Discoveries from Czechoslovakia World Cinema

A student commits suicide out of unhappy love to a married man; story is recounted in retrospective by a "judge" who asks the audience to decide who is the guilty party.

Let's go to the kingdom, where a ball is being held, where the most beautiful prince is to get engaged to the richest princess. But he only thinks about himself, and she only thinks about what she owns. However, at the engagement party, the irresistible dancer Juanita appears, flatters the prince, and the two flee the castle together. But before that, the prince sends the Wise Man to prison for creating a statue of him out of stone instead of gold. The Wise Man's daughter decides to ask the prince for her father's freedom. The Wise Man brings the prince's statue to life so that it can rule for him. And the two meet...

The old king is tired, he wants to hand over the reign to his son, so he forces him to go out into the world to look for a bride. The prince doesn't really want to get married. Where is the guarantee that the princess he chooses won't be evil and domineering? But in the end he obeys. Little does he know that his father will use a magic threshold to ensure that he marries the right one...

Little Honzík tries everything he can in order to join the team for Spartakiada Games.

A boyish dispute over drums full of scared pigeons.

A situational comedy from a world of unlimited possibilities, in which a poor taxi driver becomes a consul general, chairman of a motor racing council, and member of the most exclusive clubs within a single hour.

Two hilarious short stories set in the milieu of apprentice youth, depicting the amorous travails of teenage boys. In the first story, "The Sorrows of the Devil's Apprentice", we see a talkative storekeeper who is constantly advising his charges on how they should behave, unaware that one of the young men has fallen in love with his daughter. Overcoming shyness is also depicted in the second of the stories, entitled "May I Beg, Helen?"

The top sport was also closely monitored in the communist era, and officials were naturally bothered that the pentathlon team failed to win the World Championships. But the measures that should have ensured redress were caught up in a web of behind-the-scenes machinations that backfired on the athletes themselves, their endurance and their family backgrounds. While the film has critical ambitions and wants to reveal much of what should have remained hidden from the public eye, it is a rather clumsy and schematic view, not very convincing in terms of realisation.

He, Doctor of Philosophy Alois Pech, is his mother's impenetrable and unindependent pet who works as a prison librarian. She, Marcela Johnová, is a self-confident, energetic and successful girl from high society. While she lives in the big world, surrounded by luxury and admirers, he lives a quiet, modest life with his caring mother. They are introduced by a completely random night-time phone call made from Marcella's apartment by one of her guests. Although for her the pleasantly clumsy man is primarily an entertaining addition to a life full of pleasures, Alois falls in love with the girl and begins to look for opportunities to meet again.

Strict and always dissatisfied grumbler Mr. Angel gets a voucher for summer recreation. He rejects it at first but he eventually decides to use it and spend 14 days in unionist hut Jezerka together with other merited co-workers.

A woman prisoner is harshly incarcerated and suddenly released.

Melodramatic story of an innocent country girl (Ita Rina) who struggles to make a living in the city as a prostitute. As she provides last service to a murderer sentenced to death (Josef Rovenský), society condemns her and leads her to despair. This groundbreaking film directed by Karel Anton was made in 1930 as the first Czech feature movie with post-synchronised soundtrack, recorded in France. International star cast, sensitive adaptation of Egon Erwin Kisch’s short story and innovative combination of silent and sound film features make this movie an artwork of European significance.

A comedy about a grandmother who raises her granddaughter Jarmila according to the rules of the old days. Only her second granddaughter, a university student Jiřina, makes the dignified old lady not only change her views on youth, but also teaches her to hike, say "Hello!" and shoot a bow. In the end, however, circumstances force the grandmother to abandon her slightly eccentric life and return to her old ways...

The plot of the film follows a bus ride on the Prague - Karlovy Vary route and the actions of the people on it. A diverse group of people with various interests, professions and personalities gathered on the bus. Their encounter in the close environment of the bus gave the opportunity to create a whole series of good humorous situations. The ride on the express bus is a symbolic example of the contemporary life of our society, in which, just like when riding a bus, it is necessary to suppress many private interests and selfish qualities in order to successfully reach the destination.

Tou former boxers meet in the ring again after years for a re-run of an old match. The old loser currently works as a factory executive and he is unwilling to reconcile with his old defeat. He challenges the old winner, whose job in a garage puts him on the opposite end ofthe career ladder. The match is a battle fought between two men who stand for two different attitudes to life. The confrontation results in the revelation that the winner is not always the one whose arm is raised by the referee after the last round.

The film from 1976, a film that is exemplary in its devotion to the canons of normalised cinema, is the work of director Stanislav Strnad. He brought to life the script of an unusual author - the secretary of the SČDU, Arno Kraus - in this psychological drama. The protagonist of the story also has his cadre materials in order according to the requirements of the time - he is a worker director Kabát, who besides problems at the workplace also copes successfully with difficulties in his private life - a break-up with his wife.

Final train station turnes out to be something much more different...

A man plays the Bach piece of the title on the organ, accompanied by images of stone walls with cracks and holes that grow and shrink, intercut with images of doors and wire-meshed windows.

A story about the uproar caused by the arrival of a new, young and, by local standards, too energetic zookeeper in a village JZD. Her name is Maya Četná and one evening she arrives like a tornado on a motorbike in the semi-truck of a typical Czech village. The chairman, leaving the next day for a long-term training, has no time to get to know the girl properly, so it's no wonder he can't help wondering when she returns.

Vera, wife of the plumber Simandl (Josef Somr), is found murdered in the cinema next to the IDOC (Information and Documentation) agency where she worked. Police captain Marha (Frantisek Nemec), who is leading the investigation, is informed by Simandl that on the day of the murder Vera promised to bring home fifty thousand crowns to buy a car. Marha's primary suspects are the three men working at the agency: deputy editor-in-chief Brandl (Jirí Pleskot) and editors Pernata (Eduard Cupák) and Remes (Ludek Munzar, and of course also Simandl.

In 1992, Prague is the capital of a small kingdom. The prince is supposed to choose his bride to be at a royal ball. But to everybody's surprise, he chooses an ugly cleaning-woman. She is shy and silent, but after the marriage she turns into a wild and rumbustious woman with an obstinate and stubborn mind. They both try to kill each other, but the queen is thrown into the dungeons.

A puppet fairy tale about a disobedient train that did not just want to carry coal and drove to return to his work after a sad experience.

Fairy tale based on J. Š. Kubín tells the story of the forest fairy Milena, who is punished by the Queen of the Fairies for loving King Silventus and giving birth to her son Václav. Milena becomes a green light, and little Václav is first taken in by his foster parents, then into the king's service, unaware that the king himself is his father.

Pilot of the series "Hey, Mister, Let's Play". The story of two bears, the older one is experienced and sly, the younger is naive and gullible. This is the story of how they met in the Czech town of Kolín.

A tragic story of an uneasy marriage between a young girl and an elderly, crotchety man who cannot understand or approach her.

A significant event in the life of the Ostrava assemblers. Private matters take a backseat as preparations are being made to fit the high-rise chimney with an extension for burning kycht gases. The challenging installation is to be carried out by helicopter and the first attempts have not been successful...