Barrandov Studios is a set of

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

s in

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 P ...

, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Barrandov has made several major Hollywood productions, including '' Mission Impossible'', '' The Bourne Identity'', '' Casino Royale'', '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'', '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', '' The Zookeeper's Wife'', ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

'', among others.

Founding

Czech film history is closely connected with that of Prague's entrepreneurial Havel family, and especially with the activities of the brothers Miloš Havel (1899–1968) and (1897–1979), the latter being the father of the former Czech president of the same name. In 1921, Miloš Havel created the A-B Joint Stock Company by merging his own American Film distribution company with the Biografia film distributors. Initially, A-B studios were located in the garden of a Vinohrady brewery. However, with the emerging sound film, new modern stages equipped for sound recording had to be built. In early 1930s, Havel's brother, Václav, planned to build a luxurious residential complex on a hill on what were then the outskirts of Prague. Miloš Havel had suggested that he include a modern film studio in the development. The area would be called Barrandov after Joachim Barrande, the French geologist who had worked at the fossil-rich site in the 19th century. Since then, Barrandov Rock displays a plaque with Barrande's name. Construction of the studio, based on designs by Max Urban, began on 28 November 1931 and was completed in 1933. One year later, Barrandov's first Czech film, ''Murder on Ostrovni Street'', was shot there. The volume of films made at the studio increased rapidly. Barrandov had three hundred permanent employees, was making up to eighty films a year, and had begun to attract foreign producers. It was the best-equipped studio in Central Europe, and in its early years, foreign production companies such as UFA,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, and

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

developed their own distribution systems in Czechoslovakia thanks to Barrandov. During the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, between 1940 and 1945, major additions were made to the studio's facilities. Seeking to make Barrandov an equal to the major film studios in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, the Nazis drew up plans for three large interconnecting stages. Construction work started in 1941, but the final stage was not completed until early 1945. These three huge stages, with more than of shooting space, still form the main attraction of the studios to filmmakers throughout the world. Shortly after the war, Barrandov and its smaller sister, Hostivař Studios, were

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

and remained under state ownership until the beginning of the 1990s. During this time, Barrandov's new film laboratories were constructed, as was a

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

stage with a back projection tunnel and a water tank equipped for underwater shooting.

New wave

In the 1960s, a new wave of Czech films attracted worldwide attention. Czech film directors working at Barrandov at this time included

Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech Americans, Czech-American film film director, director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the Uni ...

Jiří Menzel Jiří Menzel () (23 February 1938 – 5 September 2020) was a Czech film director, theatre director, actor, and screenwriter. His films often combine a humanistic view of the world with sarcasm and provocative cinematography. Some of these films ...

Vojtěch Jasný Vojtěch Jasný (30 November 1925 – 15 November 2019) was a Czech director, screenwriter and professor who has written and directed over 50 films. Jasný made feature and documentary films in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria, USA & Canada, and ...

, Pavel Juráček,

Věra Chytilová Věra Chytilová (; 2 February 1929 – 12 March 2014) was an avant-garde Czech film director and pioneer of Czech cinema. Banned by the Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak government in the 1960s, she is best known for her Czech New Wave 1966 film ''S ...

, Jan Němec, Ivan Passer,

František Vláčil František Vláčil (19 February 1924 – 27 January 1999) was a Czech film director, painter, and graphic artist. From 1945 to 1950, he studied aesthetics and art history at Masaryk University in Brno. Later, he worked in various groups an ...

Elmar Klos Elmar Klos (26 January 1910 – 19 July 1993) was a Czech film director. He collaborated for 17 years with his Slovak colleague Ján Kadár and with him won the 1965 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for the film '' The Shop on Main Stree ...

, and

Ján Kadár Ján Kadár (1 April 1918 – 1 June 1979) was a Slovak film writer and director of Jewish heritage. As a filmmaker, he worked in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Canada. Most of his films were directed in tandem with Elmar Klos. The two b ...

. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Barrandov continued to produce feature films, particularly comedies and fairy-tales, turning out an average of seventy pictures a year. In the 1980s, some major American productions were made in the studios, including

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

's '' Yentl'' and Miloš Forman's '' Amadeus'', winner of several Academy Awards.

Post-revolution

Shortly after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

in 1989, Barrandov was privatized. The studio almost closed down in 2000. However, the decline in local films was balanced out by an increase in foreign productions, particularly feature films made by US producers.

Czech Television Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953. H ...

stations and producers of commercials also made extensive use of the facility. In December 2006, Barrandov Studios opened a massive new

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

aimed at attracting bigger productions. According to studio representatives, in terms of size, the new facility is now the largest in Europe, at 4,000 square metres.

Gallery

Barrandovstudio mainbuilding.jpg, Main building BarrandovStudio permanentset backlot.jpg, Medieval town permanent set Barrandov-costume-fundus.jpg, Barrandov Fundus costumes Barrandov studio atelier 2.jpg, Atelier

Notable productions

1940s

* '' Clothes Make the Man'' (1940, with

Heinz Rühmann Heinrich Wilhelm "Heinz" Rühmann (; 7 March 1902 – 3 October 1994) was a German film actor who appeared in over 100 films between 1926 and 1993. He is one of the most famous and popular German actors of the 20th century, and is considered a Ge ...

and Hertha Feiler) * '' Carl Peters'' (1940/41) * '' Jud Süß'' (1940) * '' Doctor Crippen'' (1942) * ''

Große Freiheit Nr. 7 ''Große Freiheit Nr. 7'' (English: ''Great Freedom No. 7'') is a 1944 German musical film, musical drama film directed by Helmut Käutner. It was named after Große Freiheit (grand freedom), a street next to Hamburg's Reeperbahn road in the St. ...

'' (1943, with

Hans Albers Hans Philipp August Albers (22 September 1891 – 24 July 1960), also known by his nickname “der blonde Hans” (The Blond Hans), was a German actor and singer. He was the biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1960 and one of the m ...

) * ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

'' (1945/46, with Johannes Heesters) * '' Springtime'' (1945–47, by Grigory Alexandrov)

1960s

* '' Lemonade Joe'' (1964) * '' The Shop on Main Street'' (1965) * '' Loves of a Blonde'' (1965) * '' Daisies'' (1966) * '' Closely Watched Trains'' (1966) * '' Marketa Lazarová'' (1967) * ''

The Firemen's Ball ''The Firemen's Ball'' (or ''Fireman's Ball''; - "Fire, My Lady") is a 1967 Czechoslovak New Wave Satire, satirical Comedy film, comedy directed by Miloš Forman. It is set at the annual ball of a small town's volunteer fire department, and th ...

'' (1967) * '' The End of Agent W4C'' (1967)

1970s

* '' The Last Act of Martin Weston'' (1970) * '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970) * '' Witchhammer'' (1970) * '' Three Wishes for Cinderella'' (1973) * '' Dinner for Adele'' (1977)

1980s

* '' Yentl'' (1983) * '' Amadeus'' (1984) * '' My Sweet Little Village'' (1985) * ''

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated H ...

'' (1985) * ''

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

'' (1986)

1990s

* ''

Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of real ...

'' (1991) * ''

The Elementary School ''The Elementary School'' () is a 1991 Czechoslovak comedy-drama film directed by Jan Svěrák. The screenplay comes from the pen of his father Zdeněk Svěrák. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in ...

'' (1991) * ''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' (sometimes referred to as ''Young Indy'') is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" ...

'' (1992) * ''

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

'' (1993) * ''

Immortal Beloved The Immortal Beloved (German "Unsterbliche Geliebte") is the addressee of a love letter which composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on 6 or 7 July 1812 in Teplitz (then in the Austrian Empire, now in the Czech Republic). The unsent letter is writ ...

'' (1994) * '' Underground'' (1995) * '' Kolya'' (1996) * '' Mission: Impossible'' (1996) * '' Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' (1997) * ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1998) * '' My Giant'' (1998) * '' The Barber of Siberia'' (1998) * '' Plunkett & Macleane'' (1999) * '' Ravenous'' (1999)

2000s

* ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'' (2000) * '' Frank Herbert's Dune'' (2000) * '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001) * '' From Hell'' (2001) * '' The Affair of the Necklace'' (2001) * '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002) * '' XXX'' (2002) * '' Blade II'' (2002) * ''

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

'' (2002) * '' Hart's War'' (2002) * ''

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'' (''LoEG'') is a multi-genre, cross-over comic book series co-created by writer Alan Moore and artist Kevin O'Neill which began in 1999. The comic book spans four volumes, an original graphic novel, and ...

'' (2003) * '' Hitler: The Rise of Evil'' (2003) * ''

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune ''Frank Herbert's Children of Dune'' is a three-part science fiction television miniseries written by John Harrison and directed by Greg Yaitanes, based on Frank Herbert's novels '' Dune Messiah'' (1969) and '' Children of Dune'' (1976). Firs ...

'' (2003) * '' Shanghai Knights'' (2003) * '' The Mystery of the Third Planet'' (2003, Czech dubbing production) * '' Chasing Liberty'' (2004) * '' The Prince and Me'' (2004) * '' Alien vs. Predator'' (2004) * ''

Hellboy Hellboy is a superhero created by Mike Mignola and appearing in comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various miniseries, one-shots ...

'' (2004) * ''

Van Helsing Professor Abraham Van Helsing () is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula'' written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the P ...

'' (2004) * '' Eurotrip'' (2004) * ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...

'' (2005) * ''

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'' (2005) * '' Doom'' (2005) * '' Alias (season 4)'' (2005) * ''

A Sound of Thunder "A Sound of Thunder" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in ''Collier's'' magazine on June 28, 1952, and later in Bradbury's 1953 collection '' The Golden Apples of the Sun''. Plot summary In the y ...

'' (2005) * '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2005) * ''

Hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

'' (2005) * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005) * '' Tristan and Isolde'' (2006) * '' Last Holiday'' (2006) * '' The Illusionist'' (2006) * ''

The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Sp ...

'' (2006) * '' Casino Royale'' (2006) * ''

Hannibal Rising ''Hannibal Rising'' is a psychological horror novel by American author Thomas Harris, published in 2006. It is the fourth and final novel in Harris's series and the first novel in chronological order of the novels of Thomas Harris centered aro ...

'' (2007) * '' Hostel: Part 2'' (2007) * '' Babylon A.D.'' (2007) * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008) * '' G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra'' (2009) * '' The Philanthropist (TV series)'' (2009) * '' Solomon Kane'' (2009)

2010s

* '' Burnt by the Sun 2'' (2010) * ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' (2011) * '' Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol'' (2011) * ''

Borgia The House of Borgia ( ; ; Spanish and ; ) was a Spanish noble family, which rose to prominence during the Italian Renaissance. They were from Xàtiva, Kingdom of Valencia, the surname being a toponymic from the town of Borja, then in the Cro ...

'' (2011) * '' A Royal Affair'' (2012) * '' The Hypnotist'' (2012) * ''

Snowpiercer ''Snowpiercer'' () is a 2013 Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic action thriller film based on the French climate fiction graphic novel ''Le Transperceneige'' by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette. The f ...

'' (2013) * ''

Crossing Lines ''Crossing Lines'' is an internationally co-produced crime drama television series created and executive produced by Edward Allen Bernero and Rola Bauer. The series premiered on June 9, 2013, at the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo. ...

'' (2013) * '' Serena'' (2014) * '' Child 44'' (2015) * '' Last Knights'' (2015) * '' Anthropoid'' (2016) * ''

A United Kingdom ''A United Kingdom'' is a 2016 biographical romantic drama film directed by Amma Asante and written by Guy Hibbert, based on the true-life romance of Seretse Khama, heir to the throne of the Bangwato Tribe in Serowe – one of many tribes fo ...

'' (2016) * '' The Zookeeper's Wife'' (2016) * '' Unlocked'' (2017) * '' The Aftermath'' (2019) * ''

Jojo Rabbit ''Jojo Rabbit'' is a 2019 political satire, satirical drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, adapted from Christine Leunens's 2008 book ''Caging Skies''. Roman Griffin Davis portrays the title character, Johannes "Jojo" Betzler, a te ...

'' (2019)

2020s

* '' Tribes of Europa'' (2021) * ''

The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author Robert Jordan, with American author Brandon Sanderson as co-writer of the final three installments. Originally planned as a trilogy, ''The Wheel of Time'' came to ...

'' (2021) * ''

'' (2024)

References

External links

*
Article about Barrandov Studio
– 18 January 2007 , Ondřej Lipár – official Czech Republic website {{Authority control Film studios Culture in Prague Cinema of the Czech Republic Film production companies of the Czech Republic 1931 establishments in Czechoslovakia