Larks on a String ( Skrivánci na niti ) ( Larks on a Thread (Skylarks on a String) )

Larks on a String (DVD) (*)

~~$27.99~~ $21.97

Original Title: Skrivánci na niti
Alternate Title: Larks on a Thread (Skylarks on a String)
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
90 min + 10 min extras

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.66:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Booklet
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1990 and produced in:
Czech Republic ( Russia, Eastern Europe )

Directed By:
Jiri Menzel

Written By:
Bohumil Hrabal
Jiri Menzel

Actors:
Rudolf Hrusínský ..... Trustee
Vlastimil Brodský ..... Professor
Václav Neckár ..... Pavel Hvezdár
Jitka Zelenohorská ..... Jitka
Jaroslav Satoranský ..... Guard Andel
Vladimír Smeral ..... Minister
Ferdinand Kruta ..... Kudla
Frantisek Rehák ..... Drobecek
Leos Sucharípa ..... Public prosecutor
Vladimír Ptácek ..... Mlíkar
Eugen Jegorov ..... Saxophonist
Nada Urbánková ..... Lenka
Vera Kresadlová ..... Convict
Vera Ferbasová ..... Convict
Jirina Stepnicková ..... Pavel's mother

Synopsis:

It is little wonder that this film was withheld from release by the communist government of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to its release in 1990 at the Berlin Film Festival. What's amazing is that it was made at all and that, having been made, it survived to be shown. The story concerns the irrepressible goodness of people imprisoned by the government in labor camps, as they struggle against all odds to retain their humanity. The story focuses on two small groups of prisoners: one of men, the other of women. They have been imprisoned for such apparently minor crimes as attempting to find out what has happened to missing loved ones. The two groups manage to interact and some romance even springs up between them. From time to time, prisoners are spirited away in a mysterious black car, never to be seen again. Reviewers were lavish in their praise of this film, which is funny, bitter, satirical, allegorical, and rich with imagery that is particularly meaningful to those who endured similar privations through living under repressive regimes.

Prague in the early 1950's. Bourgeois elements are being re-educated by working in a scrapyard full of the detritus of industrial society. The volunteer workers comprise a professor of literature, a public prosecutor, a dairyman, a saxophonist, a barber, and a young cook. Also working in the yard are a number of female prisoners serving a year for trying to defect... A camera crew arrives with potted plants and other props. An idyllic scene is created; the prisoners star briefly in a pro-North Korean newsreel before going back to work... The volunteers are striking because the scrapyard work quotas have risen without consultation. A union rep arrives to persuade them otherwise... The guard for the female prisoners gets married but the gypsy musicians make a mess at his reception. The cook flirts with one of the pretty prisoners and finally proposes...

Themes from several stories by Bohumil Hrabal, set against the background of the industrial town of Kladno in the period of the so-called "personality cult".

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 22 April, 2011.

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