Jaromil Jireš (10 December 1935 – 24 October 2001) was a director associated with the
Czechoslovak New Wave movement.
Work
His 1963 film ''
The Cry'' was entered into the
1964 Cannes Film Festival.
It is often described as the first film of the
Czechoslovak New Wave, a movement known for its dark humor, use of non-professional actors, and "art-cinema realism".
Another of Jireš's prominent works is ''
The Joke'' (1969), adapted from a novel by
Milan Kundera. It tells the story of Ludvik Jahn, a man expelled from the
Czechoslovakian Communist Party for an idle joke to his girlfriend, and the revenge he later seeks through adultery. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968
Prague Spring and contains many scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership. Released after the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...
, the film had initial success in theaters but was then banned by authorities for the next twenty years.
Amos Vogel wrote that the film was "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a Communist country".
''
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970), set in the early 19th century, was based on a novel by
Vítězslav Nezval. It is a film in a
Gothic style concerning the onset of
menstruation
Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and Mucous membrane, mucosal tissue from the endometrium, inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized ...
and the sexual awakening of a thirteen-year-old girl.
His 1979 film ''
The Young Man and Moby Dick'' was entered into the
11th Moscow International Film Festival.
Following the Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia, Jireš continued to work in the country, making less controversial material. In 1971, he directed ''My Love to the Swallows'', a World War II film about a Czech resistance fighter.
[ His 1982 film '' Incomplete Eclipse'' was entered into the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.][
]
Filmography
Films
* ''Uncle
An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent, as well as the parent of the cousins. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an un ...
'' (Short, 1959)
* '' Footprints'' (Short, 1960)
* '' The Cry'' (1964)
* '' The Log Cabin'' (Short, 1965)
* '' Pearls of the Deep'' (segment "Romance", 1966)
* '' Don Juan 68'' (Short, 1968)
* '' The Joke'' (1969)
* '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970)
* '' And Give My Love to the Swallows'' (1972)
* '' People from the Subway'' (1974)
* '' Talíře nad Velkým Malíkovem'' (1977)
* '' The Young Man and Moby Dick'' (1979)
* '' Payment in Kind'' (1980)
* '' Útěky domů'' (1980)
* '' Opera ve vinici'' (1981)
* '' Incomplete Eclipse'' (1983)
* '' Katapult'' (1984)
* '' Prodloužený čas'' (1984)
* '' Lev s bílou hřívou'' (1986)
* '' Labyrinth'' (1991)
* '' Helimadoe'' (1994)
* '' The Dance Teacher'' (1995)
* '' Double Role'' (1999)
Television films
* '' Island of the Silver Herons'' (TV Movie, 1976)
* '' The Diary of One Who Disappeared'' (TV Movie, 1979)
* '' O Háderunovi a víle Elóře'' (TV Movie, 1987)
* '' Naděje má hluboké dno'' (TV Movie, 1988)
* '' And If There Are Angels Here'' (TV Movie, 1992)
Documentaries
* ''Fever
Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
'' (Documentary short, 1958)
* '' The Hall of Lost Steps'' (Short, 1960)
* '' Don Špagát'' (Short, 1962)
* '' Citizen Karel Havlíček'' (Short, 1966)
* '' The King Game'' (Short, 1967)
* '' The Journey of Vincence Mostek and Simon Pesl of Vlcnov to Prague A.D. 1969'' (short, 1969)
* ''Grandpa
Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...
'' (Documentary short, 1969)
* '' Court of Justice'' (Short documentary, 1969)
* ''Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
'' (TV Movie, 1973)
* '' The Safe Cracker'' (Short, 1974)
* '' Il divino Boemo'' (Short, 1974)
* '' Svět Alfonse muchy'' (1980)
* '' Bohuslav Martinů'' (TV Movie, 1980)
* '' Kouzelná Praha Rudolfa II'' (TV Movie, 1982)
* '' Milos Forman - Das Kuckucksei'' (TV Movie documentary, 1985)
* '' Sidney Lumet: I Love New York'' (TV Movie documentary, 1987)
* '' Po zarostlem chodnícku'' (Documentary, 1987)
* '' Antonín Dvorák'' (TV Mini-Series, 1990)
* '' F. Murray Abraham'' (TV Movie documentary, 1991)
* '' Beschreibung eines Kampfes'' (1991)
* '' Rekviem za ty, kteři přežili'' (Documentary, 1992)
* '' Hudba a víra'' (TV Movie documentary, 1992)
* '' Hudba a bolest'' (TV Movie documentary, 1992)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Obituary: Jaromil Jires
20 Nov 2001
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jires, Jaromil
1935 births
20th-century Czech screenwriters
2001 deaths
Czech film directors
Czech male screenwriters
Czechoslovak film directors
Film people from Bratislava
Slovak film directors
Slovak screenwriters