Jaromil Jireš (10 December 1935 – 24 October 2001) was a director associated with the

Czechoslovak New Wave The Czechoslovak New Wave (also Czech New Wave) is a term used for the Czechoslovak filmmakers who started making movies in the 1960s. The directors commonly included are Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Ivan Passer, Pavel Juráček, Jiří Me ...

movement. His 1963 film '' The Cry'' was entered into the

1964 Cannes Film Festival The 17th Cannes Film Festival was held from 29 April to 14 May 1964. On this occasion, the Palme d’Or was renamed "Grand Prix du Festival International du Film", a name that remained in use through 1974, after which it became the Palme d'Or ag ...

. It is often described as the first film of the

, a movement known for its dark humor, use of non-professional actors, and "art-cinema realism". Another of Jireš's prominent works is '' The Joke'' (1969), adapted from a novel by

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...

. It tells the story of Ludvik Jahn, a man expelled from the Czechoslovakian Communist Party for an idle joke to his girlfriend, and the revenge he later seeks through adultery. The film was produced during the political liberalization of the 1968 Prague Spring and contains many scenes which satirize and criticize the country's communist leadership. Released after the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

, the film had initial success in theaters but was then banned by authorities for the next twenty years.

Amos Vogel Amos Vogel ( Vogelbaum; April 18, 1921 – April 24, 2012) was a New York City cineaste and curator. Biography Vogel was born in Vienna, Austria. He fled Austria with his parents after the Nazi Anschluß in 1938 and at first studied animal husband ...

wrote that the film was "possibly the most shattering indictment of totalitarianism to come out of a Communist country". '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970), set in the early 19th century, was based on a novel by

Vítězslav Nezval Vítězslav Nezval (; 26 May 1900 – 6 April 1958) was a Czech poet, writer and translator. He was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the 20th century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechos ...

. It is a film in a Gothic style concerning the onset of menstruation and the sexual awakening of a thirteen-year-old girl. His 1979 film ''

The Young Man and Moby Dick ''The Young Man and Moby Dick'' ( cs, Mladý muž a bílá velryba) is a 1979 Czechoslovakian drama film directed by Jaromil Jireš. It was entered into the 11th Moscow International Film Festival. Cast * Ivan Vyskočil as Bretislav Laboutka ...

'' was entered into the

11th Moscow International Film Festival The 11th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 14 to 28 August 1979. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian-French film ''Christ Stopped at Eboli'' directed by Francesco Rosi, the Spanish film '' Siete días de enero'' directed ...

. Following the Soviet takeover of Czechoslovakia, Jireš continued to work in the country, making less controversial material. In 1971, he directed ''My Love to the Swallows'', a World War II film about a Czech resistance fighter. His 1982 film '' Incomplete Eclipse'' was entered into the

33rd Berlin International Film Festival The 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18 February to 1 March 1983. The festival opened with the out of competition film, '' Tootsie'' by Sydney Pollack. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film '' Ascendancy'' ...

. He continued making films through the '80s and '90s, including ballet and opera documentaries for television.

Filmography

Films

* ''

Uncle An uncle is usually defined as a male relative who is a sibling of a parent or married to a sibling of a parent. Uncles who are related by birth are second-degree relatives. The female counterpart of an uncle is an aunt, and the reciprocal rela ...

'' (Short, 1959) * ''

Footprints Footprints are the impressions or images left behind by a person walking or running. Hoofprints and pawprints are those left by animals with hooves or paws rather than feet, while "shoeprints" is the specific term for prints made by shoes. The ...

'' (Short, 1960) * '' The Cry'' (1964) * '' The Log Cabin'' (Short, 1965) * ''

Pearls of the Deep ''Pearls of the Deep'' () is a 1966 Czechoslovak anthology film directed by Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec, Evald Schorm, Věra Chytilová and Jaromil Jireš. The five segments are all based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal. The film was released in C ...

'' (segment "Romance", 1966) * '' Don Juan 68'' (Short, 1968) * '' The Joke'' (1969) * '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970) * '' And Give My Love to the Swallows'' (1972) * '' People from the Subway'' (1974) * '' Talíře nad Velkým Malíkovem'' (1977) * ''

'' (1979) * '' Payment in Kind'' (1980) * '' Útěky domů'' (1980) * '' Opera ve vinici'' (1981) * '' Incomplete Eclipse'' (1983) * '' Katapult'' (1984) * '' Prodloužený čas'' (1984) * '' Lev s bílou hřívou'' (1986) * ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by t ...

'' (1991) * '' Helimadoe'' (1994) * ''

The Dance Teacher ''The Dance Teacher'' ( cz, Učitel tance) is a 1995 Czech drama film directed by Jaromil Jireš. Cast * Martin Dejdar - Richard Majer * Jana Hlaváčová - Head nurse * Miloš Kopecký - Grandfather of Richard * Barbora Kodetová Barbora Ko ...

'' (1995) * ''

Double Role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

'' (1999)

Television films

* '' Island of the Silver Herons'' (TV Movie, 1976) * ''

The Diary of One Who Disappeared ''Zápisník zmizelého'', or ''(The) Diary of One Who Disappeared'', is a half-hour Czech-language quasi-operatic song cycle for tenor, alto, three other women's voices and piano completed in 1919 by Leoš Janáček. Of its 22 sections, 18 are ...

'' (TV Movie, 1979) * '' O Háderunovi a víle Elóře'' (TV Movie, 1987) * '' Naděje má hluboké dno'' (TV Movie, 1988) * '' And If There Are Angels Here'' (TV Movie, 1992)

Documentaries

* ''

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...

'' (Documentary short, 1958) * '' The Hall of Lost Steps'' (Short, 1960) * '' Don Špagát'' (Short, 1962) * '' Citizen Karel Havlíček'' (Short, 1966) * '' The King Game'' (Short, 1967) * '' The Journey of Vincence Mostek and Simon Pesl of Vlcnov to Prague A.D. 1969'' (short, 1969) * '' Grandpa'' (Documentary short, 1969) * '' Court of Justice'' (Short documentary, 1969) * ''

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

'' (TV Movie, 1973) * '' The Safe Cracker'' (Short, 1974) * '' Il divino Boemo'' (Short, 1974) * '' Svět Alfonse muchy'' (1980) * '' Bohuslav Martinů'' (TV Movie, 1980) * '' Kouzelná Praha Rudolfa II'' (TV Movie, 1982) * '' Milos Forman - Das Kuckucksei'' (TV Movie documentary, 1985) * '' Sidney Lumet: I Love New York'' (TV Movie documentary, 1987) * '' Po zarostlem chodnícku'' (Documentary, 1987) * '' Antonín Dvorák'' (TV Mini-Series, 1990) * ''

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he wo ...

'' (TV Movie documentary, 1991) * '' Beschreibung eines Kampfes'' (1991) * '' Rekviem za ty, kteři přežili'' (Documentary, 1992) * '' Hudba a víra'' (TV Movie documentary, 1992) * '' Hudba a bolest'' (TV Movie documentary, 1992)

References

External links

*
Obituary: Jaromil Jires
20 Nov 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jires, Jaromil 1935 births 20th-century screenwriters 2001 deaths Czech film directors Czech screenwriters Male screenwriters Czechoslovak film directors Film people from Bratislava Slovak film directors Slovak screenwriters