''Bohemian Rapture'' or ''The Violin and the Dream'' () is a 1947 Czech

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Václav Krška and starring Jaromír Spal,

Václav Voska Václav Voska (21 October 1918 – 20 August 1982) was a Czech film actor.Hardy p.171 Selected filmography * '' The Dancer'' (1943) * '' Bohemian Rapture'' (1947) * ''Jan Žižka Jan Žižka z Trocnova a Kalicha (; 1360 – 11 October 1424 ...

and Karel Dostal. The film portrays the life of the Czech

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

Josef Slavík, a contemporary of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

, and a rival of

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

Cast

* Jaromír Spal as Josef Slavík *

as Frédéric Chopin * Karel Dostal as Nicolo Paganini * Vlasta Fabianová as Anna Zásmucká * Libuše Zemková as Henrietta Astfeldová * Jiřina Krejčová as Magdalenka * Marie Vášová as The Unknown Woman * Eduard Kohout as Count Pavel Adam Lažanský, * Vladimír Řepa as Teacher W. W. Würfel *

František Smolík František Smolík (23 January 1891 – 26 January 1972) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in more than 75 films between 1920 and 1968. Selected filmography *'' The Mystery of the Blue Room'' (1933) * '' The Ruined Shopkeeper'' (19 ...

as Father Quardián *

Jarmila Švabíková Jarmila is a Slavic origin female given name. Derived from the Slavic elements jary ''fierce, strong'' and mil ''favour''. Similar names are Jaromíra and Jaroslava. Nicknames are Jarka, Jarcza, Jara, Jarina, Jaromilka, Jarmilka, Mila, Jarulinka. ...

as Constance Bayerová * Jiří Steimar as Baron Astfeld * Jan W. Speerger as Thug * Zvonimir Rogoz as Conductor * Karel Kalista as General Kučera

Release

The film premiered on 31 January 1947. In 1948 the film was released in the United States by the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

distributor

Artkino Nicola Napoli, was the President of Artkino Pictures, Inc., the primary distributor of Soviet films in the United States, Canada, Central America and South America from 1940 to 1982. Napoli was a double agent Soviet Spy for the United States. In 19 ...

. This release is sometimes treated as a separate film, but is simply an English-subtitled version of the Czech original. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review of the film was negative, criticising it as "an unusual but decidedly confusing and unrewarding offering" and attacking in particular its use of disjointed flashback sequences.

References

Bibliography

* ''The Most Important Art: Eastern European Film After 1945''. University of California Press, 1977.

External links

* * 1947 films 1940s biographical drama films 1940s historical drama films Czech biographical drama films Czech historical drama films 1940s Czech-language films Films directed by Václav Krska Films set in the 1820s Films set in the 1830s Biographical films about musicians Films about classical music and musicians Cultural depictions of Frédéric Chopin Cultural depictions of Niccolò Paganini Cultural depictions of classical musicians Czechoslovak black-and-white films 1947 drama films 1940s Czech films {{historic-film-stub