NinadeL

The traditional tip of the iceberg of quality television production, or that we broadcast the best stuff minimally, twice was enough, in five years for the tenth time and beyond? Then again, ten years from now it'll be just about right.

If I was to review this as an amateur film, it would turn out great.

I got my initial shock from Tomáš Magnusek's other works, but now I consider his contribution to Czech cinema as a certain line of independent production. The formal aspects are bad, and the acting is significantly cloudy, yet the theme is unfortunately topical and apt. The script is sometimes naive, sometimes very striking.

"You don't deserve those four beautiful children because you're a reckless whore," Kemr said to Bohdalová and asked her to marry him. The entire film didn't really build up acting-wise and overall until the last few minutes, which isn't much. I was hoping for a better film.

The Barrandov primus that started it all. After the 1898-1932 era, which saw several breakthrough "Year Zeros" of Czech cinema, the decisive moment of the Barrandov miracle came. And it was right out of the woods. It features a great agile camera, exquisite interiors, fancy props, an excellent cast and a good continuation of the Czech crime drama, which has been flirted with in various variations since the early days. Now it's just a matter of choosing whether I'm more interested in the performances of Rogoz or Plachta or the girls Lhotová or Hermanová. Jarmila, however, had the folding serving table.

Until the Revolution, the themes drawn from Páral might have provided something new, but after he was discredited as an author by the Czech films Playgirls and Lovers & Murderers, he cannot be trusted. Through this lens, I would have expected a pleasant surprise. However, it is a pleasure just to watch Kolářová's performance. And just for the sake of interest, it is worth noting the trio of cameos by Menzel, Neckář and Bohdalová. This phenomenon has not been otherwise cultivated in Czech cinema.

Marie Vášová in another of her emblematic women/mother roles - an ideal representatives of State Film. Her acting has always remained the way it was shaped in The Strike. Of course, the film had to feature a poor attempt to create a Pudovkin admixture. A somewhat different case is Jana Brejchová, who at this time still stereotypically represented melancholic girls and was still waiting for a major breakthrough. Bohdalová and Smolík play interesting supporting roles in several shots, with their ordinary characters refreshing this drama's sterile color. The theme of this film is awful and unnecessarily realized on a wide screen. These hits of the early 1960s amount to one useless thing after another and are only worth knowing for the overall idea of the development of Czech cinema.

There are three or four excellent films in the 1941 Protectorate production. I consider Nocturnal Butterfly one of them. It is a unique film based on a great story set between 1905 and 1907 and shortly before that period when Marta Dekasová gradually but inevitably became Štefka. Hana Vítová has the role of a lifetime here. There was no spicier actress in Czech cinema at that time... It’s too bad because after Baarová's departure to Italy, Hana could have been her successor. The other star here is the incredibly overacting Adina, who unfortunately rather spoiled her role with her own lines. So the real attention, besides Vítová, is drawn to the ethereally perfect Marie Glázrová as the theater diva Helena Vargová. The Beneš-Nezval duo then perfectly second both protagonists, Kohout's Leopold belongs to Mandlová’s Kiki (although he doesn't resort to expression like her) and Hrušínský slowly profiles into the youngest lover. Do you appreciate cabarets, joy girl, and other selected company? Provencal is open.

In the very strong competition of 1937, there were a number of perfect films. This year has honestly never been surpassed in terms of quantity and probably never will be in terms of quality. There were many good films in the theaters that year, and I consider Battalion among them. Cikán Battalion became a remake of Prague's first version from 1927 and brought with it several proven actors (Eman Fiala in particular reprised his lively dress in an excellent way), but also a new script that gave full prominence to the character of Helena, the wife of the lawyer Uher, and brought him to the absolute bottom. Helena Bušová thus got the opportunity to use her romantic acting and became a great competitor to Hana Vítová’s Mimi. Why beat around the bush? Simply put, there isn't a movie window I don’t adore in this film. I enjoy the entire underworld of Battalion, the performances of the actors, the atmosphere, the costumes, and the delirium at the end. The only flaw in the beauty of the current copy is the nonsensical addendum from 1952. But what wasn’t senseless in 1952?

I got quite used to it and I'm willing to call it an interesting bit of "madness" (albeit heavily hysterical) against the tide of time. Horníček wears a fantastic mask, and Šejbalová and Struna excel from the actors of the older generation. And Schlierkamp is going to finish his studies; Czech madness is a genre that was widely cultivated in the 1920s and 1930s.