We Want to Live

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1949

Production year

1949

Premiere

29 September 1950

Runtime

80 min

Director

E. F. Burian

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Chceme žít

Czech title

Chceme žít

English title

We Want to Live

Synopsis

While visiting her home village, the seamstress Marie becomes close with her friend from childhood, glass blower Josef. Yet, she refuses Josef's offer to marry him, as she knows very well how uncertain life is in the economic crisis of 1933. Soon after that, Josef loses his job, and goes to Prague to see Marie. He looks for her in vain at the given address. He manages to find work on a construction site, where he jumps in to replace a wounded worker. Later, he finds Marie in the hospital, where the girl is recovering after an unsuccessful abortion of their child. Josef takes Marie to his destitute little room. Marie is earning a small income with great difficulty. Josef joins the group of communists on the construction site who organize a strike after the wages are lowered. Josef and other communists are fired but the strike still grows into a big demonstration in which Josef and Marie also participate. The years pass and, in 1949, Josef is marching in the serried ranks of the People's Militia. From the cheering crowd, Marie greets him with a child in her arms.

Note

The film was cut down after two censorship proceedings. All the materials in the National film archive are of the same length.

Cast

Jaroslava Adamová

švadlena Marie Klímová

Gustav Heverle

sklář a zedník Josef Tomeš

Otylie Beníšková

bytná Dittrichová

Růžena Pochová

Božka, dcera Dittrichové

Jiří Sovák

řidič Jindřich

František Vnouček

stavitel Rudolf Müller

Milada Svobodová

Mariina teta

Ludvík Dvorský

policista Nouzar

Jarmila Korbelářová

Nouzarova žena

Ludmila Fraňková

švadlena Jarka

Ladislav Gzela

nezaměstnaný

Sylvie Havránková

žena nezaměstnaného

Zdeňka Podlipná

Pohorská, majitelka Modes Robes

Vladimír Horáček

zedník Novotný

Bohuš Rendl

penzista

Josef Kozák

zedník s fajfkou

Karel Křeček

Oldřich Kubart

Eduard Jarkovský

Crew and creators

Director

E. F. Burian

Second Unit Director

Ivan Weiss

Assistant Director

Miroslav Seemann

Based on

Karel Nový (Chceme žít – román)

Director of Photography

Václav Huňka

Production Designer

Josef Raban, Ferdinand Fiala

Make-Up Artist

Karel Holek

Sound Designer

Emil Poledník

Music

Music Composed by

E. F. Burian

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Otakar Pařík), Pěvecký sbor Čs. rozhlasu (Music Conducted by Jiří Pinkas)

Songs

Má milá Marjánko

Singer mužský sbor

V míru chceme žít

Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Chceme žít

Czech Title

Chceme žít

English Title

We Want to Live

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1949

Production Year

1949

Production specifications

date of censorship 11 January 1950 (konec povolení k promítání 11. 1. 1955)
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1990

Premiere

premiere 29 September 1950 /suitable for youths/ (kina Blaník /2 týdny/ a Lucerna /3 týdny/, Praha)

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

VI. tvůrčí kolektiv Jiřího Hájka, Jiří Hájek (vedoucí VI. tvůrčího kolektivu)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

80 min

Original length in metres

2 290 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech