The Czechoslovak New Wave (also Czech/Slovak New Wave) is a term used for the Czechoslovak filmmakers who started making films in the 1960s. The directors commonly included are

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 ...

, Věra Chytilová,

Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (born 4 September 1934) is a Czech retired film director, animator, writer, playwright and artist. He draws and makes free graphics, collage, ceramics, tactile objects and asse ...

, Ivan Passer, Pavel Juráček,

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 ...

, Jan Němec, Jaromil Jireš,

Evald Schorm Evald Schorm (15 December 1931 – 14 December 1988) was a Czech film and stage director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 26 films between 1959 and 1988. Schorm was a notable exponent of the Czech New Wave, Czech Film New Wave. Biograph ...

Hynek Bočan Hynek Bočan (born 29 April 1938) is a Czechs, Czech film director and screenwriter. His major works include the TV series ''The Land Gone Wild'' and the fairy tale film ''Give the Devil His Due''. He has received several awards for his lifetime c ...

Juraj Herz Juraj Herz (4 September 1934 – 8 April 2018) was a Slovak film director, actor, and scene designer, associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s. He is best known for his 1969 horror/black comedy '' The Cremator'', often ci ...

, Juraj Jakubisko, Štefan Uher,

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 ...

and others. The movement was sometimes called the "Czechoslovak film miracle".

Overview

The films touched on themes which for earlier film makers in the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

countries had rarely managed to avoid the objections of the censor, such as the misguided youths of Czechoslovak society portrayed in

's '' Black Peter'' (1963) and '' Loves of a Blonde'' (1965), or those caught in a surrealistic whirlwind in Věra Chytilová's '' Daisies'' (1966) and Jaromil Jireš' '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonders'' (1970). The films often expressed dark and absurd humour in opposition to

social realist Social realism is work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers, filmmakers and some musicians that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structures ...

films of the 1950s. The Czechoslovak New Wave differed from the

French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...

in that it usually held stronger narratives, and as these directors were the children of a nationalized film industry, they had greater access to studios and state funding. They also made more adaptations, including Jaromil Jireš's

adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...

Milan Kundera Milan Kundera ( ; ; 1 April 1929 – 11 July 2023) was a Czech and French novelist. Kundera went into exile in France in 1975, acquiring citizenship in 1981. His Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, but he was granted Czech citizenship ...

's novel '' The Joke'' (1969). At the Fourth Congress of the Czechoslovak Writers Union in 1967,

described this wave of national cinema as an important part of the history of Czechoslovak literature. Forman's '' The Firemen's Ball'' (1967), another major film of the era, remains a

cult film A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase, which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage in repeated ...

more than four decades after its release.

Czech film

The majority of films shot during the New Wave were Czech-language as opposed to Slovak. Many directors came from the prestigious FAMU, located in Prague, while the state-run

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, 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 (film), ...

were located just on the outskirts of Prague. Some prominent Czech directors included

, who directed '' The Firemen's Ball'', '' Black Peter'', and '' Loves of a Blonde'' during this time, Věra Chytilová who is best known for her film '' Daisies'', and

, whose film '' Closely Watched Trains'' (''Ostře sledované vlaky'' 1966) won an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Foreign Language Film.

Slovak film

'' The Shop on Main Street'' (1965) won the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

in 1966, although it is not considered part of the New Wave, because it was directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos, who were a generation older, and the film is fairly traditional. Juraj Jakubisko, Štefan Uher and Dušan Hanák were Slovak filmmakers who were part of the New Wave.

Key works

* '' The Sun in a Net'' by Štefan Uher (1962) * '' The Devil's Trap'' by

(1962) * '' Something Different'' by Věra Chytilová (1963) * '' Black Peter'' by

(1963) * '' The Cassandra Cat'' by

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 ...

(1963)The Criterion Channel’s December 2023 LineupThe Criterion Collection
/ref> * '' The Cry'' by Jaromil Jireš (1964) * '' Lemonade Joe, or The Horse Opera'' by Oldřich Lipský (1964) * '' Diamonds of the Night'' by Jan Němec (1964) * '' The Last Trick'' by

(1964) * '' Loves of a Blonde'' by

(1965) * '' Intimate Lighting'' by Ivan Passer (1965) * '' The Shop On Main Street'' by Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos (1965) * '' Pearls of the Deep'' by

, Jan Němec,

, Věra Chytilová, Jaromil Jireš (1966) * '' Closely Watched Trains'' by

(1966) * '' Daisies'' by Věra Chytilová (1966) * '' A Report on the Party and the Guests'' by Jan Němec (1966) * '' Marketa Lazarová'' by

(1967) * '' The Firemen's Ball'' by

(1967) * '' The Return of the Prodigal Son'' by

(1967) * '' The Valley Of The Bees'' by

(1968) * '' The Joke'' by Jaromil Jireš (1968) * '' Capricious Summer'' by

(1968) * '' The Flat'' by

(1968) * '' The Cremator'' by