Liberation of Prague

Otakar Vávra, 1976

Film at Filmový přehled

Summary

During the 1970s, director Otakar Vávra invested his filmic energies into a “war” trilogy relating selected chapters of modern Czechoslovak history spanning 1938-1945. Osvobození Prahy (The Liberation of Prague, 1975) closes off the series, which began with the two-part Dny zrady (Days of Betrayal, 1973) and continued with Sokolovo (1974). This big-budget Czechoslovak-East German-Soviet co-production, co-written once again by Vávra and Miloslav Fábera, is set in late April and early May 1945. Centring on events in Prague, the film serves as another entry in the genre of “artistic documentary”, conforming to the ideologically acceptable standards of the time. Vávra turns his greatest attention towards the Prague Uprising, and the help provided to the anti-Nazi rebels by the Soviet army. This “grand” history intertwines both real and fictional characters. A number of Czechs perform alongside Soviet and German actors.
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Film data

About a film

Production year 1976
Countries Czechoslovakia
Categories film
Genres historical, war
Form feature
Duration 141 min
Director Otakar Vávra
Cast Vladimír Šmeral, František Vicena, Josef Větrovec, Ota Sklenčka, Josef Somr
Director of photography Andrej Barla
Screenplay Miloslav Fábera, Otakar Vávra
Editor Antonín Zelenka
Production designer Karel Lier, Miroslav Hrachovec
Music Zdeněk Liška
Sound designer Adolf Böhm