Auerbach. Director Vladislav Vančura was murdered by Nazis as were a popular actor and signer Karel Hašler, actress Anna Letenská and writer Karel Poláček. Studio owner Miloš Havel and actresses Lída Baarová and Adina Mandlová went to exile in Germany or Austria after they were accused of collaborating with Nazis during the war. In 1943 Czech Film Archive was established in Prague.
In 1945 Czechoslovak film industry was nationalized. After a communist coup in 1948 only social realist movies were made. Most of the movies of 1950s were ideological, including historical movies, comedies and fairy tales.

New Wave

In the early 1960s a new generation of filmmakers like Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Jiří Menzel or Jan Němec started to make movies in opposition to social realist movies of the 1950s. After achieving success in international film festivals these filmmakers were called Czechoslovak New Wave by foreign film journalists. Even the directors who were not part of New Wave made their best movies in 1960s. Encompassing a broad range of works the Czechoslovak New Wave cannot be pinned down to any one style or approach to filmmaking. Examples range from highly stylised, even avant-garde, literary adaptions using historical themes to semi-improvised comedies with contemporary subjects and amateur actors. However, a frequent feature of films from this period were their absurd, black humour and an interest in the concerns of ordinary people, particularly when faced with larger historical or political changes. Cinematic influences included Italian neorealism and the French New Wave can be seen in some of the Czech New Wave movies. After Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia New Wave slowly faded away. Many directors were fired from the state owned film studios. Others chose emigration. Some of the movies that were critical to communist regime were banned.

1970s to 1989

During the period of normalization only the movies that communist authorities considered harmless were made. Therefore the most successful movies from this era are comedies, sci-fi and family movies. A fairy-tale film from 1973, the Three Nuts for Cinderella has become a holiday classic in Czehchoslovakia and several European countries, for example in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and Norway.

1990s and beyond

Among the most successful Czech films made after the Velvet Revolution are: Kolya, Divided We Fall, Cosy Dens and Walking Too Fast.

Czech films

List of notable Czech directors

Czech films nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film