Silent Barricade

Otakar Vávra, 1948

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Following the February 1948 communist putsch, director Otakar Vávra could be relied upon to fulfil political demands. Němá barikáda (The Silent Barricade) is an adaptation of stories by Jan Drda depicting events of the May 1945 Prague Uprising. The experienced director combines the fates of the residents of Prague’s Holešovice quarter, who build a barricade in front of Trojský Bridge to thwart German panzers, into a mosaic of heroic deeds undertaken by common people who are outnumbered by well-armed opponents. The film, based on a screenplay co-authored by the director and Drda himself, features a star-studded line-up including Jaroslav Průcha, Jaroslav Marvan and Vladimír Šmeral. Even the support cast consists of prominent actors. In many cases these performers were also given roles in the director’s simultaneously produced historical drama Revoluční rok 1848 (The 1848 Revolutionary Year). It premiered seven months after Němá barikáda, which entered cinemas in May 1949 amid much fanfare.
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About a film

film_production_year 1948
film_countries Czechoslovakia
film_genres drama, war
film_form feature
film_duration 118 min
film_director Otakar Vávra
film_cast Jaroslav Průcha, Barbara Drapińska, Jaroslav Marvan, Vladimír Šmeral, Marie Vášová, Robert Vrchota
film_director_of_photography Václav Huňka
film_screenplay Otakar Vávra, Jan Drda
film_film_editor Antonín Zelenka
film_production_designer Jan Zázvorka
film_music_composed_by Jiří Srnka
film_sound_designer Emil Poledník

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