Otomar Krejča

Higher Principle

During the Nazi occupation of a Czech city civilians are being rounded up on the slightest of pretexts and shot. One day three high school boys who crack jokes about a recently deceased "hero of the Reich" are pulled out of school by the Gestapo.

The Trap

The drama from the time of the Nazi occupation begins at the train station, where a transport with German soldiers is passing. The train is stopped due to improvised sabotage by one of the railway workers. Resistance liaison Růžena Kubínová is arrested in a random raid. The cynical councilor Dönnert discovers her false documents and has her brutally interrogated. He suspects that she could contribute to exposing the entire group. He puts a informant, Herta, in her cell.

Nobody Knows Anything

Martin Plechatý and Petr Nový roam occupied Prague with their trams. Times are hard and sometimes survival is not easy - especially when, in an attempt to help a threatened (and charming) neighbor, you get involved with an SS man, hit him on the head and kill him. At least that's how the two friends explained the situation to each other when their opponent collapsed to the ground. What to do with the body now? An endless anabasis begins, in which even a baby stroller comes into play...

Zlá krev

Distant Journey

Prague, during World War II. Hana Kaufmann, a Jewish ophthalmologist, marries Dr. Antonín Bureš, a Christian man. When her family is sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, their romance turns into a struggle for survival.

The Golden Fern

Wandering through the forest, a woodcutter finds a golden fern whose seed turns into a beautiful woman - they fall in love. After getting drunk in a village feast, he gets to sign up to the army. The fairy gives him a shirt to wear and asks him to swear he will never abandon it. At the war front, he falls in love with the the colonel's daughter and will have to perform various feats to get her attention.

The Portrait

People are afraid of the usurer Chazaj and are convinced that he is the bearer of evil. One day Chazaj pays a visit to the poor artist Simon Jordán and asks him to paint his portrait. Simon agrees but as he progresses with the work his mind conjures up terrible thoughts and in the end he commits suicide. The portrait looks lifelike and Chazaj is content with the results. After Chazaj's death the picture changes hands and brings misfortune to all who own it. The last victim is the young painter Roman who buys Chazaj's portrait in a bazaar. He finds a treasure in the frame and begins to live well off it. The comfortable life suits him so well that he rejects his original artistic aims and becomes a painter of fashionable kitsch.

Old Czech Legends

A monumental piece of art bringing the heroes of the ancient Czech myths back to life. The picture consists of seven parts: Cech the Forefather, Bivoj, Libuse, Premysl, Girls War, Horymir, Lucka War.

Jan Hus

The first part of the "Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy", completed with Jan Žižka (1955) and Proti všem (Against All Odds, 1957). The film captures the period from May 1412 to the summer of 1415, a turbulent time in the Czech Kingdom, during which there were protests in Prague against the sale of "omnipotent indulgences" whose sale throughout the kingdom was announced by Pope John XXIII. The ideological leader of this movement is the preacher Master Jan Hus, whose words, calling for the elimination of church abuses, are listened to in the Bethlehem Chapel by thousands of ordinary Praguers, Czech lords and Queen Sophie, wife of the Czech King Wenceslas IV.

Vintage Car

The history of motoring in Bohemia begins when Laurin and Klement founded a factory for the production of motorcycles. In 1904, the first motorcycle races were held in Dourdan, France, in which Czechs also participated. Czech mechanic František and Nanette, daughter of French mechanic Frontenac, met and fell in love there. Czech racer Vondřich finished second due to a breakdown. In 1905, the race was held again, Vondřich insured himself with a suitcase of spare parts and won. Nanette and František, who had been writing to each other all year, met again. After motorcycles, cars began to be produced everywhere, and in 1909 their first race was organized in Gaillon, France. The Czech racer Count Kolovrat won. His mechanic František married his beloved Nanette in the local church.