''Maratón'' (English title ''The Marathon'') is a 1968

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 Repu ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

celebrating the liberation of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. The film was directed by Ivo Novák starring

Jaromír Hanzlík Jaromír Hanzlík (born 16 February 1948) is a Czech actor. Selected filmography Film * '' Coach to Vienna'' (1966) * '' Romance for Bugle'' (1967) * '' Maratón'' (1968) * '' Slasti Otce vlasti'' (1969) * '' The Joke'' (1969) * '' A Night at K ...

Jana Brejchová Jana Brejchová (born 20 January 1940) is a Czech film actress. She has appeared in more than 70 films since 1953. She was married to director Miloš Forman and later actor Vlastimil Brodský. Her younger sister Hana Brejchová, Hana was also an ...

, Karel Höger and

Vladimír Menšík Vladimír Menšík (9 October 1929 – 29 May 1988) was a Czech actor and entertainer. He is considered one of the greatest Czech comedians, storytellers and improvisers. Life Vladimír Menšík was born on 9 October 1929 in Ivančice, Czechosl ...

. The movie follows two separated storylines: In one, young Czech Ruda Střecha (

) is liberated from Pankrác gestapo prison at the beginning of the

Prague uprising The Prague uprising () was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of occupation had fuelled an ...

, 5 May 1945. He meets young servant-maid Karla (

) and together they try to escape from Prague surrounded by German troops but they are inevitably drawn into the fighting. The same day, Jarda Střecha (

) older brother of Ruda, who fights as the soldier of the 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps in

Carpathian mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

hears about the uprising in Prague and is immediately transferred to

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. As the prewar

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

he now becomes a guide to the

3rd Guards Tank Army The 3rd Guards Tank Army () was a tank army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 3rd Tank Army was created in 1942 and fought in the southern areas of the Soviet Union and Poland, then in Germany and Czechoslovakia ...

of the general Rybalko ( Karel Höger) and witnesses the bravery and sacrifice of Soviet soldiers in their "race to Prague". The story culminates by the liberation of Prague on 9 May 1945.

References

External links

* 1968 films 1960s Czech-language films Czech resistance to Nazi occupation in film Czech war films Czech World War II films Czechoslovak World War II films 1960s Czech films Czech propaganda films Films scored by Zdeněk Liška {{1960s-CzechRepublic-film-stub