Jaroslav Drbohlav

Battle of Moscow

The Battle of Moscow is a 1985 Soviet multi-part war narrative, presenting a dramatized account of the 1941 Battle of Moscow and the events preceding it. The battle was the first major defeat of German Wehrmacht in the Second World War.

Three Wishes for Cinderella

Popelka, a resourceful and independent young girl, is a servant in her stepmother's house and confides in her closest friend the owl. When she comes across three magical acorns, she's granted a single wish for each one of them.

Dva muži hlásí příchod

An only son, Jirí Valenta (Jaromír Hanzlík), has been drafted to the army. At the barracks he acquires the nickname Seamstress because he sews rugs in his spare time. One day, his friend introduces him to Julka Vávrová (Jorga Kotrbová), a girl he is desperate to get rid of. The naive Jirí falls in love with the girl and accepts her invitation to spend Easter together in the country. There he learns that the girl is the single mother of the young boy Martínek, whose father is the married tractor driver.

Operation: Daybreak

Czechoslovakia, 1942. Three brave Czech patriots risk everything to rid their country of its brutal Nazi leader, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich.

The Liberation of Prague

On 20th of April 1945 the Soviet army launches its attack on Berlin. The end has come for Nazi Germany and Hitler decides to commit suicide. In Prague K.H. Frank (Nazi Secretary of State and Chief of police in the Protectorate of Bohemia a Moravia) discusses with his commanders how to transform the city into an impregnable fortress, but the Praguers do not intend to wait any longer. From the early hours of 4th of May people start assembling in the streets and tearing down German signs. On the next day, the 5th of May, the uprising begins.

Putování Jana Amose

The distressing fate of the Czech great Jan Amos Komenský, forced to leave his homeland after the White Mountain disaster. It depicts his encounters with various European personalities of the 17th century - the Queen of Sweden, artists and scientists. It emphasises the hero's nobility, but also his inner resilience, which allowed him to overcome many personal and professional tragedies. The parable of The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart becomes part of the story. However, Comenius's concept is sculpturally lifeless and, in particular, the religious dimension is "erased" from it. The simplistic biography therefore does not avoid schoolboyish dryness.

Spanilá jízda

In the Hussite times, religious truth was sifted even on the tips of weapons. When in 1430 the Hussites set out on a raid to Nuremberg, the so-called Spanila Cavalry, to defend their doctrine, the young commander of the cavalry, the landowner Keřský, whose bride had once been kidnapped by a vicious crusader, saw it as an opportunity for personal revenge. Although Oldřich Daněk has tried to establish a distinctive interpretation of historical events, he reflects on where the blinded desire to punish a bad deed with further cruelty leads, but his version seems too thesis-like and lifeless, it does not rise above the descriptively illustrated scenes from old Czech chronicles...

Dvacátý devátý

In the era of normalisation, a number of (pseudo)historical films were made, even described as reconstructions, which glorified the world-building mission of the Communist Party and attributed to it exclusively humanitarian intentions ("Days of Betrayal", "Sokolovo", "Liberation of Prague", "The Victorious People"). In 1929, when its fifth congress met, Klement Gottwald, who had taken the line of the Russian Bolsheviks, took over the leadership of the Communists...

Battle of Moscow

The Battle of Moscow is a 1985 Soviet multi-part war narrative, presenting a dramatized account of the 1941 Battle of Moscow and the events preceding it. The battle was the first major defeat of German Wehrmacht in the Second World War.

Three Wishes for Cinderella

Popelka, a resourceful and independent young girl, is a servant in her stepmother's house and confides in her closest friend the owl. When she comes across three magical acorns, she's granted a single wish for each one of them.

Dva muži hlásí příchod

An only son, Jirí Valenta (Jaromír Hanzlík), has been drafted to the army. At the barracks he acquires the nickname Seamstress because he sews rugs in his spare time. One day, his friend introduces him to Julka Vávrová (Jorga Kotrbová), a girl he is desperate to get rid of. The naive Jirí falls in love with the girl and accepts her invitation to spend Easter together in the country. There he learns that the girl is the single mother of the young boy Martínek, whose father is the married tractor driver.

Operation: Daybreak

Czechoslovakia, 1942. Three brave Czech patriots risk everything to rid their country of its brutal Nazi leader, SS-General Reinhard Heydrich.

The Liberation of Prague

On 20th of April 1945 the Soviet army launches its attack on Berlin. The end has come for Nazi Germany and Hitler decides to commit suicide. In Prague K.H. Frank (Nazi Secretary of State and Chief of police in the Protectorate of Bohemia a Moravia) discusses with his commanders how to transform the city into an impregnable fortress, but the Praguers do not intend to wait any longer. From the early hours of 4th of May people start assembling in the streets and tearing down German signs. On the next day, the 5th of May, the uprising begins.

Putování Jana Amose

The distressing fate of the Czech great Jan Amos Komenský, forced to leave his homeland after the White Mountain disaster. It depicts his encounters with various European personalities of the 17th century - the Queen of Sweden, artists and scientists. It emphasises the hero's nobility, but also his inner resilience, which allowed him to overcome many personal and professional tragedies. The parable of The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart becomes part of the story. However, Comenius's concept is sculpturally lifeless and, in particular, the religious dimension is "erased" from it. The simplistic biography therefore does not avoid schoolboyish dryness.

Spanilá jízda

In the Hussite times, religious truth was sifted even on the tips of weapons. When in 1430 the Hussites set out on a raid to Nuremberg, the so-called Spanila Cavalry, to defend their doctrine, the young commander of the cavalry, the landowner Keřský, whose bride had once been kidnapped by a vicious crusader, saw it as an opportunity for personal revenge. Although Oldřich Daněk has tried to establish a distinctive interpretation of historical events, he reflects on where the blinded desire to punish a bad deed with further cruelty leads, but his version seems too thesis-like and lifeless, it does not rise above the descriptively illustrated scenes from old Czech chronicles...

Dvacátý devátý

In the era of normalisation, a number of (pseudo)historical films were made, even described as reconstructions, which glorified the world-building mission of the Communist Party and attributed to it exclusively humanitarian intentions ("Days of Betrayal", "Sokolovo", "Liberation of Prague", "The Victorious People"). In 1929, when its fifth congress met, Klement Gottwald, who had taken the line of the Russian Bolsheviks, took over the leadership of the Communists...

Days of Betrayal

This feature film based on the events of 1938 is a chronicle of the futile efforts of the Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes (Jirí Pleskot), politicians and ordinary citizens, to save the independence and the territorial integrity of the state from the advance of Hitler's Germany. On the 29th of March 1938 the leader of the Sudeten Germans Henlein (Werner Ehrlicher) has a meeting with Hitler (Gunnar Möller). Hitler orders him to intensify pressure on the Czechoslovak government. On the 24th of April in Carlsbad, the Sudetendeutsche Partei (Sudeten German Party) decides upon eight demands that are unacceptable to the Czechoslovak President, since they would ultimately lead to the break-up of the Republic. Benes still shows a certain willingness to negotiate, and Henlein resents this. The Germans are determined to make further negotiations impossible through incidents and violence.

We, the Lost Girls

Zofie and Dominika, two girls of very different temperaments, become friends during hop-picking volunteer work in the summer. Zofie (Jaroslava Schallerová) is serious to the point of reticence and she is delighted with her friendship with Dominika. For the self-assured and superficial Dominika (Irena Svárová) the whole thing is just a momentary whim. When she leaves the work camp before everybody else, she doesn't even say goodbye to Zofie. The two girls meet again after the holidays as first-year students at medical school, and become close again during the nursing techniques class.

A Nice Plate of Spinach

The heroes of this absurd comedy, full of confusion and humor are Dzharda Zemanek and Frantisek Liska.

Noc klavíristy

The problematic protagonist is the head designer of a housing association who wants to make a profit at any cost. His unwitting opponent is a bar pianist who accidentally witnesses the murder of a young man and sets out to investigate on his own. An old-world and somewhat comical figure, he poignantly interferes with the cops' work, only to find that he is the one who is credited with catching the perpetrator...

Kluci z bronzu

From time to time, we have produced an admirable film about the virtues of the domestic army, which raised the right men in ideal conditions - in this case, we meet the enthusiastic drill sergeants in green, who selflessly rehearse a demanding Spartakiad composition... So, two aspects important to the regime have merged into one. But even this did not change the incredulous, spasmodically optimistic yawn that perhaps even those who had set all this up could not believe. The film uses documentary footage of the soldiers' Spartakiada performance in 1980.

Škola hříšníků

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.

The Black Dynasty

The family is connected with Prague's "Kolbenka", the ČKD locomotive factory. Grandfather Antonín, already retired, son Rudolf, a master in the locomotive assembly section and grandson Antonín, a promising football player. The film also tells the story of Rudolf's daughter Vera - each generation has its own ideas about life and cannot identify with the others. The film is linked by retrospective sequences from the lives of Antonín the Elder and Rudolf, especially from the war years. It is a realistic take on working-class life, unencumbered by ideology (despite the opening dedication), featuring well-known and time-tested actors in mainly male roles.

Pastýřská pohádka

Samorost

Even the best of resolutions can crumble, especially when late paternal feelings are echoed. Although the protagonist is a lecturer in ethics at the university, explaining the principles of good behaviour to the students, he himself experiences many confusions and troubles when he tries to get his teenage daughter from his first marriage admitted to medical school. The eloquent, self-confident man slowly turns into a bully, who also defies his own principles.

Jezdec formule risk

The story of a juvenile delinquent who, despite society's efforts to reform him, irrevocably ruined his life.

Death Chooses

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.

Profesoři za školou

Three stories from the school environment, mostly from the perspective of teachers. In the first story we see an unnecessarily strict teacher, in the middle one a sports career is glossed over, which causes a young teacher to leave his job. In the final story, on the other hand, an experienced high school teacher goes to teach in a rural school to gain inner peace.

That Instant, That While

Autumn 1944. A doctor is accused in the collaboration with the Nazis and found guilty...

Jurášek

The Czech feature film, based on the book of the same name by J. Sosnar-Gazda, focuses on teenagers. The hero of the film is a boy named Jurášek from the Moravian Slovácko region, who helped the partisans during the war. He confirmed that his father was with the partisans and went to the forest at night to follow him when the partisans were expecting the Soviet paratroopers to jump. Jurášek finds a paratrooper who had been blown aside by the wind and finds a suitable shelter for him where he could heal his injured leg. Jurášek continues to help the partisans a lot. He informs them about the upcoming raid in the village and thus saves the Soviet paratrooper from being captured. When he then accompanies the paratrooper into the forest to a place from where he could safely broadcast, and when he says goodbye to him, he gets into a firefight with the Germans together with him and his bravery stands up well in it.

Jsem nebe

The story of a first love disappointment. Sensitive Lenka finds it very difficult to overcome the unsuccessful course of her meeting with a boy for whom she felt more than sympathy...

Osud jménem Kamila

Tomáš, an unscrupulous Prague taxi driver who is involved in stealing antiques and smuggling them abroad, lives with his devoted mistress, but he is always thinking of his destined love, Kamila, who has emigrated to Switzerland. It is for her that he plans a robbery of a rare stamp, which he convinces his naive brothers to commit. The seemingly simple theft goes wrong and almost ends in the death of an innocent man. The planned escape across the border, in which a slick Swiss businessman plays a key role, also fails...

Bakaláři

Thirty Cases of Major Zema

Thirty Cases of Major Zeman is a Czechoslovak action-drama television show intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of the communist party. The series were filmed in the 1970s. Each episode encompasses one year, and investigations are stylized to that year. Most are inspired by real cases. The series follows the life of police investigator Jan Zeman during his career from 1945 to 1975.

Arabela

Arabela was a children's television series produced in Czechoslovakia which aired from 1979 to 1981. The series has 13 episodes and is in the Czech language.

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