| Cinema of the Czech Republic | |
|---|---|
 Kino Světozor inPrague | |
| No. ofscreens | 606 (2022)[1] |
| • Per capita | 5.8 per 100,000 (2022) |
| Main distributors | Falcon 34.0% CinemArt 26.0% Bontonfilm 17.1% Vertical 10.9%[2] |
| Produced feature films (2024)[3] | |
| Total | 41 |
| Number of admissions (2024)[3][4][5] | |
| Total | 13,040,617 |
| • Per capita | 1.24 |
| National films | 3,615,027 (33.0%) |
| Gross box office (2024)[3][4][5] | |
| Total | CZK 2.26 billion |
| National films | CZK 588 million (26.0%) |
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Czech cinema comprises the cinema of theCzech Republic as well as contributions to cinema byCzech people during theAustrian-Hungarian Empire period.
The earliest Czech cinema began in 1898 withJan Kříženecký, later major contributions were made by interwar directors such asKarel Lamač andMartin Frič, with Barrandov Studios founded in 1933. DuringWWII, filmmakers likeOtakar Vávra continued working despiteNazi occupation.
In the Post-war period, the industry was nationalized, withThe Proud Princess (1952) becoming a record hit. Domestically, the most viewed Czech film ever, it was seen by 8 million people.[6][7] The 1958 filmThe Fabulous World of Jules Verne byKarel Zeman is considered the most internationally successful Czech film ever made; soon after its release it was distributed to 72 countries and received widespread attention.[8]
The 1960s saw the Czechoslovak New Wave emerge, featuring directorsMiloš Forman andJiří Menzel. The 1970s–80s focused on comedies and family films. In the 1990s,Marketa Lazarová was voted the all-time best Czech movie in a poll of Czech film critics and publicists.
The first Czech film director and cinematographer wasJan Kříženecký, who started filming short documentaries in Prague in the second half of 1898. The first permanent cinema house was founded byViktor Ponrepo in 1907 in Prague.
Some early findings enabling the birth of cinematography were made by Czech scientists in the 19th century such as byJan Evangelista Purkyně.
Among the prominent directors wereKarel Lamač,Karl Anton,Svatopluk Innemann,Přemysl Pražský,Martin Frič andGustav Machatý. The first Czechoslovak film fully made with synchronized sound is considered to beKdyž struny lkají, released in September 1930.[9]Tonka of the Gallows, released in February 1930, was shot as a silent film and the sound was added in France.Barrandov Studios was launched byMiloš Havel in 1933, which started a Czech film industry film boom. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the larger in Europe.
During World War II, many major pre-war film directors continued to make films, includingOtakar Vávra,Martin Frič,Miroslav Cikán,Jan Sviták (who was killed at the end of the war by an anti-fascist mob),Vladimír Slavínský,František Čáp,Zdeněk Gina Hašler (who emigrated to the USA after the war) andVáclav Binovec.
Vladimír Čech andVáclav Krška started their careers during World War II. Scenario writerKarel Steklý turned to film directing at the end of the war and maintained both careers until his death.
Well-known actorRudolf Hrušínský (born 1920) also directed films during this period.
Many prominent people of Czech cinema left the country before World War II including directorsKarel Lamač andGustav Machatý, cinematographerOtto Heller, actorsHugo Haas andJiří Voskovec and producerJosef Auerbach. DirectorVladislav Vančura was murdered by Nazis as were popular actor and signerKarel Hašler, actressAnna Letenská and writerKarel Poláček. Studio ownerMiloš Havel and actressesLída Baarová andAdina Mandlová went into exile in Germany or Austria after they were accused of collaborating with Nazis during the war. In 1943,Czech Film Archive (NFA) was established in Prague.
In 1945, the Czechoslovak film industry was nationalized.The Proud Princess, the most viewed Czech film ever, was released in 1952. It was seen by 8,222,695 people. The film also won a prize for a child film atKarlovy Vary International Film Festival.[10][7]
Famous movies of the 1950s includeJourney to the Beginning of Time,The Good Soldier Švejk,The Emperor and the Golem,The Princess with the Golden Star,The Fabulous World of Jules Verne,The Proud Princess (the most viewed Czech film ever) andOnce Upon a Time, There Was a King....
TheCzechoslovak New Wave frequently is associated with the early works of directors such asMiloš Forman,Věra Chytilová,Jiří Menzel and others, but works by older, established Czechoslovak directors such asKarel Kachyňa andVojtěch Jasný are placed in this category. Encompassing a broad range of works in the early to mid-1960s, the Czechoslovak New Wave cannot be categorized to any one style or approach to filmmaking. Examples range from highly stylised, even avant-garde, literary adaptions using historical themes (e.g.Jan Němec'sDiamonds of the Night (Démanty noci)) to semi-improvised comedies with contemporary subjects and amateur actors (e.g., Miloš Forman'sThe Firemen's Ball (Hoří, má panenko)). However, a frequent feature of films from this period was absurd, black humour and an interest in the concerns of ordinary people, particularly when faced with larger historical or political changes. Theacid western comedy filmLemonade Joe was a famous parody of old-time westerns. Cinematic influences includedItalian neorealism and theFrench New Wave, but the Czechoslovak New Wave also builds organically on developments in Czechoslovak cinema in the late 1950s when the influence ofStalinism in the film industry declined.
Many of the directors active in the previous periods continued to work in this period, includingOtakar Vávra andJiří Menzel. During the period ofnormalization, only the movies that Czech authorities considered harmless were made. Therefore the most successful movies from this era are comedies, sci-fi and family movies, like in the previous periods.Three Wishes for Cinderella, a fairy-tale film from 1973, became a holiday classic in Czechoslovakia and several European countries, including Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and Norway.[11]
Successful Czech films made after theVelvet Revolution includeKolya,Divided We Fall,Cosy Dens andWalking Too Fast. In the 1990s,Marketa Lazarová was voted the all-time best Czech movie in a 1998 poll of Czech film critics and publicists.[12][13]
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