The earliest Czech cinema began in 1898 with Jan Kříženecký, later major contributions were made by interwar directors such as Karel Lamač and Martin Frič, with Barrandov Studios founded in 1933. During WWII, filmmakers like Otakar Vávra continued working despite Nazi occupation.
In the Post-war period, the industry was nationalized, with The 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 film The Fabulous World of Jules Verne 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 directors Miloš Forman and Jiří 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.
History
The first Czech film director and cinematographer was Jan Kříženecký, who started filming short documentaries in Prague in the second half of 1898. The first permanent cinema house was founded by Viktor Ponrepo in 1907 in Prague.
Some early findings enabling the birth of cinematography were made by Czech scientists in the 19th century such as by Jan Evangelista Purkyně.
Vladimír Čech and Václav Krška started their careers during World War II. Scenario writer Karel Steklý turned to film directing at the end of the war and maintained both careers until his death.
Well-known actor Rudolf Hrušínský (born 1920) also directed films during this period.
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 at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.[10][7]
The Czechoslovak New Wave frequently is associated with the early works of directors such as Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Jiří Menzel and others, but works by older, established Czechoslovak directors such as Karel Kachyňa and Vojtěch 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's Diamonds of the Night (Démanty noci)) to semi-improvised comedies with contemporary subjects and amateur actors (e.g., Miloš Forman's The 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. The acid western comedy film Lemonade Joe was a famous parody of old-time westerns. Cinematic influences included Italian neorealism and the French New Wave, but the Czechoslovak New Wave also builds organically on developments in Czechoslovak cinema in the late 1950s when the influence of Stalinism in the film industry declined.
1970s to 1989
Many of the directors active in the previous periods continued to work in this period, including Otakar Vávra and Jiří Menzel. During the period of normalization, 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]
