Europe Danced the Waltz

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production year

1988

Premiere

1 October 1989

Runtime

98 min

Director

Otakar Vávra

Genre

historical

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Evropa tančila valčík

Czech title

Evropa tančila valčík

English title

Europe Danced the Waltz

Working title

Třicet dní

Summary

The doyen of Czech film directing, Otakar Vávra, added his last title to his filmography in 1989. This historical fresco from the 78-year-old film-maker was not able to count on a budget as big as that of his “Hussite” trilogy or modern day opuses such as Dny zrady (The Days of Betrayal, 1973). However, Miloš V. Kratochvíl’s novel flattered Vávra’s notions of what a comprehensive history should be and he strove to give viewers a reconstruction of Central European historical events through a Communist ideological lens. Kratochvíl, who had cooperated with Vávra several times before, also wrote the screenplay that depicts events leading to the outbreak of the First World War. This mosaic (also using archive materials) combines the fictional tale of archivist Kavana (Jiří Bartoška). Through his love for Serbian student Draga (Zora Jandová), the protagonist finds himself experiencing the proverbial wheel of history that ruthlessly crushes human destinies.

Synopsis

A wax museum contains wax figures of real assassins, monarchs, military leaders and politicians whose acts resulted in the massive bloodshed of 1914. - In Vienna, the director of the state archives Schönbeck awards the Czech archive keeper Kavan with the Order of St Anne from the Russian grandduke for a job well-done. It is Kavan's lucky period - his wife recently delivered him a son. The times, however, are gloomy and the tension in Europe increases. The Austrian-Hungarian Empire leads military manoeuvres in Bosnia on the border with Serbia. Kavan and his friend Olbracht meet a group of Serbian students. The only girl among them, the student Draga, falls in love with Kavan. Schönbeck is visited by his brother Berth who profitably married himself into the German family of the Mannesmans, the leading representatives of the German armaments industry. He unscrupulously talks about the plans to begin a war which will allow the powerful industrialists sell their products and open the way to raw materials in Belgium, Russia and Poland and will help them gain the ironworks in the Rhineland. The German Emperor Wilhelm II is just an easily-manipulated puppet to them. Ferdinand d'Este, the successor to the Austrian throne who is utterly hated by the Serbians, goes to Sarajevo where he will probably face assassination. The old Emperor Franz Josef I devotes himself to his beloved paperwork and the danger impending his unloved nephew does not worry him. The Russian Tsar Nicholas II is not too bright, politics bores him, and the Tsarina Alix controls his every resolution with a firm hand, following the advice of the priest Rasputin. On June 28, 1914, the heir Ferdinand d'Este is shot. The ultimatum which is unacceptable for the Serbs and the steps taken by the ministers and the monarchs' counsellors behind the scenes infallibly result in military conflict. Draga manages to return home. Kavan also soon travels to Belgrade to destroy the correspondence of Czech patriots in the local archives under the false pretence of transferring documents to Vienna. Clad in the uniform of an Austrian officer, he unwittingly causes Draga's death. The uniform makes Serbian patriots consider her a collaborationist and they shoot her on a night street after she parts with her beloved Kavan at the railway station.

Note

The film contains scenes from the Soviet film The Youth of Maxim (1934, dir. Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg) as well as scenes from contemporary documentaries. In the introduction titles, it has been mistakenly stated that Pavol Mikulík played French President Henri Poincaré. It was actually his cousin Raymond Poincaré (1860–1934). Henri Poincaré (1854–1912) was a mathematician, physicist, astronomer and philosopher.

Photos

Cast

Jiří Bartoška

archivář PhDr. Václav Kavan

Rudolf Hrušínský

rakouský císař František Josef I.

Jürgen Frohriep

Voice by Jiří Holý
německý císař Vilém II.

Andrej Rostockij

Voice by František Němec
ruský car Mikuláš II.

Josef Vinklář

následník rakouského trůnu arcivévoda František Ferdinand d'Este

Nelli Pšonnaja

Voice by Eliška Balzerová
ruská carevna Alix, manželka cara Mikuláše II.

Alexandr Porochovščikov

Voice by Jan Schánilec
ruský ministr zahraničí Sergej Dmitrijevič Sasonov

Drahoslava Landsmanová

Schönbecková, žena dvorního rady

Marek Pavlovský

srbský student

Dana Klossová

elegantní dáma

Otto Kinský

ministr

Antonín Gaja

číšník v kavárně

Eva Hořánková

služka u Hartenberga

Vladimír Huber

starší muž

Jiří Strach

kamelot

Ruth Reinecke

Voice by Libuše Geprtová
německá císařovna Auguste Victoria, manželka císaře Viléma II.

Ernst Steiner

Voice by Rudolf Pellar
německý vyslanec v Rusku kníže Friedrich von Pourtalès

Eckhard Bilz

německý dvorní malíř

Věra Kuzněcova

kněžna Anna Vyrubova, dvorní dáma carevny Alix

Anželika Něvolina

Voice by Ilona Svobodová
komorná se šaty

J. Kropáček

komorník se snídaní

Miloš Mikula

hudebník v kavárně

Jiří Mindl

hudebník v kavárně

V. Kalivoda

hudebník v kavárně

Vojtěch Šebestík

hudebník v kavárně

Commentary

Jiří Adamíra

Crew and creators

Director

Otakar Vávra

Second Unit Director

Milan Kadlec

Based on

Miloš V. Kratochvíl (Evropa tančila valčík – román)

Screenplay

Miloš V. Kratochvíl, Otakar Vávra

Shooting Script

Otakar Vávra

Dramaturg

Věra Kalábová

Director of Photography

Andrej Barla

Second Unit Photography

Karel Dobřichovský

Camera Operator

Bohumil Vodička

Production Designer

Jindřich Goetz

Assistent Production Designer

Vladimír Heiser

Art Director

Věra Flašarová

Set Designer

Eva Slívová, Jiří Dvořák, Michal Erazim, Jiří Matějka

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Costumes

Věnceslava Vrtišková, Lucie Výborná, Marie Charvátová

Make-Up Artist

Milan Novák, Jiřina Pahlerová, Jiří Farkaš, Iva Nová

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Magda Hájková, Helena Lehovcová

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm

Production Manager

Jan Syrový

Unit Production Manager

Helena Landovská, Stanislav Šafr

Unit Production Manager

František Vláčil ml., Martin Kuk, Karel Vávra

Consultant

plk. dr. Karel Richter, CSc.

Cooperation

Soňa Nemcová (klapka), Jiří Novák (vrchní osvětlovač), Karel Ješátko (fotograf), Lenfilm Leningrad, DEFA Babelsberg

Music

Music Composed by

Otmar Mácha

Selected Music

Johann Strauss ml. (Povídky z vídeňského lesa /Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald/), Johann Strauss ml. (Císařský valčík /Kaiser-Walzer/), Johann Strauss ml. (Na krásném modrém Dunaji /An der schönen blauen Donau/), Johann Strauss st. (Radeckého pochod /Radetzky-Marsch/), Richard Wagner (Lohengrin /předehra/), Friedrich II. (Pochody)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens)

Songs

Ruská píseň

Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Evropa tančila valčík

Czech Title

Evropa tančila valčík

English Title

Europe Danced the Waltz

Working Title

Třicet dní

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

historical

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production Year

1988

Production specifications

start of filming 30 August 1988
end of filming 30 November 1988
the first film copy approved 28 March 1989
projection approval 5 April 1989
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1991

Premiere

premiere 1 October 1989 /suitable for youths/

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Laboratories

Filmové laboratoře Barrandov

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

vyrobeno mimo tvůrčí skupiny

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

98 min

Original length in metres

2 740 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

Intertitles languages

Czech

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Europe Danced the Waltz

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Working title

Summary

Synopsis

Note

Photos

Cast

Nelli Pšonnaja

Alexandr Porochovščikov

Drahoslava Landsmanová

Marek Pavlovský

Dana Klossová

Antonín Gaja

Eva Hořánková

Ruth Reinecke

Ernst Steiner

Eckhard Bilz

Věra Kuzněcova

Anželika Něvolina

J. Kropáček

Miloš Mikula

Jiří Mindl

V. Kalivoda

Commentary

Dubbing

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Continuity

Screenstory

Based on

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Dramaturg

Director of Photography

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Assistent Production Designer

Art Director

Set Designer

Costume Designer

Costumes

Make-Up Artist

Film Editor

Assistant Film Editor

Sound Designer

Production Manager

Unit Production Manager

Unit Production Manager

Consultant

Cooperation

Music

Music Composed by

Selected Music

Music Performed by

Songs

Ruská píseň

Production info

Original Title

Czech Title

English Title

Working Title

Category

Typology

Genre

Origin country