Constellation of the Virgo

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1965

Production year

1965

Premiere

14 October 1966

Runtime

83 min

Category

film

Genre

romantic

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Souhvězdí Panny

Czech title

Souhvězdí Panny

English title

Constellation of the Virgo

Working title

Ošetřovna

Summary

This 1965 military-themed love story from director Zbyněk Brynych is based on a short story by Milan Uhde. Soldier Standa Urban is unable to attend a date with his girlfriend due to an emergency at the airport. The lovers have been separated for a long time, and the understanding captain Pazourek permits the date to take place in secret – in the army’s infirmary. But the lovers’ date still faces plenty of obstacles… Standa is portrayed by Josef Čáp. However, for audiences, DAMU theatre school student Jaroslava Obermaierová’s portrayal of Jana served as the main attraction. Thanks to (for the time) several sexually explicit scenes, the debuting 19-year-old actress achieved the status of a 1960s-era sex symbol.

Synopsis

Private Standa Urban is one of a group of disappointed soldiers who had been planning to go on leave from a military airfield. He is supposed to be having an important meeting with his great love Jana, who has come to the nearest little town to see him. They have not seen each other for some time and Standa is afraid for the relationship. Unfortunately a second-degree alert has been sounded and the soldiers are not allowed to leave the garrison. The unhappy Standa volunteers for guard duty. Captain Pazourek seems very severe but in fact he is an understanding man. He sends an ambulance with two nurses, Veleba and Rejman, for the girl, and they secretly smuggle her into the sick bay. The attractive blonde becomes the centre of unwanted attention from the soldiers, and before his friends have found Standa, she has become disgusted with the whole adventure. She even has to flee from a drunken cook. The whole plot is nearly discovered by the officious Lieutenant Toneiser, who would have turned it into a scandal. But everything turns out well. Standa and Jana enjoy a beautiful intimate moment, and although they are interrupted by an emergency alert, Standa now knows that he will not lose Jana. The next day the girl manages to escape from the barracks, once again stowed away in an ambulance.

Cast

Josef Čáp

vojín Standa Urban

Vladimír Pucholt

svobodník Jarda Veleba zvaný Velebníček

Jiří Wimmer

vojín Rejman zvaný Klobouk

Rudolf Jelínek

poručík Toneiser

Ivan Vyskočil

svobodník Vyskočil, dozorčí roty

Jiří Adamíra

lékař nadporučík Březina

Ilja Prachař

kapitán Pazourek

Jan Kotva

vojín Samek

Jan Libíček

kuchař Augustin

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Ota Koval

Assistant Director

Jiří Polák (2)

Based on

Milan Uhde (Ošetřovna – novela)

Director of Photography

Jan Kališ

Second Unit Photography

Alexandr Rašilov

Camera Operator

Rudolf Holan

Production Designer

Milan Nejedlý

Set Designer

Viktor Fixl, Karel Kočí

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Jitka Šulcová

Sound Designer

Miloš Alster

Production Manager

Václav Rouha

Unit Production Manager

Zdeňka Černá, Ladislav Dražan

Unit Production Manager

Vladimíra Kopecká

Consultant

pplk. František Říčka , pplk. Václav Pospíšil

Cooperation

Miroslava Vopěnková (klapka), Karel Ješátko (fotograf)

Songs

Schody do nebe

Song Composer Karel Kopecký
Writer of Lyrics Jindřich Faktor
Singer Karel Kopecký

Adresát neznámý /From Me To You/

Song Composer skupina The Beatles
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Štaidl
Singer Vladimír PucholtJiří Wimmer

Marnivá sestřenice

Song Composer Jiří Šlitr
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Suchý
Singer Jan Libíček

Krajina posedlá tmou

Song Composer Jiří Šlitr
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Suchý
Singer Jiří Suchý

Pionýři, pionýři, malované děti /parafráze na Huláni, huláni/

Singer Vladimír PucholtJiří Wimmer

Production info

Original Title

Souhvězdí Panny

Czech Title

Souhvězdí Panny

English Title

Constellation of the Virgo

Working Title

Ošetřovna

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

romantic

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1965

Production Year

1965

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 4 September 1964
technical Screenplay approved 8 June 1965
start of filming 29 June 1965
end of filming 8 September 1965
projection approval 17 November 1965
withdrawal from distribution 14 October 1966

Premiere

premiere 23 September 1966 /unsuitable for youths/ (kina 64 U Hradeb /1 týden/ a Světozor /5 týdnů od 11. 11./, Praha)
premiere 14 October 1966 /unsuitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šmída – Fikar, Ladislav Fikar (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Bohumil Šmída (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 371 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66, 1:2,35

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech