Jiří Menzel | |
|---|---|
 Jiří Menzel in 2016 | |
| Born | (1938-02-23)23 February 1938 |
| Died | 5 September 2020(2020-09-05) (aged 82) |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Spouse | Olga Menzelová |
Jiří Menzel (Czech:[ˈjɪr̝iːˈmɛntsl̩]ⓘ) (23 February 1938 – 5 September 2020)[1] was a Czechfilm director,theatre director, actor, andscreenwriter. His films often combine ahumanistic view of the world withsarcasm and provocativecinematography.[2] Some of these films are adapted from works by Czech writers such asBohumil Hrabal andVladislav Vančura.[3][4]
Menzel was born in Prague in 1938 to Josef Menzel and Božena Jindřichová.[5] His father Josef was a journalist, translator and children's book writer.[6] Menzel studieddirecting at theFilm and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU) in Prague. His teachers at the academy included Czech DirectorOtakar Vávra.[7]
Menzel was a member of theCzech New Wave cinema in the 1960s. His first feature film,Closely Watched Trains, won theAcademy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1967.[8][2] The film was aWorld War II drama based on a book byBohumil Hrabal.[4] His filmLarks on a String was filmed in 1969, but was banned by the government censors. It was finally released in 1990 after the fall of theCommunist regime. The film won theGolden Bear at the40th Berlin International Film Festival in 1990.[9] The film was also based on a book byBohumil Hrabal, and spoke about life in a re-education camp inCzechoslovakia under thecommunist rule in the 1950s.[4][10]
Menzel was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film again in 1986 with his dark comedyMy Sweet Little Village.[11] In 1987, he was a member of the jury at the37th Berlin International Film Festival.[12] In 1989, he was a member of the jury at the16th Moscow International Film Festival.[13] In 1995, he was a member of the jury at the19th Moscow International Film Festival.[14] He was awarded anIIFA Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2013.[15] He was also awarded the French title of Knight of Arts and Letters and theCzech Lion for lifetime artistic contribution.[4][10]
In the 1980s, he was offered the chance by a West German television studio to make a television series version ofThe Good Soldier Švejk withRudolf Hrušínský. He didn't get the permission from the Czechoslovak government, however.[16]
His last appearance in a feature film was in the 2018Slovak filmThe Interpreter, which was based on the story of a man's interactions with anSS soldier who had executed his parents. The film wasSlovakia's official entry to the Oscars.[10][17]
Menzel died on 5 September 2020, aged 82, after battling a prolonged illness.[18] He had undergone a brain surgery earlier in 2017.[10] He is survived by his wife Olga Menzelová, and daughters, Anna Karolina and Eva Maria.[4][18] Menzel's wife confirmed on 9 November 2020 that Menzel died as a result ofCOVID-19 pneumonia.[19][20]
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Prefabricated Houses[24] | Domy z panelů | School film |
| 1963 | Our Mr. Foerster Died[25] | Umřel nám pan Foerster | School film |
| 1963 | Something Different[25] | O něčem jiném | assistant director |
| 1965 | Concert '65[25] | Koncert 65 | Short documentary |
| 1965 | Crime at the Girls School | Zločin v dívčí škole | Segment "Crime at the Girls School", also screenwriter |
| 1966 | Pearls of the Deep | Perličky na dně | Segment "Smrt pana Baltazara" (The Death of Mr. Balthazar), also screenwriter |
| 1966 | Closely Watched Trains | Ostře sledované vlaky | also screenwriter,Academy Award winner |
| 1968 | Crime in a Music Hall[25] | Zločin v šantánu | also screenwriter |
| 1968 | Capricious Summer | Rozmarné léto | also screenwriter |
| 1969 | Larks on a String | Skřivánci na niti | also screenwriter, banned and not released until 1990 |
| 1974 | Altered Landscapes | Proměny krajiny | Short documentary |
| 1974 | Who Looks for Gold? | Kdo hledá zlaté dno | also screenwriter |
| 1976 | Seclusion Near a Forest | Na samotě u lesa | |
| 1978 | Those Wonderful Movie Cranks | Báječní muži s klikou | also screenwriter |
| 1980 | Cutting It Short | Postřižiny | also screenwriter |
| 1981 | Tři v tom[26] | TV theatre | |
| 1982 | Krasosmutnění[27] | TV film | |
| Dr. Johann Faust, Praha II., Karlovo nám. 40[28] | TV theatre | ||
| 1983 | Best Wishes From Planet Earth | Srdečný pozdrav ze zeměkoule | |
| 1984 | The Snowdrop Festival | Slavnosti sněženek | also screenwriter |
| 1985 | My Sweet Little Village | Vesničko má středisková | Nominated forAcademy Award |
| 1986 | Chocolate Cop [de] | Die Schokoladenschnüffler | |
| 1989 | The End of Old Times | Konec starých časů | also screenwriter |
| 1991 | Audience[25] | TV film | |
| 1991 | Beggar's Opera | Žebrácká opera | also screenwriter |
| 1993 | Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin | Život a neobyčejná dobrodružství vojáka Ivana Čonkina | Nominated for 8Czech Lion Awards[29] |
| 1998 | Jacobowski a plukovník[30] | TV theatre | |
| 2002 | Ten Minutes Older | Segment "One Moment" | |
| 2006 | I Served the King of England | Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále | also screenwriter, nominated for 11 Czech Lion Awards,[31] won 5[32] |
| 2013 | The Don Juans | Donšajni[33] | also screenwriter |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)