Known For
Directing
Born
Feb 28, 1911
Died
Sep 15, 2011
Place of Birth
Hradec Králové, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]
Credits
87 titles
Otakar Vávra
Biography
Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. Vávra attended universities in Brno and Prague, where he studied architecture. During 1929–30, while still a student, he participated in the making of a handful of documentaries and wrote movie scripts. In 1931, he produced the experimental film Světlo proniká tmou. The first movie he directed was 1937's Panenství. His 1938 film The Merry Wives was praised in Variety for "first-rate direction, a salty yarn and elaborate production effort", even though it had undergone certain cuts because it was considered too "ribald" by American censors. Vávra was a member of the Communist Party from 1945 to 1989. After the Communists seized power in 1948, Vávra adapted quickly to the new political climate and produced films praising the current regime and supporting the new, official interpretation of the past. In the 1950s he filmed the "Hussite Trilogy", one of his most famous works, consisting of Jan Hus (1954), Jan Žižka (1955) and Against All (1957).[2] In the 1960s, Vávra made his most celebrated films Zlatá reneta (1965), Romance for Bugle (1966) and Witchhammer (1969). Romance for Bugle was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Special Silver Prize. In the 1970s Vávra produced his "War Trilogy" consisting of semi-documentary movies Dny zrady, Sokolovo and Osvobození Prahy, all being heavily influenced by communist propaganda. The film Dny zrady (Days of Betrayal, 1973) was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Diploma. In 1979 he was a member of the jury at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival. Since the 1950s Vávra taught film direction at Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Among his students were several directors of the "Czech New Wave".
Known For
Filmography
CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel
Self
Golden Sixties
Self
Searching for Ester
Himself
Moje Praha
Self
GENUS
Self
Evropa tančila valčík
Director
The Great Movie Robbery
Veronika
Screenplay
Oldrich and Bozena
Director
Barrandovské nokturno aneb Jak film tančil a zpíval
Self - Audience Member
Komediant
Director
Putování Jana Amose
Director
Dark Sun
Director
A Story of Love and Honor
Director
The Liberation of Prague
Director
Sokolovo
Director
Days of Betrayal
Director
Witchhammer
Director
The Thirteenth Chamber
Director
Romance for Bugle
Director
Golden Queen
Screenplay
Horoucí srdce
Story
The Night Guest
Screenplay
August Sunday
Director
Policejní hodina
Director
Národní umělec Zdeněk Štěpánek
Director
První parta
Director
Občan Brych
Screenplay
A Box of Film
Self
Against All
Director
Jan Žižka
Creative Producer
Jan Hus
Story
Shoesmachine
Screenplay
Nástup
Director
Posel úsvitu
Creative Producer
Racek Is Late
Creative Producer
Dva ohně
Creative Producer
Láska
Director
Rodinné trampoty oficiála Tříšky
Creative Producer
Year of the Revolution 1848
Creative Producer
Hostinec „U kamenného stolu“
Creative Producer
Silent Barricade
Creative Producer
Vzbouření na vsi
Creative Producer
Na dobré stopě
Creative Producer
White Darkness
Creative Producer
The Musician
Creative Producer
Wild Beasts
Creative Producer
Krakatit
Creative Producer
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Creative Producer
Presentiment
Creative Producer