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Jiří Weiss
Jiří Weiss (29 March 1913 – 9 April 2004) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, writer, playwright and pedagogue. Life Early life Jiří Weiss was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Prague. His father was a Czech patriot and named his son after Czech king Jiří of Poděbrady. His parents were Emil Weiss (1880–1942) and Martha Weissová (née Fuchsová; 1882–1944). Emil Weiss owned a liqueur factory in Libeň district. Since his youth, Jiří was a staunch communist, which was at the heart of disputes with his capitalist parents. As a young boy he was friends with Franz Kafka's niece Marianne Pollaková and thanks to her he was able to read the books of then-unknown writer Kafka in the 1920s. Weiss was interested in studying at film school, but his parents wished he studied law. While still a minor, he left his home and lived with his friend . Weiss started to work as a copywriter in advertising. His father, who disagreed with his life choices and could still make de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its Prague metropolitan area, metropolitan area is home to approximately 2.3 million people. Prague is a historical city with Romanesque architecture, Romanesque, Czech Gothic architecture, Gothic, Czech Renaissance architecture, Renaissance and Czech Baroque architecture, Baroque architecture. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611). It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austria-Hungary. The city played major roles in the Bohemian Reformation, Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Un Chien Andalou
(, ''An Andalusian Dog'') is a 1929 French silent short film directed, produced and edited by Luis Buñuel, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Salvador Dalí. Buñuel's first film, it was initially released in a limited capacity at Studio des Ursulines in Paris, but became popular and ran for eight months. has no plot in the conventional sense of the word. With disjointed chronology, jumping from the initial "once upon a time" to "eight years later" without events or characters changing, it uses dream logic in narrative flow that can be described in terms of the then-popular Freudian free association, presenting a series of tenuously related scenes. is a seminal work of surrealist cinema. Synopsis A man sharpens a razor and tests it on his thumb. He gazes at the moon, which is about to be bisected by a thin cloud. A young woman stares straight ahead as he brings the razor near her eye. A cut occurs to the cloud passing in front of the moon, and then to a close-up of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres have appeared on its stage. It is the venue for the BBC Proms concerts, which have been held there every summer since 1941. It is host to more than 390 shows in the main auditorium annually, including classical, rock and pop concerts, ballet, opera, film screenings with live orchestral accompaniment, sports, awards ceremonies, school and community events, and charity performances and banquets. A further 400 events are held each year in the non-auditorium spaces. Over its 153-year history, the hall has hosted people from various fields, including meetings held by suffragettes, speeches from Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, and Albert Einstein, fights by Lennox Lewis, exhibition bouts by Muhammad Ali, and concerts from regular performer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czechoslovak Government-in-exile
The Czechoslovak government-in-exile, sometimes styled officially as the Provisional Government of Czechoslovakia (; ), was an informal title conferred upon the Czechoslovak National Liberation Committee (; ), initially by Government of the United Kingdom, British diplomatic recognition. The name came to be used by other Allies of World War II, Allied governments during the Second World War as they subsequently recognised it. The committee was originally created by the former Czechoslovak President, Edvard Beneš in Paris, France, in October 1939.Crampton, R. J. ''Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – and after''. Routledge. 1997. Unsuccessful negotiations with French Third Republic, France for diplomatic status, as well as the impending German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France, forced the committee to withdraw to London in 1940. The Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile offices were at various locations in London but mainly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crown Film Unit
The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during the Second World War; until 1940, it was the GPO Film Unit. Its remit was to make films for the general public in Britain and abroad. Its output included short information and documentary films, as well as longer drama-documentaries, as well as a few straight drama productions. Music was an important element. The conductor Muir Mathieson was the director of music for many productions, and notable composers commissioned to write original scores included Walter Leigh, Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ..., Ernst Meyer, Richard Addinsell, Benjamin Frankel, Christian Darnton, Guy Warrack and Arthur Benjamin. The Crown Film Unit continued to prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve personnel and 4,697 "other personnel", for a total of 108,413. The British Army traces back to 1707 and the Acts of Union 1707, formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland into a Political union, single state and, with that, united the English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army. The Parliament of England, English Bill of Rights 1689 and Convention of the Estates, Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army. Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the Charles III, monarch as their commander-in-chief. The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jan Masaryk
Jan Garrigue Masaryk (14 September 1886 – 10 March 1948) was a Czech diplomat and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia from 1940 to 1948. American journalist John Gunther described Masaryk as "a brave, honest, turbulent, and impulsive man". Early life Born in Prague, he was the son of professor and politician Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (who became the first president of Czechoslovakia in 1918) and Charlotte Garrigue, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk's American wife. Masaryk was educated in Prague and also in the United States, where he lived for a time as a drifter and for a time as a steelworker. Because of his youth in the United States, Masaryk always spoke both Czech and English with a strong American accent. He returned home in 1913 and served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. Masaryk served in Galicia and learned Polish during his wartime career. The fact that his father was in exile, working for Czech independence from the Aust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis MacNeice
Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet, playwright and producer for the BBC. Known for its exploration of introspection, empiricism, and belonging, his poetic work is now ranked among the twentieth century's greatest. Despite being renowned as a member of the Auden Group, he was also an independently successful (albeit occasionally overlooked) poet with an influential body of work, which is replete with themes ranging from faith to mortality. His body of work was appreciated by the public during his lifetime, due in part to his relaxed but socially and emotionally aware style. Never as overtly or simplistically political as some of his contemporaries, he expressed a humane opposition to totalitarianism as well as an acute awareness of his roots. MacNeice was awarded the CBE in the 1958 New Year Honours list. Life Ireland, 1907–1917 Louis MacNeice (known as Freddie until his teens, when he adopted his middle name ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Rotha
Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was an English documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. Early life and education He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Career Rotha was a close collaborator of John Grierson, and Wolfgang Suschitzky was one of his cinematographers. He directed and produced dozens of documentaries including ''Contact'' (1933), '' Air Outpost'' (1937) ''The Face of Britain'' (1935),'' World of Plenty'' (1943), ''Land of Promise'' (1947), ''A City Speaks'' (1947) and many others. '' The World Is Rich'' (1947) and '' Cradle of Genius'' (1961), both of which were nominated for an Academy Award, and feature films including the BAFTA-nominated '' No Resting Place''. Rotha was Head of BBC TV's Documentaries Department between May 1953 and May 1955. Rotha shared with Otto Neurath an interest in the techniques of visual communication, and the two men worked together on several films, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Wright
Basil Charles Wright (12 June 1907 – 14 October 1987) was an English documentary filmmaker, film historian, film critic and teacher. Biography Basil Wright was born in Sutton, Surrey in 1907. After leaving Sherborne School, a well known independent school in the market town of Sherborne in Dorset, Basil Wright attended Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, as a Mawson scholar in 1926 to read classics. He took a first in part one of the classical tripos (1928) and a third in part two of economics (1929). Upon leaving Cambridge he was the first recruit to join John Grierson at the Empire Marketing Board's film unit in 1930. Wright's 1934 film '' Song of Ceylon'' is his most celebrated work. Shot on location in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) the film was completed with the composer Walter Leigh at the GPO Film Unit in London. At the GPO, Wright acted as producer and wrote the script for ''Night Mail'' (1936) for which he received a joint directorial credit with Harry Watt. Wright had in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munich Agreement
The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German annexation of part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland, where 3 million people, mainly Sudeten Germans, ethnic Germans, lived. The pact is known in some areas as the Munich Betrayal (; ), because of a previous 1924 alliance agreement and a 1925 military pact between France and the Czechoslovak Republic. Germany had started a Sudetendeutsches Freikorps#Undeclared German–Czechoslovak War, low-intensity undeclared war on Czechoslovakia on 17 September 1938. In reaction, Britain and France on 20 September formally requested Czechoslovakia cede the Sudetenland territory to Germany. This was followed by Polish and Hungarian territorial demands brought on 21 and 22 September, respectively. Meanwhile, German forces conquered part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiří Srnka
Jiří Srnka (19 August 1907 – 31 January 1982) was a Czech composer. Biography His teacher was the well known violinist, Otakar Ševčík at the Prague Conservatory from the age of 8. From 1928, he studied at the school of Vítězslav Novák and Alois Hába. He composed music for nearly 200 films. These included ''Krakatit'', ''Jan Hus'', and '' Dařbuján a Pandrhola''. Additionally, he created works for TV series, such as F. L. Věk. His works depicts the essential parts of his connection with the musical reality. He wrote several songs and orchestral works as well. He frequently worked with directors Otakar Vávra and František Čáp. Filmography * ''Turbina'' (1941) * '' The Great Dam'' (1942) * ''Mist on the Moors'' (1943) * ''Premonition'' (1947) * ''Sign of the Anchor'' (1947) * ''Krakatit'' (1948) *'' White Darkness'' (1948) * ''Silent Barricade'' (1949) * ''Jan Hus'' (1954) * '' Dařbuján a Pandrhola'' (1960) * '' The Night Guest'' (1961) * ''Witchhammer ''Wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
