The Lanfieri Colony

Country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1969

Production year

1968

Premiere

26 September 1969

Runtime

83 min

Director

Jan Schmidt

Category

film

Genre

adventure

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Kolonie Lanfieri

Czech title

Kolonie Lanfieri

English title

The Lanfieri Colony

Co-production title

Kolonija Lanfier

Summary

Following his intimate post-apocalyptic drama Konec srpna v hotelu Ozon (The End of August at the Ozone Hotel, 1966), Jan Schmidt turned to directing Kolonie Lanfieri (The Lanfieri Colony, 1969), a thrilling adventure film inspired by an Alexander Grin story. The film's protagonist is Horn, a lone wolf who only slowly reveals his past to the inhabitants of a forgotten island. Horn has said goodbye to his previous life because of an ill-starred affection for a girl from a rich family. But the discovery of gold in a creek ignites a desire in Horn to return home a wealthy man. His vision quickly transforms into an obsession for which he is willing to sacrifice anything, including happiness and the lives of his peaceful new neighbours… The final shaping of this Czechoslovakian-Soviet coproduction, shot in Crimea and the Caucasus, was affected by the dramatic events of August 1968. Lithuanian actor Juozas Budraitis took the leading role, while other parts were taken by Czechoslovak actors (Zuzana Kocúriková, Václav Neckář, Michal Dočolomanský).

Synopsis

A handsome young man called Horn gets off a Dutch ship on a small godforsaken island. He builds a shack by the mountain lake and sometimes goes to the local village to buy things. He spends his days fishing and hunting with the local fool Bekeko. Beautiful Ester, fiancée of a young man called Dribb, sometimes comes to visit. A strong bond of trust develops between Horn and Ester, and he confesses to her why he deserted his previous life. He fell in love with a girl from a rich family and didn't have enough money to marry her. One day, Horn's peaceful days at the island are suddenly over. He discovers gold in the local brook and begins to pan it enthusiastically. He starts longing to return to the world of money as a rich man. He refuses Ester's love and even kills the harmless Bekeko. He also shoots Ester's fiancé in a fight. Before he dies, the young man manages to utter Horn's name, and men from the village come to take vengeance on him. They surround Horn in his shack. Trying to save his bare life, Horn throws purses full of gold at the natives. He uses the confusion that follows to escape but is caught and shot on the shore of the sea that was to be his saviour.

Note

The première in the Soviet Union was on the 11th of August 1969.

Cast

Juozas Budrajtis

Voice by Zdeněk Ornest
Horn

Václav Neckář

blázen Bekeko

Josef Elsner

starý Dribb

Bolot Bejšenalijev

Voice by Lubomír Kostelka
Goupi, chovatel sviní

Bohumil Vávra

Astis, Esteřin otec

Andrej Fajt

Voice by Ferdinand Krůta
Lanfieri

Karel Čížek

farmář

František Fontén

farmář

František Šeba

starý farmář

Svatava Uhlířová

mulatka

Crew and creators

Director

Jan Schmidt

Second Unit Director

Milan Jonáš, Marija Filimonova

Assistant Director

Oleg Zernov

Based on

Alexandr Grin (Kolonie Lanfieri – povídka)

Screenplay

Jan Schmidt

Director of Photography

Jiří Macháně

Second Unit Photography

Rudolf Holan

Camera Operator

František Kučera

Production Designer

Georgij Kolganov, Jaroslav Krška

Costume Designer

Theodor Pištěk ml.

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Sound Designer

František Fabián, Bohumír Brunclík (zvukové efekty), Jurij Rabinovič

Unit Production Manager

Antonín Navrátil, František Jaderník

Consultant

Andrej Keppert, Josef Denkr, František Linhart

Cooperation

Bohumila Velková (klapka), Zdeněk Wimmer, Alexej Muravjov

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří Šust

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Production info

Original Title

Kolonie Lanfieri

Czech Title

Kolonie Lanfieri

English Title

The Lanfieri Colony

Co-production Title

Kolonija Lanfier

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

adventure

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Copyright

1969

Production Year

1968

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 12 July 1967
technical Screenplay approved 27 February 1968
start of filming 31 May 1968
end of filming 6 December 1968
the first film copy approved 18 March 1969
projection approval 14 April 1969
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1989

Premiere

premiere 26 September 1969 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
premiere 2 October 1969 /suitable for youths/ (kina 64 U Hradeb /2 týdny/, Městská knihovna /2 týdny od 16. 10./, Klub /1 týden od 30. 10./ a Blaník /1 týden od 6. 11./, Praha)

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 359 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

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 6. mezinárodní filmový festival Moskva

1969
Moskva / Union of Soviet Socialist Republics