''Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping'' ( cs, Jára Cimrman ležící, spící) is a 1983

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

comedy film directed by

Ladislav Smoljak Ladislav Smoljak (9 December 1931 – 6 June 2010) was a Czechs, Czech film and theater director, actor and screenwriter. He was born in Prague. Smoljak tried to study at an art academy but failed the admission process. He went on to study phys ...

. It is a

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

of the fictional

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

national hero

Jára Cimrman Jára Cimrman or Jára da Cimrman (officially Jaroslav Cimrman) (), also known as "the Master", is a fictional Czech polymath, created by Ladislav Smoljak, Jiří Šebánek and Zdeněk Svěrák. The fictional personality is presented as a univer ...

, who is portrayed by one of his inventors,

Zdeněk Svěrák Zdeněk Svěrák (born 28 March 1936) is a Czech actor, humorist, playwright and scriptwriter, and one of the most well-known and popular Czech cultural personalities. Since 1968 he has appeared in 32 films. Career In 1958, he graduated in Czec ...

. The story is framed by an excursion to Liptákov, the (fictional) village where Cimrman allegedly spent the final years of his life. The retrospective passages, which make up the most of the film, span Cimrman's whole "known" life, where he interacts with many personalities of Czech and European science and culture in the

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...

. A large portion of the film deals with Cimrman's acting as a tutor in the family of

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

d'Este, the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. In this role Cimrman is secretly aiming to " split the monarchy".

Cast

(as Zdeněk Svěrák and Company) * Valerie Kaplanová - the museum guide *

Petr Čepek Petr Čepek (16 September 1940 – 20 September 1994) was a Czech actor. Life He studied acting at Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague at the same class as Ladislav Mrkvička, Josef Abrhám, Jiří Krampol or Jana Drbo ...

- Archduke

d'Este / Nývlt, his double *

Josef Abrhám Josef Abrhám (14 December 1939 – 16 May 2022) was a Czech film and theatre actor. Biography He originally began studying acting at Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and later moved to Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts i ...

- Theatrical researcher *

Libuše Šafránková Libuše Šafránková (7 June 1953 – 9 June 2021, married as ''Abrhámová'') was a Czech actress. Her husband was actor Josef Abrhám. Her breakthrough was the title role in the 1973 film '' Three Nuts for Cinderella'', which is considered ...

- Alžběta * Ladislav Frej - Marold, painter * Jiří Zahajský - Dr.

Emil Holub Emil Holub (7 October 1847 – 21 February 1902) was a Czech physician, explorer, cartographer, and ethnographer in Africa. Early life Holub was born in Holice in eastern Bohemia (then within the Austrian Empire, now the Czech Republic), to t ...

, explorer * Marie Drahokoupilová - the tour courier *

Míla Myslíková Bohumila "Míla" Myslíková (14 February 1933 – 11 February 2005) was a Czech actress. She appeared in over 90 films and television shows between 1954 and 1993. She starred in the 1974 film ''Kdo hledá zlaté dno'', which was entered in ...

- Headmistress * Jaroslav Vozáb - translator * Vladimír Svitáček - Professor Kingsley *

Milena Dvorská Milena Dvorská (7 September 1938 – 22 December 2009) was a Czech film actress. She appeared in 70 films and television shows between 1955 and 2009. Selected filmography * '' Anděl na horách'' (1956) * ''Nejlepší ženská mého živo ...

- Duchess d'Este * Jiří Kostka - Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

/ Macháně, his double *

Petr Kostka Petr Kostka (born 11 June 1938) is a Czech actor. Kostka was born in Říčany near Prague, Czechoslovakia. In 2003, he received Thalia Award for performing Herman in ''Smíšené pocity'' ''Mixed Emotions''. Selected filmography * ''Fetters'' ...

- Mánes, painter *

Pavel Vondruška Pavel Vondruška (15 November 1925 – 5 February 2011) was a Czech actor and musician, and from 1969 was a member of the ''Jára Cimrman Theatre'' (named after Jára Cimrman, the spurious character) in Žižkov, Prague. His main profession was a ...

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

External links

* 1983 comedy films 1983 films Czechoslovak black-and-white films 1980s Czech-language films Films directed by Ladislav Smoljak Films with screenplays by Zdeněk Svěrák Czech comedy films Belle Époque 1980s Czech films {{1980s-comedy-film-stub