Pavel Pípal

Dobrodružství kriminalistiky

Dobrodružství kriminalistiky

Hřbitov pro cizince

A tragicomic story from a tragicomic time - this is how one could characterize Jiří Hubac's play, which premiered in May 1991. The drama of two friends who fought in England as Czech airmen during the war and had to live through the well-known martyrdom after returning home is a story about the power of friendship, the courage to transcend oneself in the face of violence and the right to preserve human memory. The television film by director Jaroslav Dudek, who cast Jiří Bartoska and Josef Dvořák in the lead roles, was honoured with the prestigious Prix Europe international award in Reykjavik.

Vyprávěj

Set in Czechoslovakia, the drama follows the lives of its characters against the backdrop of real historical events that shape their personal stories. To evoke period atmosphere, the series intersperses authentic clips from vintage Czechoslovak film newsreels, using their original commentaries or newly recorded historical voice-overs by Vladimír Fišer. A narrator, initially voiced by Vojtěch Kotek and later by Matěj Hádek, provides continuity and reflection, guiding viewers through changing times. Under the guidance of screenwriter Rudolf Merkner, each episode’s script weaves family and individual dramas into key moments of Czech and Slovak history: political shifts, cultural trends, and social transformations from the 1960s onward.

Bakaláři

Horror Story

The distinctive artist, typographer, and writer Josef Váchal is known to the public primarily for his Blood Novel. The surrealistic exuberance of this defense of 19th-century pulp fiction caught the attention of Jaroslav Brabec and his colleagues, who found a corresponding image of 20th-century "trash." The authors' interest focuses primarily on the silent film era, with a journey through the history of cinema continuing through the advent of sound film to the present day (auteur cinema of the 1960s, modern horror), formally employing techniques such as tinted film. The versatile parody intertwines a colorful plot with the story of the author (Váchal/Paseky), who comments on and creates his book, and is further split in the plot into the characters of Fragonard and the Master. As with Váchal, reality increasingly enters the fiction, so that the only "happy ending" turns out to be the artist's finished work.

The Treasure of Count Chamaré

In 1781, Countess Marie Karolina shelters an influential Abbé, a former Jesuit who vehemently opposes progress. Only Dr. Kamenický dares challenge him, restoring the countess’s zest for life. Her husband, obsessed with finding a hidden treasure, neglects the estate and seduces her ward Renáta. Meanwhile, returning exile Václav’s secret reunion with Frantina in cave hideouts is betrayed by jealous suitor Tomáš, who, with the Abbé’s help, unleashes a violent manhunt.

Gunshots in Mariánské Lázně

In May 1945, a woman in Marienbad reports a murder - committed in 1933 against the German emigrant Professor Lessing. She also names the murderer. Against the wishes of his superior, who does not feel responsible for this case - it was a fascist femicide - Inspector Šedý picks up the trail and arrests the murderer, the German Eckert. Eckert was a fugitive at the trial in 1933, and now the evidence is no longer available. Nevertheless, Šedý does everything he can to convict him. He finds witnesses who support him - anti-fascists, but also former collaborators who want to clear themselves. Reconstructing the case at the crime scene, Šedý is able to prove that Eckert was at least an accessory. He is convicted. After his release from prison, Eckert goes to West Germany, where he demands compensation from his former clients.

Stříbrný a Ryšavec

In the middle of the pasture stands an old oak tree intertwined with a plane tree. Bětka, who grazes sheep, calls it the apple oak. It is her favorite place. It is as if her mother, whom both she and her father miss so much, is watching her from the tree's crown. And it is here that Bětka meets a young prince for whom military glory is the most important thing in the world. Although he likes the shepherdess, he sends her father to prison for his grumbling and aversion to senseless military conquests. He says he will release him when someone defeats him, the prince. Desperate, Bětka seeks solace at the apple oak tree, where she suddenly receives not only a miraculous caress, but also advice. She will be helped by someone whose head is fiery like an autumn tree, half gold and half scarlet...

On a Wayward Princess

Princess Julia doesn't want to marry an old prince Hubert so she runs away from home. She meets two old magicians and join the circus, where she meets lovely Franta Kuldan and evil devil performer.