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1960s

Czechoslovak New Wave

A short, brilliant flowering of Czech and Slovak cinema in the 1960s, with comedy, irony and non-professional actors, which ended with the Soviet invasion of 1968.

In the 1960s a group of young graduates of Prague's FAMU film school made some of the most playful and ironic films in Europe. Miloš Forman's Black Peter and The Fireman's Ball, Jiří Menzel's Closely Watched Trains, and Věra Chytilová's Daisies used absurd comedy, non-professional actors and sharp satire to poke at conformity and bureaucracy. Menzel's Closely Watched Trains won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1968. The Soviet invasion of August 1968 ended it: films were banned, and Forman went to the United States, where he later made One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Where
Czechoslovakia, mostly Prague
When
1963 to 1968
Key figures
Miloš Forman, Jiří Menzel, Věra Chytilová, Ivan Passer, Jan Němec, Jaromil Jireš
Landmark films
Black Peter (1964), Loves of a Blonde (1965), Closely Watched Trains (1966), Daisies (1966)
Legacy
A short, brilliant movement that showed the power of absurd comedy under a regime

What to look for

  • Absurd, gentle comedy that makes fun of conformity
  • Non-professional actors and everyday settings
  • Playful editing and sudden, unexpected shifts of tone

Famous Directors

Miloš FormanCzechoslovakia / USAJiří MenzelCzechoslovakiaVojtěch JasnýCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaVěra ChytilováCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaJaromil JirešCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaJan NěmecCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaFrantišek VláčilCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaJuraj HerzCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaIvan PasserCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaKarel KachyňaCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaOtakar VávraCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaJán KadárCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaEvald SchormCzech Republic / CzechoslovakiaOldřich LipskýCzech Republic / Czechoslovakia

Top films · 33 films

  1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1975 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.6
  2. Amadeus 1984 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 8.4
  3. The Shop on Main Street 1965 · Ján Kadár · IMDb 8.2
  4. The Cremator 1969 · Juraj Herz · IMDb 8.0
  5. My Sweet Little Village 1986 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 7.8
  6. Marketa Lazarová 1967 · František Vláčil · IMDb 7.8
  7. Coach to Vienna 1966 · Karel Kachyňa · IMDb 7.7
  8. Closely Watched Trains 1966 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 7.6
  9. Cutting It Short 1980 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 7.5
  10. Hair 1979 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.5
  11. All My Compatriots 1969 · Vojtěch Jasný · IMDb 7.5
  12. Loves of a Blonde 1965 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.4
  13. Man on the Moon 1999 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.4
  14. Lemonade Joe 1964 · Oldřich Lipský · IMDb 7.4
  15. Larks on a String 1969 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 7.3
  16. I Served the King of England 2006 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 7.3
  17. Taking Off 1971 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.3
  18. Ragtime 1981 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.3
  19. The People vs. Larry Flynt 1996 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.3
  20. Diamonds of the Night 1964 · Jan Němec · IMDb 7.3
  21. The Cassandra Cat 1963 · Vojtěch Jasný · IMDb 7.2
  22. Daisies 1966 · Věra Chytilová · IMDb 7.2
  23. The End of a Priest 1969 · Evald Schorm · IMDb 7.2
  24. Intimate Lighting 1965 · Ivan Passer · IMDb 7.1
  25. Romance for Bugle 1967 · Otakar Vávra · IMDb 7.1
  26. Black Peter 1964 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.0
  27. Valmont 1989 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 7.0
  28. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders 1970 · Jaromil Jireš · IMDb 7.0
  29. Capricious Summer 1968 · Jiří Menzel · IMDb 6.9
  30. Goya's Ghosts 2006 · Miloš Forman · IMDb 6.9
  31. Courage for Every Day 1964 · Evald Schorm · IMDb 6.3
  32. The Fireman's Ball 1967 · Miloš Forman
  33. The Don Juans 1991 · Jiří Menzel