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Zdeněk Liška
Zdeněk Liška (16 March 1922 – 13 August 1983) was a Czech composer who produced a large number of film scores across a prolific career that started in the 1950s. He was revelatory in his contribution to the development of electronic music. His music in this field is noticeable and dramatic, based on a unique musical feeling achieved through using quite unusual instrumental combinations and various electronic and electroacoustic techniques. Biography Zdeněk Liška was born on 16 March 1922 in Smečno near Kladno in central Bohemia. His father and grandfather were amateur municipal musicians. As a child he learned to play the accordion and the violin; while in high school, he composed his first song. He studied composition and conducting at Prague Conservatory under Rudolf Karel, Otakar Šín, Metod Doležil, and Karel Janeček. He graduated from the Conservatory in 1944. After a brief stint as a conductor of an amateur orchestra in Slaný and as a teacher at a Humpolec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland became part of Nazi Germany, while the country lost further territories to First Vienna Award, Hungary and Trans-Olza, Poland (the territories of southern Slovakia with a predominantly Hungarian population to Hungary and Zaolzie with a predominantly Polish population to Poland). Between 1939 and 1945, the state ceased to exist, as Slovak state, Slovakia proclaimed its independence and Carpathian Ruthenia became part of Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Hungary, while the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was proclaimed in the remainder of the Czech Lands. In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, former Czechoslovak President Edvard Beneš formed Czechoslovak government-in-exile, a government-in-exile and sought recognition from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Švankmajer
Jan Švankmajer (born 4 September 1934) is a Czech retired film director, animator, writer, playwright and artist. He draws and makes free graphics, collage, ceramics, tactile objects and assemblages.Nádvorníková A, in: NEČVU, Dodatky, 2006, s. 769 In the early 1960s, he explored Czech Informel, informel, which later became an important part of the visual form of his animated films.Interview With Jan Švankmajer, Karolína Bartošová, Loutkář 1, 2016, p. 3-8 He is a leading representative of late Czech surrealism. In his film work, he created an unmistakable and quite specific style, determined primarily by a compulsively unorthodox combination of externally disparate elements. The anti-artistic nature of this process, based on collage or assemblage, functions as a meaning-making factor. The author himself claims that the intersubjective communication between him and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hanzelka And Zikmund
Jiří Hanzelka (24 December 1920 – 15 February 2003) and Miroslav Zikmund (14 February 1919 – 1 December 2021), known collectively as Hanzelka and Zikmund, were a duo of Czech adventurers known for their travels in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania in the 1940s and 1950s, and for the books, articles, and films they created about their journeys. Early lives Hanzelka was born on 24 December 1920 in Štramberk; Zikmund on 14 February 1919 in Plzeň. Both were deeply interested in foreign countries, nature, travel writing, and adventure fiction, adventure stories from childhood onward. In 1938, both began post-secondary studies at the University College of Business in Prague, met, and became good friends. Their studies were delayed when the school was closed during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, forcing their graduation to be postponed until 1946. While at school, they discovered each other's love of travel and developed what they called the "5" project, referri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Travel Documentary
A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or web series, online series that describes travel in general or tourist attractions without recommending particular package deals or tour operators. A travelogue film is an early type of travel documentary, serving as an exploratory ethnographic film. Ethnographic films have been made for the spectators to see the other half to relate with the world in relative relations. These films are a spectacle to see beyond the cultural differences as explained by the Allison Griffith in her journal. Before the 1930s, it was difficult to see the importance of documentary films in Hollywood cinema but the 1930s brought about a change in the history of these films with the popularity of independent filmmakers. The genre has been represented by television shows such as ''Across the Seven Seas'', which showcased travelogues produced by third parties, and by occasional itinerant presentations of travelogues in theaters and other ven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikarie XB-1
''Ikarie XB-1'' is a 1963 Czechoslovak science fiction film directed by Jindřich Polák. It is based loosely on the novel ''The Magellanic Cloud'', by Stanisław Lem. The film was released in the United States, edited and dubbed into English, under the title ''Voyage to the End of the Universe''. Synopsis In the year 2163, the starship ''Ikarie XB-1'' (Ikarus XB-1) is sent to the mysterious "White Planet" orbiting the star Alpha Centauri. Travelling at near-light speed, the journey takes around 28 months for the astronauts, although the effects of relativity mean that 15 years will have elapsed on Earth by the time they reach their destination. During the flight, the 40-strong multinational crew must adjust to life in space, as well as dealing with various hazards they encounter, including a derelict 20th century spaceship armed with nuclear weapons, a deadly radioactive "dark star" whose radiation causes the mental breakdown of one of the crew who threatens to destroy the spa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cremator
''The Cremator'' () is a 1969 Czechoslovak dark comedy horror film directed by Juraj Herz, based on a novel by Ladislav Fuks. The screenplay was written by Herz and Fuks. The film was selected as the Czechoslovak entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 42nd Academy Awards, but was not nominated. In 1972, it won the Festival de Cine de Sitges Best Film award, where it also received awards for its star Rudolf Hrušínský and cinematographer Stanislav Milota. Set in 1930s Prague, Karel Kopfrkingl slowly devolves from an odd but relatively well-meaning cremator of the dead into a murderer of his family and mass murderer who proposes to run the ovens at extermination camps due to the influence of the Nazi party and Tibetan Buddhism, as he believes his murders are "liberating" the souls of the deceased into a better life. The film consists mostly of monologues from Kopfrkingl that follow his descent into madness. Influenced by German Expressionist film, it is often cited as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fruit Of Paradise
''Fruit of Paradise'' () is a 1970 Czechoslovak avant-garde drama film directed by Věra Chytilová. It was entered into the 1970 Cannes Film Festival. The film is an adaptation of the Adam and Eve story. This was Chytilová's last film before she was placed on an eight-year ban by the Czechoslovak Government. Fellow Czech screenwriter and costume designer Ester Krumbachová collaborated with Chytilová on the screenplay, costumes, and decor. Plot Eva ( Jitka Nováková) spends the holidays with her husband, Josef ( Karel Novák), in a luxurious mansion. Picking berries, playing with balloons and running through the woods. When Robert (Jan Schmid) crosses his path and drops a key. She follows him to return the object, finding a bag in his quarters. This one contains a stamp with the number 6, which she uses on her own skin. It turns out that Robert is a serial killer and Eva is in love with him. After chasing him, demanding that he kill her, Eva is covered in red cloths and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Valley Of The Bees
''The Valley of the Bees'' () is a 1968 Czechoslovak historical drama film directed by František Vláčil. The film follows a young man Ondřej who's sent to join the Teutonic order by his father. When he flees the order and returns home, his friend Armin is determined to bring him back. Plot The film is set in the 13th century. The lord of Vlkov marries much younger Lenora. His son Ondřej gives live bats to Lenora as a wedding gift, which enrages his father who almost kills him. He prays for the boy to survive. He promises to God that he will give Ondřej to the Teutonic Order if he survives. Ondřej is healed and sent to the Baltic Sea, where he joins the Teutonic Order. He befriends Armin who becomes his mentor and protector. Armin participated in the Crusades to the Holy Land and is a fanatic who is devoted to God. Knight Rotgier tries to leave the order and escapes. Ondřej, Armin and other members chase him. He is found by Ondřej and tries to convince Ondřej to leave the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marketa Lazarová
''Marketa Lazarová'' is a 1967 Czechoslovak New Wave Epic film, epic period drama film directed by František Vláčil. It is an adaptation of the novel ''Marketa Lazarová (novel), Marketa Lazarová'' (1931) by Vladislav Vančura. Set in the middle of 13th century when Christianity was taking over native Paganism in Central Europe, the film tells the story of a daughter of a feudal lord who is kidnapped by neighbouring robber knights shortly before she is to join a convent. ''Marketa Lazarová'' was voted the List of films Czech films considered the best, all-time best Czech movie in a 1998 poll of Czech film critics and publicists. Although not quite as known as other Czechoslovakian movies, it is highly regarded as one of the best historical movies ever made. The movie features surrealistic images throughout its run to increase the disorienting atmosphere. Theodor Pištěk (costume designer), Theodor Pištěk designed the costumes for the film. Plot Part 1 During a harsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
