Jan Hus

Otakar Vávra was an experienced and reliable director, originally trained as an architect, and had a sense of composition, which can be seen in this film. He excelled in crowd scenes and also had the support of the leadership of Czechoslovak film, so no expenses were spared on the production, and he had the best actors at his disposal. Moreover, the film perfectly aligns with the official ideological doctrine of that time through its nationalism, as the anti-German sentiment is clearly evident. Meanwhile, in Italy, excellent neorealist films were being made, and modern cinematography was clearly heading in a different direction. Of course, this film doesn't have much in common with medieval Czech history, but it is still worth watching. Overall impression: 60%. (16.06.2006)

I finally joined the club and took Vávra’s legendary trilogy for a spin. When I take the era of production into consideration, I must admit that it resulted in a glorious experience. If only some of the scenes didn’t reek of the damn socialism (bordering on communism) but then again, maybe that was a must back then. All in all, Jan Hus is a brilliant epic film. Unlike nowadays, they weren’t afraid to shoot it and they shot it well. The set, the actors, the mass scenes, the script… nothing complicated and yet it came together perfectly. The movie didn’t teach me anything I wouldn’t already know from school, but Otakar Vávra managed to shoot such a gripping movie that he can proudly call himself the father of historical movies of Czechoslovakia. (28.12.2018)

The film is solid in terms of acting and direction, although it contains a considerable amount of pathos. But if there has to be pathos in any Czech film, it's in this one. However, what must be appreciated is the unabashed criticism of the church, which surprisingly didn't lose much. What Huss preached is still relevant in some cases. And this film is a fitting testament to that. (27.07.2017)