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LESSON 1 the Czech Cinema Before and During the 2Nd World War

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LESSON 1 the Czech Cinema Before and During the 2Nd World War LESSON 1 The Czech Cinema before and during the 2nd World War > # Jan Kříženecký: > # The first documentaries: The Fire-Engine Goes to the Fire (1898), St. John´s > # Fair in a Czechoslovak Village, Žofin´s Spa, The Festive Inauguration of > Franz > # Josef´s Bridge (1901), The Festive Inauguration of the Exhibition Dedicated > to > # the Anniverary of the Chamber of Trade, From the Festive Inauguraton of > Čech´s > # Bridge (1908) > # The first fiction short films: A Date in the Grinding Room, Biřtlář´s > Accident, > # Laugh and Cry (1898) > # > # Jan Arnold Palouš: Night Fright (1914) (adaptation of an oriental fairy tale, > # the first Czech „horror“) > # > # Karel Degl: Prague 1917 (1917), Prague Newsreel (1919), The Church Master > # Builder (1919) > # > # Jan S. Kolár: Polykarp´s (Rudi´s) Winter Adventure (1917) (the first Czech > # comedy series; Rudi / Polykarp – the first Czech grotesque comedy character), > # Arrival From the Dark (1921) (the first Czech attempt in the field of the dark > / > # SF thriller and the first Czech film that was successful abroad; the first > # influence of the German Expressionism on the Czech cinema). > # > # Svatopluk Innemann: The Lights of Prague (1928) > # > # Karel Anton: Tonka – a Girl For Gallows (1930 – the social thematic dimension > of > # the Czech silent film; sound was added later to the initially silent film; > Ita > # Rina) > # > # Gustav Machatý: Kreutzer´s Sonata (1926), Erotikon (1929 – Ita Rina), Extase > # (1931 – the first Czech talked / sound film), From Saturday to Sunday (1931 – > a > # very modern way of using the recently invention of the sound in the film; the > # Czech melodrama) > # - the beginnings of the Czech art cinema > # - the beginnings of the Czech cult erotic cinema > # - very modern expression means (little dialogs, film symbols / metaphors) > # - Hedi Kiesler / Hedy Lamarr (Extase – censorship in the USA) > # > # Karel Lamač: In the Services of Sherlock Holmes (1932 – phantasy „police > comedy“ > # in the Czech style) > # > # 1933: The Barrandov studios > # > # Josef Rovenský: The River (1933), Maryša (1935) – The country drama / country > / > # nature thematics of the Czech film in the interwar period) > # > # Vladislav Vančura: Marijka - Unfaithful Wife (1934 – experimental film at the > # limit of the documentary, made with non-actors talking a marginal dialect in > the > # Eastern part of Czechoslovakia) > # > # Hugo Haas: The White Disease (1937 – adaptation afte Karel Čapek; SF antiwar > # drama made in the eve of the occupation of Czechoslovakia; Hitler presented as > a > # character under a different name) > # > # Otakar Vávra: Virginity (1937 – Lida Baar; the social thematics + melodrama), > # The Confraternity of the Kutná Hora Virgins (the historical comedy + > adaptations > # of Czech classic theatre / literary sources) > # > # Martin Frič: The Escapades of Eve / Eve is Fooling Around (1939 – erotic / > # „sexy“ comedy) > # > # Film stars: Vlasta Burian, Hugo Haas, Jan Werich a Jiří Voskovec, Adina > # Mandlová, Lída Baarová, Oldřich Nový > # > # The 2nd World War /The Occupation: > # The German censorship. Films inspired by the Czech history and literature; at > # the end of the war – almost impossible to make Czech films for the Vzech > # audience. Successful titles: > # Martin Frič – Kristián (1939 - a character comedy depicting the society of > the > # First Czechoslovak Republic; Oldřich Nový, Adina Mandlová) > # Otakar Vávra: Dr. Hegl´s Patient (1940, Adina Mandlová´s best role) > # František Čap – The Night Butterfly (1941) LESSON 2 Czech Cinema After WWII and before 1989 (1945-1989 + 1989 - until today) > # 1945: End of WWII; Czech and Slovak territory liberated by the local > partisans, > # Soviet and Romanian Armies; Czechoslovakia is put together again as an > unitary > # state where Czech and Slovaks live together > # > # 1945 – 1948 > # The Soviet Union presses on radical political transformations in the > countries > # occupied by the Red Army in Central and Eastern Europe, including the Eastern > # part of Germany, aiming to impose the socialism system and the absolute > leading > # of communist parties in those countries (Eastern Germany – the German > Democrat > # Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yougoslavia, Bulgaria, > # Albania); unsuccessful attempts to do that also in Turkey and Greece, stopped > by > # the Western intervention > # > # Czechoslovakia starts economic, social and political reforms even in 1945, > # immediately after the liberation from under the German occupation and the > return > # of President Eduard Beneš, which escaped occupied Czechoslovakia in 1938; as > a > # consequence, the cinema industry is completely nationalized with no more > # possibilities of private investitions in this industry; from now on, all the > # films made in the country are „state films“ (made from public money) > # > # From 1945 to January 1948 a certain democracy still works in the country and > it > # is still possible to make films according to the directors´ and producers´ > # artistic taste and personal will; but the politic pressure raises and > censorship > # becomes more and more powerful; in 1948 is already very difficult to make > films > # independently on the political expectations and demands of the censorship > # > # The most important titles of the era: > # The Adventurous Bachelor (Otakar Vávra, 1946) – a comedy in Vávra´s style > # The Explosion (Otakar Vávra, 1947) – a SF and antiwar warning film about an > # inventor of ultimate explosive tries to keep his invention secret against > those > # who want to use it to rule the whole world. A propagandistic remake appears > in > # 1980 by the same director. > # The Stolen Border (Jiří Weiss, 1947) – about the tensions between Czech and > # German citizens living on the border region of Czechoslovakia in 1938 and the > # Munich Treaty (films inspired by war) > # Karel Čapek´s Stories (Martin Frič, 1947) – adaptation of a couple of the > most > # famous stories by Čapek > # The Long Journey (Alfréd Radok, 1948) – the best Czechoslovak film made in > this > # period, internationally acclaimed, copes with the atmoshere of the Jewish > # ghettos in Prague and of the concentration camps; the communist censorship > # limited and finally banned the distribution of the film > # > # January 1948 – The Czechoslovak Communist Party comes to power in > # Czechoslovakia, being freely elected in democratic elections, a case that is > # unique in Central and Eastern Europe, as in the other countries of the region > # the coming to power of local communsits is forced by the Soviets and Red Army > of > # occupation; immediately then the acting democrat president Beneš is forced to > # resign and the communist leader Klement Gottwald entitles himself as > president > # of the country; radical political and social transformations follow, the > whole > # economy is nationalized, political adversaries are arrested and/or > exterminated, > # emmigration is no more possible and the whole cultural life is submitted to > the > # goals of the communist propaganda and to a strong censorship; history is > # rewritten and a part of it completely banned, just as the most of the > democratic > # artists; the „dictatureship of the proletariat“ is dramatically working in > all > # the communist countries > # > # The film production has to serve the same goals; no other subjects but the > # „politically acceptable ones“ are made into films; prefered items: the „class > # fight“, the „heroic“ deeds of communists within the recent or contemporary > # history of the country, political transformations and „social/multilateral > # progress“ in the country after 1948; simple, manicheistic „black and white“ > # stories are prefered as items for the screenplays, showing the victory of the > # „poor, good and beautiful“ (comunists/working people) against the „reach, bad > # and ugly ones“ („capitalist exploiters“, „reactionary“ bourgeoisie, etc.); > the > # nationalistic dimension of the censorships encourages presenting Czechs and > # Soviets as „the good ones“ vs. Germans and Americans as „the bad ones“; > # Sample titles: > # The Silent Barricade (Otakar Vávra, 1949) – inspired by the street fights in > # Prague at the end of the war > # Tomorrow Everybody Will Be Singing and Dancing (Vladimír Vlček – 1952) – a > # colourful propagandistic superproduction > # Hijack (Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos – 1952) > # The Last Shot (Jiří Weiss – 1953) – interesting film influenced by the > # neorealism and therefore sharply criticised by the official censorhip; he > would > # „repair“ his „mistake“ next year by shooting Czechoslovak president Antonín > # Zapotocký´s New Partisans Arise > # > # 1949: FAMU is grounded as the national film school > # > # The only field that was spared the propagandistic control was the animated > flm > # (cartoons + specifically Czech puppet animation) and the films for children; > # A key name – Jiří Trnka (puppeteer, animation and cartoon film director, „the > # Walt Disney of the East“; awarded in Cannes in 1946; ) sample titles: The > # Emperor´s Nightingale (1949), Prince Bayaya (1950), Old Czech Legends (1953) > # > # 1953: Stalin dies; Nikita Khrushchov comes to power in Moscow; a certain > # relaxation of the censorship and a kind of mild democratisation is to be > # observed in all the Central and Eastern European Countries; a change of > # communist generations also helps to it > # In some countries interesting cultural and even political movements
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