The Blacksmith of Lešetín

Summary

In 1921, screenwriter and director Rudolf Měšťák (1878–1946) got the rights to rewrite Svatopluk Čech's literary work into a film script. He was supposed to start with the production, but the project was stopped in the second half of 1923. The following year, Ferry Seidl (1881–1939) took over the work on the film. Seidl also financially supported the film’s production. – The Blacksmith of Lešetín, based on the Lomikar Kleiner’s script, was released in cinemas in February 1925. From critics at the time received the film rather negative reviews, but the film was more popular with the audience in smaller cinemas. Criticisms in the press mainly concerned poor directing and inexperienced actors. The plot of the film remained mostly faithful to the subject, although the authors did not hesitate to include special features in the form of ideas and visions of individual characters. An example is the scene with Jan Žižka and his followers when the blacksmith and the other villagers are getting ready to resist. The cinematography of Svatopluk Innemann and Tommy Falley-Novotný is also worth mentioning, skillfully working with lyrical natural motifs and scenery. – Already at the beginning of the 1920s, Ivan Olbracht took the opportunity to adapt The Blacksmith of Lešetín for cinema. His synopsis, which he later developed into a full-fledged literary script during the protectorate era, aimed to make The Blacksmith of Lešetín the first Czech revolutionary film. However, Olbracht's version was never filmed.

Synopsis

Note

Director Rudolf Měšťák started to shoot the film in 1923. The project was stopped and the preserved film was finished a year later.