Václav Havel

Václav Havel (5 October 1936 – 18 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 31 December 1992 and then as the first president of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. He was the first democratically elected president of either country after the fall of communism. As a writer of Czech literature, he is known for his plays, essays, and memoirs.

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Every Young Man (1966)

Jurácek's feature debut is shot in two parts. In the first, a corporal accompanies a new recruit with a sore Achilles tendon for his physical, and all the girls or young women they see are played by the same actress (Ruzickova). In the longer second segment, shot ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Pavel Juráček
CAST:  Pavel Landovský  •  Ivan Vyskočil  •  Jaromír Hanzlík  •  Václav Havel

Jurácek's feature debut is shot in two parts. In the first, a corporal accompanies a new recruit with a sore Achilles tendon for his physical, and all the girls or young women they see are played by the same actress (Ruzickova). In the longer second segment, shot ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Pavel Juráček
CAST:  Pavel Landovský  •  Ivan Vyskočil  •  Jaromír Hanzlík  •  Václav Havel

The Stock-Check (1981)

Czech semi-documentary.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tomas Liska
CAST:  Vratislav Brabenec  •  Václav Havel  •  Mejla Hlavsa  •  Ivan Martin Jirous

Czech semi-documentary.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tomas Liska
CAST:  Vratislav Brabenec  •  Václav Havel  •  Mejla Hlavsa  •  Ivan Martin Jirous

Czech Made Man (2011)

The movie is based on the narrative of a Czech multimillionaire who achieved success not by stripping companies, making crooked deals and crony-ism, but by blazing his own trail like Schweikesque self-made man. He realizes early on that he has nobody but himself to ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tomáš Řehořek
CAST:  Jan Budař  •  Martin Písařík  •  Milan Šteindler  •  Veronika Hong

The movie is based on the narrative of a Czech multimillionaire who achieved success not by stripping companies, making crooked deals and crony-ism, but by blazing his own trail like Schweikesque self-made man. He realizes early on that he has nobody but himself to ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Tomáš Řehořek
CAST:  Jan Budař  •  Martin Písařík  •  Milan Šteindler  •  Veronika Hong

Věra 68 (2012)

Drawn from Memory (1995)

Fierlinger concentrates his considerable talents as an animator to recount through fragmented memories, vivid recollections, and the occasional evocative photograph his life as the rebellious son of Jan Fierlinger, Czechoslovakian career politician.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Paul Fierlinger
CAST:  Paul Fierlinger  •  Jan Tříska  •  Miloš Forman  •  Pavel Landovský

Fierlinger concentrates his considerable talents as an animator to recount through fragmented memories, vivid recollections, and the occasional evocative photograph his life as the rebellious son of Jan Fierlinger, Czechoslovakian career politician.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Paul Fierlinger
CAST:  Paul Fierlinger  •  Jan Tříska  •  Miloš Forman  •  Pavel Landovský

Odcházení (2011)

A bitter sweet comedy that follows a highly appointed Chancellor who set to step down from his position after years of service to his country. With just two last days left to enjoy his palatial villa before he is finally evicted, his situation gradually goes from ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Václav Havel
CAST:  Josef Abrhám  •  Vlasta Chramostová  •  Dagmar Havlová Veškrnová  •  Eva Holubová

A bitter sweet comedy that follows a highly appointed Chancellor who set to step down from his position after years of service to his country. With just two last days left to enjoy his palatial villa before he is finally evicted, his situation gradually goes from ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Václav Havel
CAST:  Josef Abrhám  •  Vlasta Chramostová  •  Dagmar Havlová Veškrnová  •  Eva Holubová

Hammer & Tickle (2007)

Hammer & Tickle: The Communist Joke Book is a 2006 propaganda documentary film about "jokes" under the Soviet Union.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ben Lewis
CAST:  Wojciech Jaruzelski  •  Roy Medvedev  •  Günter Schabowski  •  Peter Sodann

Hammer & Tickle: The Communist Joke Book is a 2006 propaganda documentary film about "jokes" under the Soviet Union.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Ben Lewis
CAST:  Wojciech Jaruzelski  •  Roy Medvedev  •  Günter Schabowski  •  Peter Sodann

Síla lidskosti - Nicholas Winton (2001)

A gripping documentary about the courage and determination of a young English stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children. Between March 13 and August 2, 1939, Nicholas Winton organized 8 transports to take children from Prague to new homes in Great Britain, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Matej Mináč
CAST:  Nicholas Winton  •  Karel Reisz  •  Václav Havel  •  Simon Wiesenthal

A gripping documentary about the courage and determination of a young English stockbroker who saved the lives of 669 children. Between March 13 and August 2, 1939, Nicholas Winton organized 8 transports to take children from Prague to new homes in Great Britain, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Matej Mináč
CAST:  Nicholas Winton  •  Karel Reisz  •  Václav Havel  •  Simon Wiesenthal

Citizen Vaclav Havel Goes on Vacation (2006)

This quirky documentary follows Vaclav Havel on an eye-opening journey across his native Czechoslovakia in the days before he became president of the Czech Republic. A leading playwright, essayist, intellectual and political dissident in 1985, Havel decides to ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Adam Novák  •  Jan Novák
CAST:  Václav Havel

This quirky documentary follows Vaclav Havel on an eye-opening journey across his native Czechoslovakia in the days before he became president of the Czech Republic. A leading playwright, essayist, intellectual and political dissident in 1985, Havel decides to ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Adam Novák  •  Jan Novák
CAST:  Václav Havel

Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart (1998)

An incredible retracing of the evolution of Reed's remarkable career over three decades. Filled with interviews with Reed, his friends and some of the major artists influenced by Reed including David Bowie, David Byrne, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega, Dave Stewart, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
CAST:  David Bowie  •  Lou Reed  •  David Byrne  •  Václav Havel

An incredible retracing of the evolution of Reed's remarkable career over three decades. Filled with interviews with Reed, his friends and some of the major artists influenced by Reed including David Bowie, David Byrne, Patti Smith, Suzanne Vega, Dave Stewart, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
CAST:  David Bowie  •  Lou Reed  •  David Byrne  •  Václav Havel

Bohemia Docta or the Labyrinth of the World and the Lust-House of the Heart (A Divine Comedy) (2000)

A labyrinthine portrait of Czech culture on the brink of a new millennium. Egon Bondy prophesies a capitalist inferno, Jim Čert admits to collaborating with the secret police, Jaroslav Foglar can’t find a bottle-opener, and Ivan Diviš makes observations about his ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Karel Vachek
CAST:  Václav Havel  •  Mejla Hlavsa  •  Jan Klusák  •  Jiří Krejčík

A labyrinthine portrait of Czech culture on the brink of a new millennium. Egon Bondy prophesies a capitalist inferno, Jim Čert admits to collaborating with the secret police, Jaroslav Foglar can’t find a bottle-opener, and Ivan Diviš makes observations about his ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Karel Vachek
CAST:  Václav Havel  •  Mejla Hlavsa  •  Jan Klusák  •  Jiří Krejčík

Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016)

Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Thorsten Schütte
CAST:  Frank Zappa  •  Theodore Bikel  •  Arlene Francis  •  Keith Moon

Utilizing potent TV interviews and many forgotten performances from his 30-year career, we are immersed into Frank Zappa’s world while experiencing two distinct facets of his complex character. At once Zappa was both a charismatic composer who reveled in the joy of ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Thorsten Schütte
CAST:  Frank Zappa  •  Theodore Bikel  •  Arlene Francis  •  Keith Moon

I am Fishead (2011)

A provocative snapshot of the world we live in. It is a well-known fact that our society is structured like a pyramid. The very few people at the top create conditions for the majority below. Who are these people? Can we blame them for the problems our society ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Vaclav Dejcmar  •  Misha Votruba
CAST:  Robert D. Hare  •  Peter Coyote  •  Paul Babiak  •  Philip G. Zimbardo

A provocative snapshot of the world we live in. It is a well-known fact that our society is structured like a pyramid. The very few people at the top create conditions for the majority below. Who are these people? Can we blame them for the problems our society ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Vaclav Dejcmar  •  Misha Votruba
CAST:  Robert D. Hare  •  Peter Coyote  •  Paul Babiak  •  Philip G. Zimbardo

The Plastic People of the Universe (2001)

Meet The Plastic People of the Universe, the avant-garde, jazz-rock, Sun Ra meets Velvet Underground, Czech revolutionaries. A tribute to the band that against all odds used the power of their music to help topple their oppressive government.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jana Chytilová
CAST:  Mejla Hlavsa  •  Vratislav Brabenec  •  Josef Janíček  •  Jiří Kabeš

Meet The Plastic People of the Universe, the avant-garde, jazz-rock, Sun Ra meets Velvet Underground, Czech revolutionaries. A tribute to the band that against all odds used the power of their music to help topple their oppressive government.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jana Chytilová
CAST:  Mejla Hlavsa  •  Vratislav Brabenec  •  Josef Janíček  •  Jiří Kabeš

Olga (2014)

 (more)

DIRECTION:  Miroslav Janek
CAST:  Olga Havlová  •  Václav Havel  •  Miloš Forman  •  Ivan Martin Jirous

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DIRECTION:  Miroslav Janek
CAST:  Olga Havlová  •  Václav Havel  •  Miloš Forman  •  Ivan Martin Jirous

Forman vs. Forman (2019)

A moving account, in his own words, of the personal life and work of the brilliant Czech filmmaker Miloš Forman (1932-2018): his tragic childhood, his major contribution to the cultural movement known as the Czech New Wave, his exile in Paris, his troubled days in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Helena Třeštíková  •  Jakub Hejna
CAST:  Miloš Forman  •  Petr Forman  •  Václav Havel  •  Věra Křesadlová

A moving account, in his own words, of the personal life and work of the brilliant Czech filmmaker Miloš Forman (1932-2018): his tragic childhood, his major contribution to the cultural movement known as the Czech New Wave, his exile in Paris, his troubled days in ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Helena Třeštíková  •  Jakub Hejna
CAST:  Miloš Forman  •  Petr Forman  •  Václav Havel  •  Věra Křesadlová

Late Night Talks with Mother (2003)

Taking a cue from Franz Kafka's "Letter to My Father," this highly personal film follows Czech director Jan Nemec as he attempts to engage in a dialogue with his deceased mother. While alive, Nemec's mother had a troubled relationship with her son; this rumination ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jan Němec
CAST:  Karel Roden  •  Václav Havel  •  Jan Němec  •  Zuzana Stivínová

Taking a cue from Franz Kafka's "Letter to My Father," this highly personal film follows Czech director Jan Nemec as he attempts to engage in a dialogue with his deceased mother. While alive, Nemec's mother had a troubled relationship with her son; this rumination ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jan Němec
CAST:  Karel Roden  •  Václav Havel  •  Jan Němec  •  Zuzana Stivínová

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DIRECTION:  Andrea Sedláčková
CAST:  Václav Havel
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