The Prague Five
Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1988Production year
1987—1988Premiere
1 June 1989Runtime
98 minDirector
Tomáš VorelCategory
povídkový filmGenre
slapstick, comedy, melodrama, allegory, short-story, danceTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Pražská 5Czech title
Pražská 5English title
The Prague Fivepovídkový film
The Prague FiveSummary
Director Tomáš Vorel debuted in 1988 with a film composed of multiple stories closely related to the theatrical work of five ensembles. There was most certainly a wry “conspiracy of connections” between the members of the artistic generation who contributed to this film: Vorel himself had acted as an author, director and actor for two of the ensembles – Pantomime Group Mimóza and Theatre Sklep. Lumír Tuček, frontman of Reciting Group Vpřed, had collaborated with Vorel in the making of the latter’s “full-blooded” feature-length debut: generational cult musical comedy, or “rhythmical”, Kouř (Smoke, 1990). But prior to Kouř, Pražská 5 (The Prague Five) had, of course, already convincingly demonstrated the potential of its creators, brought together not so much by their similar ages but rather by the more liberalised atmosphere of the late 1980s. It was this that enabled artists of various talents to bring their work to the public. Prague’s Barrandov film studios, meanwhile, had fallen in with the more liberal stance, making it possible to create a film targeting the various taboos, limitations and delicate subjects of the period. The five pieces that make up Pražská 5 are interconnected by Milan Šteindler, who, in the role of a learned tutor, parodies matters with dry “scientific” comments. The film segment Směr Karlštejn (Direction: Karlštejn), made according to a script written by Vorel together with David Vávra, a colleague from Mimóza, tells the story of a family from Prague on a trip to the countryside. The family is completely out of tune with mother nature, which is represented by Vorel’s emblematic imp. Oldův večírek (Olda’s Party), made by Reciting Group Vpřed to a script by Lumír Tuček, is the story of a naïve handyman on a doomed quest for some sort of valve seal. He encounters nothing but ignorance, derision and cynicism. True-to-style musical tale Na brigádě (Summer Job), devised by members of Theatre Sklep, is an affectionately malevolent parody of 1950s odes to the socialist “builders of a better future”. The documentary value of Pražská pětka remains indisputable, yet viewed through today’s lens the piece made by Creative Theatre Kolotoč (a stylised performance about human life, Bersidejsi (Take-and-Enjoy) and the segment from Ballet Unit Křeč (Michal Cabana’s choreographed orgy on the theme of totalitarianism, entitled Barvy [Colours]) leave a little to be desired.
Synopsis
Five short stories.
The instructor, doctor Milan Šteindler, CSc. – with his hair smarmed and in a very formal way – introduces five film performances by young avant-garde theatres: the pantomime group Mimoza, the art art theatre Kolotoč, the elocutionary group Vpřed, the ballet unit Křeč and the theatre Sklep. The vase in front of the instructor contains five red carnations which wither one by one. The film guide's condition withers, too, his expression loses continuity and he must keep peeping into his notes. Before introducing the last story, he is noticeably worse for drink and dishevelled and even stutters. As soon as he recalls the 1950s, his eyes fill with tears. When the program ends, he falls sound asleep.
Film online
Photos
Cast
Milan Šteindler
dr. Milan Šteindler, CSc.
Crew and creators
Director
Set Designer
Jaroslav Chytrý, Karel Kočí, Ondřej Nerud, Jan Klíma, Milan Šveňha
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Assistant Film Editor
Special Effects
Petr Chmelík (pyrotechnik), Václav Kuba (pyrotechnik), Roman Tudžaroff (pyrotechnik)
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Gabriela Kerekešová, Miloš Matula, Šárka Pechanová, Karel Vávra, Dušan Vodák
Cooperation
Jana Zajícová (klapka), Václav Vorlíček, Marika Kráčmarová, Zdeněk Mihle (vrchní osvětlovač), Michal Neruda, Daniel Němec, Juraj Ďurovič, Iveta Havlová, Michaela Šebestíková, Jan Velický
Production info
Original Title
Pražská 5
Czech Title
Pražská 5
English Title
The Prague Five
Category
povídkový film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
slapstick, comedy, melodrama, allegory, short-story, dance
Origin country
Czechoslovakia
Copyright
1988
Production Year
1987—1988
Production specifications
start of filming 26 August 1987
end of filming 24 April 1988
the first film copy approved 06/1988
projection approval 1 December 1988
withdrawal from distribution 31 July 1994
Premiere
premiere 1 June 1989 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 1 March 1997 /suitable for all ages/ (kino Lucerna, Praha)
Distribution slogan
Czech film. Film experiments of five theatres on a film screen. MIMÓZA, KOLOTOČ, VPŘED, KŘEČ a SKLEP. (1989) / Five theatres experimenting with film bring their work to the big screen. (1997)
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1989), Bontonfilm (obnovená 1997)
Creative Group
Tvůrčí skupina Profil, Karel Czaban (vedoucí tvůrčí skupiny Profil)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
98 min
Original length in metres
2 768 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
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 11. festival české a slovenské veselohry Nové Město nad Metují
1989
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Tomáš Vorel
Vítěz
Festival: 27. festival českých a slovenských filmů Mladá Boleslav
1989
Mladá Boleslav / Czechoslovakia
Vítěz
Event: 3. Fórum mladého filmu Bratislava
1988
Bratislava / Czechoslovakia
