Oldřich Vízner

In 1930s Prague, a Czech cremator who firmly believes cremation relieves one from earthly suffering is drawn inexorably to Nazism.

Unlike any other opera, the so-called Beggar's Opera is not just one composition, but a lineage of adapted compositions, beginning with the original hugely successful 1728 political satire written by Englishman John Gay. Composers and writers have penned variations on it ever since. The most famous of these was A Threepenny Opera by Bertholt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Some things these compositions share in common is their setting among the poor and criminal classes, and the roguish character Macheath. This production is based on an adaptation of Gay's original by Vaclav Havel the freedom-fighter, writer and philosopher who became the first (and only) president of the united post-communist country of Czechoslovakia, and it retains many traces of its theatrical origins. Film reviewers were not too tolerant of what they called "slavish adherence" to the noted Czech writer's stage production, but theater, philosophy and history buffs may feel otherwise.

Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed reports by Maryska, who has organized a pig-killing feast and is ably assisting the butcher. When she invites the old curmudgeons on the board to enjoy the fresh pork, they are too happy to agree. Francin doesn't know whether he is going to get a permanent contract. To make things worse his brother Pepin - eccentric, noisy and garrulous - turns up on an indefinite visit.

The main characters are a young psychologist Doubravka and a village youth, Honza Macháček. He is a tractor driver who temporarily lost his driver's license in a crazy bet, so he now herds a cooperative herd of cows, she is at the cottage with her boy Boba, who is not very successful in studying medicine and is currently preparing for his remedial exams. Honza's immediacy, optimism and approach to life and work contrast sharply with the selfish, weak-willed and unbalanced Boba, and Doubravka increasingly realizes that her feelings for Boba have disappeared and that she actually loves Honza. The question is how her somewhat conservative family will view such a game.

The king of a small kingdom intends to pass the throne to his firstborn, but foolish prince Fintín. However, his subjects adore the cute and clever princess Pusinka. Unfortunately, the evil elf Pižlík also has his eye on her, and his power grows in proportion to the foolishness at the royal court. He is looking forward to marrying her, turning all his subjects into tiny people, and becoming their tiny ruler. The wizard Fuk and his apprentice Kuklík can no longer stand by and watch, and decide to help the kingdom. At that time, the pear of wisdom ripens in the royal garden, the only one in a hundred years. What will Fuk's confusion cause when he gives the magic pear to the poor young man Drátařík instead of the prince?

An elderly paper-crusher branded a fool in Prague secretly stashes condemned books, preserving their contents and extrapolating from them eccentric scenarios of wit.

The water sprite Toníček fell in love with the beautiful and hard-working Andulka, but her father did not approve, so he sent her to Prague to work as a servant. Toníček did not give up and went to look for her. All the water sprites from Prague and the surrounding area helped him, but Andulka was nowhere to be found. Of course, she was eventually found, but it was not easy.

A story of love and honor that takes place during the mid-nineteenth century during revolutions, as well as economic, political, and social hypocrisy. Two extraordinary but lonely artists share a passionate love, as evidenced by the preserved letters that they exchanged.

Set in World War 2 as the Germans occupy Czechoslovakia, teenage Emilka's father is murdered by the Nazis, but she is selected for special treatment by virtue of being blonde. She is billeted with the commandant of a concentration camp near the Baltic coast, where his kindness towards her provokes his wife's jealousy, but is compromised when Emilka witnesses his brutality towards the prisoners.

The short stories about marriage that Vít Olmer wrote for Playboy magazine when Arnošt Lustig was its editor-in-chief are witty, often with absurd punchlines, and clearly show that the author is a keen observer of life around us. He selected five of them for his new Czech comedy, whose common denominator is actor Jiří Krampol, the main character in each of them.

Chinese romance film.

Eerie things are happening at Chelford Castle at night: Since the murder of Abbot Hubert some 400 years ago, his ghost is said to haunt the abbey on dark nights. Devilish howls can be heard as he wanders through clouds of fog. Sergeant Putler, Scotland Yard's most intrepid and successful detective, is hired by Richard Chelford to investigate the case. His older brother, Lord Henry, is much more interested in the legendary treasure of gold that is said to have been hidden somewhere on the grounds since Hubert's death. The situation escalates when Henry's secretary, Mary Brown, disappears without a trace one night, and a man in a monk's habit with a knife appears in Richard Chelford's bedroom, intent on killing him. Meanwhile, Sergeant Putler chases the mysterious monk's terrifying screams through the foggy and eerie night...

A modern retelling of Erben's fairy tale from 1980 tells the story of a prince who failed to look after an apple tree from which golden apples were disappearing. So he has to set out on a journey to find the thief - the Firebird. On his journey, he has many adventures and finally realizes that there are more important values ​​in life than material ones. He is helped by his love for a red-haired princess, who teaches him to unlearn pride and helps him find a new relationship with life. The prince stops overestimating grandeur and wealth and discovers that the most important values ​​in life are sincere human relationships.

The funny TV fairy tale THE DOLL FROM THE VLTAVSKA POOL (1976) tells not only about the coexistence of the human and waterfowl races in Povltavia, but also about the fact that everything is good everywhere in the world, but at home it is best. And although this applies to the inhabitants of the banks and the depths, young people often have to verify this saying for themselves. THE DOLL FROM THE VLTAVSKA POOL is also full of songs with lyrics by Pavel Kopta, but there is also one folk song, the one that is perhaps the most suitable given the title of the fairy tale - The wide, deep, Vltava pool...

The first installment of a two-part movie adaptation of the Vladimír Páral's novel about three friends who decide to start up an erotic enterprise. All plot complications ensue from running their 'amateur' pleasure parlor.

Viktor Průcha, a successful small-town architect, lives well but knows his comfort rests on compromises. When an elderly man—whose granddaughter was hurt at a school Viktor approved beside a busy road—attacks him and then takes his own life, Viktor abandons his home for a rural studio. There he rediscovers nude photography; his acclaimed exhibition forces him to confront past concessions and choose his future.

Emperor Francis Joseph I is about to arrive in Prague, and among those who came to Stromovka to welcome him is Veronika Pavlitová. She wants to submit a request for clemency for her imprisoned father to the emperor, because she is barely able to support herself and her siblings on the meager salary of a seamstress. By chance, the girl meets Božena Němcová, whom she admires immensely. She becomes her friend and confidant for a while. However, police director Paümann, who has been following Božena Němcová for a long time, takes advantage of the naivety of the young girl. Veronika, in her simple-mindedness, tells him many things. Only later will she understand how she was abused.

The main character of the story is Professor Trojan, the head of a Prague clinic, who is not experiencing the happiest of times. His cat has been poisoned with cyanide, he has a falling out with his son Petr, who has moved to Brno to be with his wife, the promising singer Eva, and only seeks out his father when he needs money, and as if that weren't enough, someone shoots him in the evening. Trojan initially considers it a mistake or a prank and does not share the fears of those around him. But then cyanide is discovered and one of the patients takes it from the assistant Dvoracek, who borrowed it for an unauthorized experiment. Trojan pairs the cyanide with a gunshot and slowly begins to suspect that someone is trying to kill him. At first he suspects Dvorak, who might become the foreman after his death, but later, as he falls deeper and deeper into a psychosis of fear and apprehension, he begins to suspect everyone around him...

A car accident occurs and Dusan's teenage daughter Milena gets very seriously injured. To add insult to injury, Dusan is unable to donate a kidney when he finds out he is not Milena's biological father. Dusan is left to cope with his wife's infidelity, as well as the life of his ailing daughter.

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.

Ruth and Magda have been inseparable friends since childhood. They both went to college and both fell in love with the same guy. Ruth has won the fight for love, and has put Magda before the tough decision: to give up Adam and maintain friendship with Ruth, or give preference to his heart? When Adam gets a dream internship abroad and leaves for Austria, Ruth takes his fresh pregnancies and refuses to go with him. But in time, Ruth convinces Magda to start behind Adam and try to get him back. However, Magda exploits the situation, acquires Adam for herself and marries him abroad. After years, Magda returns home and the old injustices come to life.

In the 1950s, selected basic soldiers in a small border unit guard the western border with devotion, fighting intruders and uncovering their network of facilitators. It's a story of border guards that thankfully wasn't much of a political nudge, more of a tongue-in-cheek tale of young men at war and their joys and sorrows. And in between, they managed to catch a saboteur.

Two little girls get ahold of magic and hijinks ensue.

Saturnin is a servant who becomes his master's master. A young man of good social standing and upbringing, somewhat conservative, acquires, through no fault of his own, a servant named Saturnin. Saturnin effectively becomes his employer's master and causes a series of surprising twists and situations in his previously peaceful life. Without Saturnin, these would be difficult to manage. If only because without him, they would probably never have happened.

Pavlata, the director of an educational institution for juvenile offenders, will push for the early release of Pepík Adamec, whom he respects for his sincere efforts and good work record. However, the boy bears the dishonest and dishonourable behaviour of adults in his new job and in his family.

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.

A Czech psychological film about the school of life, its sorrows and beauties. The main character is a young aspiring nurse Marie Sahulová, who, after a trouble in the hospital - she secretly brought a boy to her boarding school - is transferred to a rural health centre, where together with an old doctor and a peculiar nurse she has to travel around twenty-five villages and a number of solitudes in the harsh environment of the neglected villages of the 1950s. The nurse, a wise and experienced woman whom no one calls anything other than "babi", becomes her guide, who introduces her to the practice and the pitfalls of private life in a distinctive way. In the mosaic of everyday worries and more or less serious medical interventions, Marie matures and finds the meaning of her work and life.

A group of soldiers is supposed to ensure the smooth nighttime passage of the military convoy through Prague, but things turn out differently. Eloquent young men convince the good-natured commander to sign a leave of absence, and the main character is left alone in the middle of a housing estate...

The film tells the story of an enthusiastic young man who joins a textile factory in the late 1950s and assumes that a promising career awaits him - the protagonist is therefore constantly comparing himself to his favourite literary model, the equally ambitious Julian Sorel from Stendhal's fresco The Red and the Black. The result, however, lacks the necessary conviction, the ability to draw the viewer into his world, and remains too contrived, as the chosen period has become a mere non-committal backdrop for amorous games.

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.

A 16-year-old young man, a budding rock enthusiast, spots a beautiful guitar but soon finds he doesn't have enough money. In vain, he asks his parents to help him. Eventually he tries to raise the necessary funds on his own. This is a not very believable normalisation morality tale, which was supposed to guide teenagers towards desirable patterns of behaviour.

Pretty country girl Verunka is afraid that she will never get married. No groom is good enough for her mother. Above all, she wants a rich groom for her daughter. She would never give her Vendulka to the painter Žabž, even though he truly loves her daughter. The lavish dress and title enchant her mother Hromaska, and she has no idea who she is promising Vendulka to as her wife. If it weren't for the clever Žabž, Hromaska ​​could have the devil as her son-in-law.

Police discover Eva Nejtková dead in her apartment and her husband Zdeněk unconscious from a shotgun wound. Captain Hora leads the investigation, noting that the killer struck Eva fatally and shattered her large aquarium, yet carefully transferred the goldfish into a smaller tank. Initial suspicion falls on Zdeněk’s apparent suicide attempt, but financial records and the absence of drugs at the scene shift focus. Detectives trace psychotropic medication supplies to Eva’s dealings with local addicts. As they question these “práškaři,” they uncover a network of illicit sales and potential motives tied to debts and blackmail. Clues from the supplier’s arrest and addicts’ testimonies gradually reveal whether Eva’s murder was linked to her clandestine drug trade or if a more personal betrayal lies at the heart of the crime.

Petr, Martin and Čenda spent part of their youth in the war in the Beskydy Mountains. They were united by a common danger. Years later, when their personal lives are in crisis, on their trip to the Beskydy Mountains together, they reminisce about their youth...

A short story film in which the first story takes place at the end of the German occupation, when a resistance fighter is arrested while transporting leaflets. The second story takes place in the 1950s at a cattle shed. The final episode tells the story of a doctor terrorized by fleeing criminals.

No description available.

When Vojtěch Hynais, who lived in Paris in the 1880s, received an offer to paint the curtain for the National Theater, he accepted it. However, his modern concept for that time was not accepted by the academically rigid commission. He did not depict the required figures from Czech history, but rather an artist kissed by the Muse. Although he completed the work, he was never paid for his work on the largest curtain in Austria-Hungary. Author Martin Šafránek very sensitively uncovered the issue of moral failure at the cost of material benefits on the one hand and the courage to risk these values to the point of self-destruction on the other. Director Jiří Strach, who made his debut with this work in 1998, cast Radek Holub and Klára Issová in the leading roles.