Flying Saucers over our Village

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1977

Production year

1976—1977

Premiere

25 November 1977

Runtime

89 min

Category

film

Genre

fantastic, comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Talíře nad Velkým Malíkovem

Czech title

Talíře nad Velkým Malíkovem

English title

Flying Saucers over our Village

Summary

This bizarre 1976 sci-fi comedy represents something of an oddity within director Jaromil Jireš’s filmography. Jireš co-wrote the film with Mária Rudlovčáková, who also assisted in his adaptation of a novel by author Vladimír Páral, Mladý muž a bílá velryba (The Young Man and the White Whale, 1977). Vlastimil Brodský plays road repairer Huba, who is distracted from his work by an interest in the cosmos. Though at odds with his job, the hobby proves useful when an alien spaceship crash lands at the city dump. The aliens quickly assimilate into human society. The humanoid alien BA-HU falls in love with the beautiful Maryna; his colleague, professor LU-PU, helps Huba repair the roads in exchange for his helping to repair the ship’s chronometer... Cleverly avoiding the need for any special effects, this feature sees Luděk Sobota playing BA-HU. Iva Janžurová, Dana Medřická and Jan Tříska also appear.

Synopsis

The roadmender František Huba living in a market-town Velký Malíkov is more interested in craters on the Moon than in holes on the district roads. When fishing he chats with other Malíkov inhabitants and thus he misses the extraterrestrials' arrival, but later he meets them. Excited with the extraordinary event he announces his co-inhabitants that ETs will repair the road. No-one, however, believes him. Malíkov celebrates five hundred years' anniversary. One of the events of the celebration is a ceremonial of unveiling a bust of Janata of Janatov, the town founder. The assembled people, together with an ET called BA-HU, cannot wait to see the statue unveiled. The veil slides down and all stare at a woman's nude statue. "You could come to an agreement about Janata's appearance so here you have Janata's wife", says sculptor Mimra. BA-HU asks František to repair an extraterrestrial chronometer. He is busy, though. BA-HU notices a beautiful girl Maryna among the visitors and reveals an emotion inside himself that he has never felt before. The ET professor LU-PU promises Huba to repair the road in the exchange of repairing of the chronometer, and as an advance he gives him an all-knowing carrot. Huba invites all the village people to an Evening of Questions and Responses but a goat Matyáš eats the carrot. LU-PU comes to the Village Centre and watches people. Finally he feels something is beating in his chest. Huba wants to leave with extraterrestrials but finally he grasps a fork and starts repairing the road. It's a miracle for the Malíkov people as it is the first time they see him working. The space ship departs but BA-HU in love remains here.

Cast

Vlastimil Brodský

cestář František Huba

Jan Tříska

důlní tesař Jaroslav Šalánek

Iva Janžurová

vedoucí Zverimexu Viola Zlatníčková

Míla Myslíková

Zmatlíková

Josef Větrovec

řidič Lojza Hrubec

Waldemar Matuška

sochař Mimra

Petr Nárožný

doktor Jiří Doktor

Dana Medřická

Eliška, Doktorova žena

Ladislav Pešek

Václav Hrabě zvaný Šlejfírna

Luděk Sobota

mimozemšťan BA-HU alias Ferda Vidrmoc

Josef Kemr

mimozemšťan profesor LU-PU

Jiří Hálek

hostinský Tonda Cink

Jarmila Horská

Růžena, Cinkova žena

Karel Augusta

řidič Jožo

Jiří Světlík

nahý cyklista

Tomáš Vacek

Petr, syn Cinkových

Rudolf Hrušínský ml.

řidič autobusu

Karel Hovorka

muž s pírkem

Antonín Jedlička

muž ve felicii

Marie Lhotáková

žena ve felicii

Ivan Bernášek

tanečník

Jan Čančík

tanečník

Anna Čumpelíková

tanečnice

Jiří Doležal

tanečník

Josef Dubský

tanečník

Pavel Fiala (tanečník)

tanečník

Marcela Hlaváčová

tanečnice

Helena Chroustová

tanečnice

Soňa Kultová

tanečnice

Jitka Látalová

tanečnice

Stanislav Malík

tanečník

Eva Pazourová

tanečnice

Eva Polednová

tanečnice

Libuše Renéová

tanečnice

Miroslav Říha

tanečník

Zuzana Sochorová

tanečnice

Don Sparling

tanečník

Helena Šalová

tanečnice

Jaroslav Tomsa

tanečník

Jiří Trapek

tanečník

Jan Hlaváč (hudebník)

hudebník

Jiří Hudeček (hudebník)

hudebník

Kliment Navrátil

hudebník

Leo Neumann

hudebník

Miroslav Jíra

dubl za Vlastimila Brodského

Petr Voříšek

kluk s rádiem

Evžen Baura

tanečník

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Miloš Kohout

Assistant Director

Jiří Světlík

Shooting Script

Jaromil Jireš

Director of Photography

Jan Čuřík

Second Unit Photography

Oldřich Hubáček, Antonín Holub

Camera Operator

Bohumír Schwarzer, Jiří Ondráček

Production Designer

Jan Oliva

Assistent Production Designer

Boris Halmi

Costume Designer

Svatava Sophová

Film Editor

Josef Valušiak

Assistant Film Editor

Růžena Hejsková, Jana Šimonová

Sound Designer

Pavel Jelínek, Antonín Jedlička (zvukové efekty)

Production Manager

Zdeněk Oves

Unit Production Manager

Karel Prchal, Lev Veltrubský

Unit Production Manager

Daniela Norová

Cooperation

Olga Kourová (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)

Music

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Orchestr Ladislava Štaidla

Songs

Ať žije země, která se točí

Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl
Writer of Lyrics Ivo Fischer
Singer Waldemar Matuška

Žena, žena, žena

Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl
Writer of Lyrics Ivo Fischer
Singer Waldemar Matuška

Kolíne, Kolíne

Song Composer František Kmoch
Writer of Lyrics František Kudrna
Singer sbor

Kolo, kolo mlýnský

Singer dětský sbor

Nepij, Jano, nepij vodu

Singer sbor

Noc otvírá zlatnický krám

Song Composer Ladislav Štaidl
Writer of Lyrics Ivo Fischer
Singer Waldemar Matuška

Oženil bych sa, nemožem

Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Talíře nad Velkým Malíkovem

Czech Title

Talíře nad Velkým Malíkovem

English Title

Flying Saucers over our Village

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

fantastic, comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1977

Production Year

1976—1977

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 4 February 1976
start of filming 21 July 1976
technical Screenplay approved 24 August 1976
end of filming 8 March 1977
projection approval 21 March 1977
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 25 November 1977 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Hostivař

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miroslava Hladkého, Miroslav Hladký (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

89 min

Original length in metres

2 568 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,66

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech