Two on Horseback, One on a Donkey

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production year

1985—1986

Premiere

1 February 1987

Runtime

127 min

Category

film

Genre

historical, musical

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Dva na koni, jeden na oslu

Czech title

Dva na koni, jeden na oslu

English title

Two on Horseback, One on a Donkey

Summary

Based on an eponymous play by Oldřich Daňek, the film version was brought to the screen in 1986 as the final film from experienced director Jiří Sequens. This musical comedy set in the 14th century, during the reign of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, has a trio of mercenaries as its main characters. Hřbet, Zajíc and Svatý are returning to Bohemia from Aquitania in order to join up with local forces there. During their trip through the Czech countryside, our heroes frequently get mixed up with the wrong side, and consequently repeatedly find themselves on the receiving end of a good thrashing. Yet, in all these battles and scuffles, they retain the moral high ground. The trio are played by actors Jaromír Hanzlík, Svatopluk Skopal and Radoslav Brzobohatý. The roles of the villainous noblemen, with whom the trio become entangled, are played by Josef Vinklář and Jan Čenský. The historical backdrop is enriched via the songs of Vítězslav Hádl, with lyrics by Vladimír Sís, reflecting the contemporary Czech fad for electronic music.

Synopsis

It is the 14th century. Three mercenaries wander through the country. Two of them, nicknamed Chine and Rabbit, travel on horseback, the poorest of them, called Saint, on a donkey called Moses. Chine finds a skeleton of a hand and a bracelet with precious stones in it in a brook. In a roadhouse, the deaf-and-dumb fool Dog's Foot reports to the publican and his pretty wife Perchta by movements of his agile body that guests are coming. The orphaned girl Bezka also works in the boozer. Her father was murdered years ago by the elusive Band of the Cross which marks its victims – rich merchants – with a cross on their foreheads. While Rabbit cannot resist Perchta's seduction, Saint loses all their property and the donkey in a dice game. But Chine bets the bracelet and they get everything back. The wealthy feudal lord Mátoha of Prám hires the threesome to bring him back his daughter Běta, who was kidnapped by the young Chval of Drslavice. The mercenaries get to the kidnapper by a trick, capture him and transport him to the fortress of Prám. But Mátoha is somewhat unwilling to pay them for their service. Běta, who wants to marry Chval, comes in soon, wearing an earring in her ear which matches the bracelet. She starts to quarrel with her father and, outraged, labels him a chief of highwaymen. But Chval teams up with Mátoha, and Dog's Foot lures the two mercenaries out to the rocks to the bodies of several massacred Arabian merchants. People call for the village magistrate who proclaims the soldiers to be robbers and arrests them. The royal district administrator sentences them to be hanged. The people behind the Band of the Cross, however, are in fact Chval, Mátoha and the magistrate. The girl Bezka bribes Dog's Foot by making love to him and gets to the cell. She has grasped who actually killed her father and helps the convicts escape. Instead of the plundering predatory noblemen their faithful innocent servants are hung with sacks on their heads. The disappointed fool Dog's Foot sets Mátoha's fortress Prám on fire out of revenge. The mercenaries, who now all leave on horseback, take Bezka with them. Now, it is the girl who is on the donkey.

Film online

Cast

Sylva Sequensová

sirotek Bezka

Jiří Sova

Psí noha

Josef Vinklář

Mátoha z Prámu, Bětin otec

Boris Rösner

Píšťalka

Jan Přeučil

rychtář

Jan Čenský

Chval z Drslavic

Václav Sloup

správce Meloun

Stanislav Fišer

putykář, Perchtin muž

Bořivoj Navrátil

královský hejtman

Petr Drozda

Kadeřavý

Karel Engel

Hoňsobě

Václav Höfler

Primo I.

Ernest Valko

Primo II.

Dušan Vobecký

Primo III.

Michal Dymek

Secundo I.

Martin Pacek

Secundo II.

Antonín Urbánek

Secundo IV.

Jaromír Růžička

Tertio

Robert Plesný

Quarto

Jana Aitnerová

tanečnice

Aleš Baloun

tanečník

Dana Boušíová

tanečnice

Lenka Bulíčková

tanečnice

Vlastimil Carda

tanečník

Iva Cigániková

tanečnice

Dana Čižinská

tanečnice

Michal Dluhý

tanečník

Jiří Drgáč

tanečník

Rostislav Filgas

tanečník

Danka Floriánová

tanečnice

Tomáš Forejt

tanečník

Marcela Fränzlová

tanečnice

Hana Fridrichovská

tanečnice

Luděk Frydrych

tanečník

Dana Gregorová

tanečnice

Iva Hechtbergerová

tanečnice

Alice Hlasová

tanečnice

Michaela Hosnedlová

tanečnice

Vjačeslav Ivanov

tanečník

Dana Jandová

tanečnice

Kamil Jedlička

tanečník

Josef Kalík

tanečník

Jaroslav Kantor

tanečník

Ivana Klemptová

tanečnice

Renata Křížová

tanečnice

Jan Kuchař

tanečník

Miroslava Marešová

tanečnice

Zuzana Mejzlíková

tanečnice

Ivana Michková

tanečnice

Dagmar Morcinková

tanečnice

Luboš Oravec

tanečník

Jiří Pixa

tanečník

František Skalák

tanečník

Zuzana Sýkorová

tanečnice

Vladislav Šebesta

tanečník

Petr Šebestián

tanečník

Helena Šuranská

tanečnice

Jaroslav Šuranský

tanečník

Petr Tesař

tanečník

Michal Tesař

tanečník

Rudolf Tichý

tanečník

Peter Tomašovič

tanečník

Pavel Veselý

tanečník

Karla Vitnerová

tanečnice

Pavel Vokoun

tanečník

Ludmila Vrbická

tanečnice

Jan Weisner

tanečník

Vladimír Maňhal

tanečník

Lenka Mihoková

tanečnice

Milana Mihoková

tanečnice

Eva Jeníčková

sólová tanečnice

Miroslav Grác

důstojník

Michaela Štěpánková

tanečnice

Vladimír Weigner

horolezec

Petr Svoboda (2)

horolezec

Jaroslav Ticháček

horolezec

Dubbing

Miroslav Moravec

hlas Chvalova strážce – zakukleného vyjednavače

Crew and creators

Continuity

Olga Hrčková

Based on

Oldřich Daněk (Dva na koni, jeden na oslu – divadelní hra)

Screenplay

Jiří Sequens

Shooting Script

Jiří Sequens

Director of Photography

Viktor Růžička

Second Unit Photography

Oldřich Kovář

Production Designer

Jiří Hlupý

Assistent Production Designer

Václav Hlávka, Martin Malý

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Film Editor

Petr Sitár

Sound Designer

Vladimír Skall

Special Effects

Václav Kuba (pyrotechnik)

Production Manager

Karel Kochman, Petr Prejda

Unit Production Manager

Jarmila Tomišková, Eliška Sekavová, Hana Jarošová, Adriena Jirková

Unit Production Manager

Jana Jeřábková, Aleš Týbl

Cooperation

Zuzana Koblížková (klapka), Jaroslav Trousil (fotograf), Viktor Čahoj (práce se zvířaty), Petr Hanuš (práce se zvířaty – výcvik koní), V. Svojtka, R. Silverio

Music

Music Composed by

Vítězslav Hádl

Music Performed by

Studiový orchestr (Music Conducted by Vítězslav Hádl)

Danced by

Čs.státní soubor písní a tanců, Vysokoškolský umělecký soubor UK, Balet Laterny magiky, Společnský taneční klub DKDP Praha

Songs

Zbožných mužů povinnosti

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer Sbor Pavla Kühna

Znám jen chvíli

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer Jaromír HanzlíkDagmar Veškrnová-Havlová

Čas motýlích her /Drslavské intermezzo/

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer Eva Jeníčková [dab]Lída Nopováskupina Bezinky

Kančí hody /Prámské intermezzo/

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer Sbor Pavla Kühna

Oslí requiem

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer Svatopluk SkopalSbor Pavla Kühna

Bezčina láska

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer Sylva Sequensová

Nám toulavým

Song Composer Vítězslav Hádl
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Sís
Singer skupina Golem

Production info

Original Title

Dva na koni, jeden na oslu

Czech Title

Dva na koni, jeden na oslu

English Title

Two on Horseback, One on a Donkey

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

historical, musical

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1986

Production Year

1985—1986

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 5 January 1983
start of filming 4 May 1985
technical Screenplay approved 24 June 1985
end of filming 20 May 1986
projection approval 3 July 1986
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1990

Premiere

premiere 1 February 1987 /unsuitable for youths/

Creative Group

2. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina, Josef Císař (vedoucí 2. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

127 min

Original length in metres

3 632 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech