ADELHEID
Directed by Frantisek Vlacil, 1969

This taut, masterful film from legendary director Frantisek Vlacil is an emotionally powerful love story set in the aftermath of World War II. A former soldier, Viktor, is sent to take charge of a manor formerly owned by a German family. Czech with English subtitles.

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ALL MY GOOD COUNTRYMEN
Directed by Vojtech Jasny, 1968

Vojtech Jasny directed this humorous and lyrical story about a small Moravian village responding to Stalinism. This crowning achievement of the Czech New Wave was banned immediately on its 1969 release. In Czech with English subtitles.

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...AND GIVE MY LOVE TO THE SWALLOWS
Directed by Jaromil Jires, 1972

The true story of Maruska Kuderikova, a young Moravian girl who was part of the Czech Resistance during World War II and arrested by the Nazis for her resistance work. She chronicles her experience as a prisoner in her diary, which Jires (The Joke) transforms into an uplifting tale of sacrifice for the sake of a better life and future.

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BLACK PETER
Directed by Milos Forman, 1963

The first feature by Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus), this coming-of-age tale about a malcontent teen in love heralded the arrival of an important cinematic talent. Forman captures the minute details of awkward romance and teenage rebellion with a keen eye to create a vivid portrait of youth from the Czech New Wave. In Czech with English subtitles.

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CAPRICIOUS SUMMER
Directed by Jiri Menzel, 1967

In a sleepy second-class resort at the turn of the century, three comrades-a priest, an ex-major, and the bathhouse manager-experience a coming of age: middle age. In Czech with English subtitles.

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CITIZEN VACLAV HAVEL GOES ON VACATION
Directed by Jan & Adam Novak, 2006

Before he became president of the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution, Vaclav Havel -- playwright, essayist, intellectual -- was a leading dissident, repeatedly jailed by the communist government. This extraordinary documentary by novelist/screenwriter/filmmaker Jan Novak and Adam Novak recreates with irony a little-known episode in Havel's life as a dissident: the decision to test the limits of the secret police by taking an extended "vacation" to visit his friends all over Czechoslovakia.

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DAISIES
Directed by Vera Chytilová, 1966

Vera Chytilová directed this freewheeling, madcap feminist farce featuring two uninhibited young women named Marie. Widely regarded as one of the best Czech films ever. Czech with English subtitles.

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DISTANT JOURNEY
Directed by Alfred Radok, 1949

Banned for decades, this rediscovered classic of Holocaust Cinema was shot only three years after the war ended, making it one of the first films to deal with the Holocaust. Distant Journey follows the struggles of Dr. Hannah Kaufman and her family from the time of the Nazi Occupation of Prague through her experiences in the transit camp of Theresienstadt (modern Terezin). In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE END OF AUGUST AT THE HOTEL OZONE
Directed by Pavel Juracek, 1966

Nuclear war has destroyed most of civilization. A pack of wild girls search for males who can give them children. With its stark atmospheric settings, cinematograhper Jan Schmidt creates the perfect mood to complement Juracek's sci-fi tale about what awaits us after the end of the world. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE FIFTH HORSEMAN IS FEAR
Directed by Zbynek Brynych, 1964

An aging Jewish doctor is forbidden to practice medicine in Prague during the Nazi Occupation. When a partisan is wounded, the doctor reluctantly agrees to treat him, hiding him as he sneaks through the black-market underworld of Prague in search of morphine to ease the man's pain. In Czech with English subtitles.

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FRUIT OF PARADISE
Directed by Vera Chytilová, 1970

A surrealistic Czech New Wave fable based on the Adam and Eve story. A modern couple vacationing at a spa eat forbidden fruit, sending the wife on an obsessive search for a dangerous killer. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK
Directed by Karel Stekly, 1956

Acclaimed Czech actor Rudolf Hrusinsky stars as the cheerful Schweik, a good-natured buffoon with a story for every occasion. After getting drafted into the Czech army during WWI, Schweik becomes an assistant to high-ranking military officials, and unwittingly wreaks havoc on the leaders of the 91st infantry. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEIK 2:
BEG TO REPORT, SIR
Directed by Karel Stekly, 1957

The popular sequel to Karel Stekly's definitive screen adaptation of Jaroslav Hasek's acclaimed novel. Beg to Report, Sir stars Rudolf Hrusinsky as the cheerful soldier Schweik, blissfully ignorant of the sweeping changes taking place all around him. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE JOKE
Directed by Jaromil Jires, 1968

Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and director Jaromil Jires adapted Kundera's novel about an ironic Czech professor and ladies' man (Josef Somr) sentenced to six years of hard labor for an irreverent postcard he sends a woman he's trying to seduce. Czech with English subtitles.

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LATE NIGHT TALKS WITH MOTHER
Directed by Jan Nemec, 2001

More cinematic confession than documentary, this captivating, innovative film diary finds director Jan Nemec revisiting his life as he unravels the threads of his difficult relationship with his mother, who passed away many years ago. In Czech with English subtitles.

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LEMONADE JOE
Directed by Oldrich Lipsky, 1964

This oddball spoof of the Western is set at the Trigger Whiskey Saloon, where bad girl Tornado Lou sings while the local temperance crusader, played by Playboy covergirl Olga Schoberova, is menaced by hard-drinking baddies. Riding to the rescue is white-haired, tee-totaling Joe, the tough guy local lemonade salesman. In Czech with English subtitles.

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OLD BELIEVERS
Directed by Jana Sevcikova, 1984/1992/2001

In the outlands of Eastern Europe, acclaimed filmmaker Jana Sevcikova spent years chronicling the descendants of immigrants and exiles in these remote lands. The results are three poetic, intimate documentaries that capture the unique lives and customs of people unknown to most of the world. In Czech with English subtitles.

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PEARLS OF THE DEEP
Directed by Jiri Menzel, Jan Nemec, Evald Schorm, Vera Chytilová, and Jaromil Jires, 1965

Five directors of the internationally acclaimed Czech New Wave of the 1960's contributed to this landmark film anthology. Each witty, entertaining short is based on a different story by legendary writer Bohumil Hrabal, renowned for his outrageous, surreal tales. In Czech with English subtitles.

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PRIVATE CENTURY
Directed by Jan Šikl, 2006

This remarkable eight-part series tells the stories of ordinary people caught in the wheels of history. Composed entirely of home movies, still photographs, letters, and diaries dating from the 1920s to the 1960s, the series explores the impact of sweeping historical events—war, economic depression, and government interference—on the private lives of normal citizens. In the midst of political turbulence and social change, they grow up, fall in love, get married, and go on vacation. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THREE WISHES FOR CINDERELLA
Directed by Vaclav Vorlicek, 1973

This 1973 cult classic is a sumptuous, beautifully realized retelling of the Cinderella fable with a twist: this Cinderella rides horses and shoots like a sharpshooter. Czech with English subtitles.

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VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS
Directed by Jaromil Jires, 1970

The line between fantasy and reality are blurred in this surreal and sexual horror tale from one of the Czech New Wave's top directors. After receiving a pair of bewitched earrings, a young girl's world is turned upside-down. Soon, vampires and carnal priests disrupt the girl's slumber, ravaging her innocence and awakening the woman within. Beautifully filmed. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE VALLEY OF THE BEES
Directed by Frantisek Vlacil, 1967

In this mesmerizing historical drama, Frantisek Vlacil, the godfather of the 1960's Czech New Wave, epitomizes his commitment to what he called "pure film." At twelve Ondrej, the son of the lord of Vlkov is sent to study with the Brotherhood of Teutonic Knights, but upon his return his commitment is put to the test. In Czech with English subtitles.

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THE WHITE DOVE
Directed by Frantisek Vlacil, 1960

A beautiful, poetic vision from the director of Marketa Lazarova. A sick carrier pigeon en route to its home on the Baltic Sea becomes lost and lands in Prague, where it is rescued and nurtured back to health by a small, frail boy. In Czech with English subtitles.

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WHO WANTS TO KILL JESSIE?
Directed by Vaclav Vorlicek, 1966

In this trippy but charming comedy, a well-respected scientist creates a formula that can remove elements from dreams. But, what she doesn't know is that these dream images can manifest themselves in the real world. When she injects her husband with the formula, his dreams of Jessie-the blonde, voluptuous heroine of the comic strip "Who Wants to Kill Jessie?"-come crashing into their lives. In Czech with English subtitles.

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WITCHES' HAMMER
Directed by Otakar Vavra, 1969

A riveting and often disturbing dramatization of the deadly witch hunts that plagued Czechoslovakia in the late 17th century from acclaimed director Otakar Vavra. A ruthless inquisitor is called out of retirement by the church to investigate allegations of heresy. In Czech with English subtitles.

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