Jan S. Kolár (11 May 1896 – 30 October 1973) was a Czech

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, actor and film historian. He directed a big budget historical film ''

St. Wenceslas Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

''.

Life

Jan Stanislav Kolár was born Jan Nepomucký Josef Kohn in a Jewish family in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The whole family converted to Christianity and changed their surname to Kolár. He studied law at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

and graduated in 1921. His favorite directors of the silent era were

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

and

Paul Wegener Paul Wegener (11 December 1874 – 13 September 1948) was a German actor, writer, and film director known for his pioneering role in German expressionist cinema. Acting career At the age of 20, Wegener decided to end his law studies and conce ...

. He started directing films in 1917. The most important surviving Kolár's films are a crime drama ''

The Poisoned Light ''The Poisoned Light'' ( cs, Otrávené světlo) is a 1921 Czechoslovak silent adventure film directed by Jan S. Kolár and Karel Lamač. Cast *Karel Fiala as Inventor Oskar Grant *Anny Ondra as Grant's daughter Anny *Karel Lamač as Milan Bell ...

'', a fantasy horror ''

The Arrival from the Darkness ''The Arrival from the Darkness'' aka ''Redivivus'' ( cs, Příchozí z temnot) is a 1921 Czechoslovak silent fantasy horror film directed by Jan S. Kolár. Production Exteriors were shot at castles Karlštejn, Český Šternberk and Okoř. ...

'', and a historical film ''

''. He stopped directing after 1929 and later worked as a studio executive in a nationalized film industry and then as a film historian in

Czech Film Archive The National Film Archive (, abb. NFA) is a film archive located in Prague, Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to t ...

. He continued to act in supporting roles until his retirement in 1964. In 2018 a DVD boxset with seven of Kolár's films was released by

Selected filmography

Director and screenwriter

References

External links

* 1896 births 1973 deaths Film directors from Prague People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Jews Czechoslovak film directors Silent film directors Czech screenwriters Czech male screenwriters Czech male film actors Czech male silent film actors 20th-century Czech male actors Jewish Czech actors Silent film screenwriters 20th-century screenwriters Charles University alumni {{CzechRepublic-film-director-stub