The High Wall

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1963

Production year

1963

Premiere

19 June 1964

Runtime

69 min

Category

film

Genre

lyrical

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Vysoká zeď

Czech title

Vysoká zeď

English title

The High Wall

Synopsis

After school, thirteen-year old Jitka likes to wander alone through Prague. The brisk girl also likes to sneak around the backyards surrounding the block of flats where she lives. One day, she discovers a high wall and a hospital garden behind it. It is summer and every afternoon, the nurses bring a young man bound to a wheelchair after an injury to the garden. Jitka begins to encourage the young man in his attempts to walk. The incongruous couple begins to have a friendly talk every day and Jitka always brings various cobblestones as a gift. The young man is depressed by the state of his health and is not all the time gracious to Jitka. The misunderstanding gets sorted up and the girl talks about her role as Snow White in a school performance. She promises the young man to present herself in her costume. The subsequent rains, however, interrupt the girl's visits. As soon as the sun finally shines out, Jitka runs to the hospital, buying two ice creams on the way - only to find the patient sitting on a garden bench with a young woman, the couple immersed in an intimate conversation. Jitka, disappointed in her childish love, runs away from the garden, but waits to burst into tears until she is behind the wall. Soon, she finds an abandoned tabby and takes it into her arms. It seems she will forget about her childhood sorrow very soon.

Cast

Vít Olmer

nemocný mladík

Helena Kružíková

Jitčina matka

Ivana Bílková

ošetřovatelka

Josef Koza

zřízenec

Marian Jirásko

Láďa, Jitčin bratr

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Milada Mikešová

Assistant Director

Lubomír Břinčil

Screenstory

Jan Procházka

Shooting Script

Karel Kachyňa

Director of Photography

Josef Vaniš

Second Unit Photography

Václav Helliman

Camera Operator

Bohumil Vodička

Production Designer

Leoš Karen

Assistent Production Designer

Leopold Zeman

Set Designer

Karel Kracík, Ladislav Winkelhöfer

Costume Designer

Karel Postřehovský

Film Editor

Jan Chaloupek

Assistant Film Editor

Jana Šimůnková

Sound Designer

Jiří Lenoch, Bohumír Brunclík (zvukové efekty)

Production Manager

Jaroslav Kučera

Unit Production Manager

Hubert Novotný, Jiří Ulrich

Cooperation

Miroslava Vopěnková (klapka), Jindřich Panáček (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Jan Novák

Selected Music

Ludwig van Beethoven (klavírní skladba a moll Pro Elišku /Für Elise/ – převzatá)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Production info

Original Title

Vysoká zeď

Czech Title

Vysoká zeď

English Title

The High Wall

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

lyrical

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1963

Production Year

1963

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 10 June 1963
technical Screenplay approved 31 July 1963
start of filming 13 August 1963
end of filming 2 December 1963
projection approval 11 February 1964
withdrawal from distribution 6 April 1973
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1992

Premiere

preview 5 June 1964 (kino Sevastopol /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 12 June 1964 /suitable for youths/ (kino Paříž /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 19 June 1964 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
renewed premiere 1 March 1990 /suitable for youths/

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Studio

Hostivař

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1964 a obnovená 1990)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Švabík – Procházka, Jan Procházka (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Erich Švabík (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

69 min

Original length in metres

1 976 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

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 17. mezinárodní filmový festival Locarno

1964
Locarno / Switzerland