The Flood

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1958

Production year

1957—1958

Premiere

11 July 1958

Runtime

74 min

Director

Martin Frič

Category

film

Genre

drama

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Povodeň

Czech title

Povodeň

English title

The Flood

Synopsis

In a decrepit little house below Snake Weir live an old ferryman called Ryba with his son Josef, Josef's wife and their small son. The rain outside is relentless, the river has risen and the nearby dam construction is in jeopardy. Old Ryba truly hates the dam which ultimately deprived him of work handed down for generations. The dam even caused him to fall out with his son Karel who had found work on the construction site. Josef's little boy falls ill and his father goes off to find a doctor. The doctor is treating workers at the construction site who were injured trying to save the dam, now threatening Ryba's little house. The doctor will not allow the child to be taken across the water to hospital in such dangerous conditions. The dam construction is suddenly lit up in the night of heavy rain by reflectors and Josef sees dozens of brave rescuers coming to their aid. Josef wants to help them but old Ryba, blinded by hatred, tries to stop him and lets their lighter loose, to be carried away by the river. The young man overcomes his fear of his father's rage and leaves for the dam. The rescue team manages to free the timber blocking the overflow at the last minute and the dam construction is saved. The self-sacrificing Bulgarian workman Marko pays for his courage with his life. The rain abates and Josef's child also overcomes the critical stage of his illness.

Cast

Zdeněk Štěpánek

Ryba, bývalý převozník

Otomar Krejča

Josef, Rybův starší syn

Slávka Budínová

Josefova žena

Gustav Heverle

Karel, Rybův mladší syn

Karel Fiala

Bulhar Marko Kristev z Plovdivu

Ivanka Devátá

Zuzka, Markova milá

Jan Pivec

lékař Vladimír Slehák

Václav Lohniský

inženýr Netoušek

Zdeněk Řehoř

inženýr Zemánek

Jiřina Bílá

služebná lékaře

Emil Bolek

mužík

Alois Dvorský

děda z hospody

Soběslav Sejk

velitel vojáků

J. Křečková

Jindřich Poledňa

K. Proroková

Libuše Příhodová

Crew and creators

Director

Martin Frič

Second Unit Director

Rudolf Jaroš

Assistant Director

Anna Lackovičová, Jan Němec

Screenstory

Jiří Mucha

Shooting Script

Jiří Mucha, Martin Frič

Director of Photography

Václav Hanuš

Second Unit Photography

Josef Hanuš

Camera Operator

Miloš Petrolín

Production Designer

Chrudoš Uher

Make-Up Artist

Josef Mann

Film Editor

Jan Kohout

Sound Designer

Emanuel Formánek

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Rudolf Wolf

Unit Production Manager

Luděk Marold

Music

Music Composed by

František Škvor

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Production info

Original Title

Povodeň

Czech Title

Povodeň

English Title

The Flood

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

drama

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1958

Production Year

1957—1958

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 31 October 1955
technical Screenplay approved 20 June 1957
start of filming 5 September 1957
end of filming 13 January 1958
projection approval 12 April 1958
withdrawal from distribution 1 April 1966

Premiere

preview 4 July 1958 (kino Sevastopol /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 11 July 1958 /suitable for youths/ (kino Pasáž /2 týdny/, Praha)

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Feix – Daniel, František Daniel (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Karel Feix (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

74 min

Original length in metres

2 119 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