SoftInloveRox
Horrible, fascist and poorly acted
Baseshment
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
Ella-May O'Brien
Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Art Vandelay
So beautifully photographed I couldn't take my eyes off it. But if I wasn't able to piece together the ''plot'' by reading the other reviews of this film I would have no idea what's going on here. I mean, cut the pretense. It's a bunch of filthy scoundrels murdering other filthy scoundrels for little apparent reason, probably the same as happened in every medieval country. There are no profound truths here, but lots to look at.
Jackson Booth-Millard
I found this Czech film listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it is one of only a few films that have got attention or reviews from critics, so I just watched to make my own mind up about it. Basically set in the Middle Ages, two brothers, Mikolás (Frantisek Velecký) and one-armed Adam (Ivan Palúch) are robbers who steal from travellers for their tyrannical father Kozlík (Josef Kemr). During one of their "jobs", they end up having to hold a young German hostage, the hostage's father escapes and reports the news of her kidnapping and the robbery to the King. Kozlík is prepared for the wrath of the King, he sends Mikolás to pressure his neighbour Lazar (Michal Kozuch) to join him in war, the persuasion fails, and in vengeance Mikolás abducts Lazar's virginal, naive daughter Marketa Lazarová (Magda Vásáryová), just as she was about to join a convent to become a nun. In the meantime, the King dispatches an army, and Lazar who is religious will be called upon to join hands against Kozlík. I will be honest and say that I did not understand absolutely everything going on, but there is a plot about the shift from Paganism to Christianity. Also starring Zdenek Kryzánek as Captain Beer and Pavla Polaskova as Alexandra, with narration by Zdenek Stepánek. Even though I couldn't follow everything because I had to read subtitles, this black-and-white film set in medieval times had some good moments, with themes of religion, kidnapping by robbers and the hostage becoming the mistress of one of the kidnappers being interesting, maybe if critics wrote a review I could make more of a determined judgement, for me it was a reasonable historical drama. Worth watching!
johno-21
I recently saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival as one of the two Archival Treasure's they were showing among the 254 new films. This film has been in limited release around the world since it's original 1967 release and I understand that this will be available for the first time on DVD this year. I don't believe it was ever available in video form. I also understand that this will be restored for the DVD release but the print I saw was very dark and washed out. It is a black and white film but there was little contrast of black and white and the film was very scratched so it must have been an original faded print. This in itself is going to detract my review of it. This is a hard to find film that many have never seen despite the fact that the Czech film community voted it the best film in Czech film history. The beautiful Magda Vásáryová makes her acting debut in this film in the title role although she has a limited speaking role until toward the end. She would go on to an almost 25 year career in films before retiring in 1991. Famed director Frantisek Vlácil is at the peak of his directorial career with this film he adapted from the very popular novel by Vladislav Vancura. It took two years to film this in mostly winter scenes in the forests of southern Czechoslovakia. It is set in the 13th century and details the medieval era clash of two rival clans, paganism and Christianity, a doomed love affair between Mikolas and Marketa and the poor rural class living under the king. The runtime of the print I saw was 152 minutes. Good music and some great visuals but not that visually rewarding probably due to the quality of the print and far from the epic I thought it would be. Nice to see on the big screen but I would wait for a properly restored cleaned up DVD version. It lasted about an hour too long. This is not for everybody and I couldn't recommend it. I had every expectation of liking it but it grew boring. I would give it a 5.5 out of 10.
honza_je_borec
I appreciate overseas even to notice this film, although I keep my doubt about the translation, for even the simplified movie dialogues are high-art and historizing. The film is based on Vladislav Vancura's brilliant novel (of the same name) its language level makes it untranslatable. It apparently caused my colleagues-in-comment some misunderstandings, for sure Czech King was no German in that time(even the christianity didn't come in our land germanways), only the noble man and his kidnapped son were.This film is especially remarkable due to successful conversion of a great book into the great film (I don't recall many other examples at this level) and due to its capture of medieval. I hate medieval films with clean, stylish and crafty interiors, clothes etc. and bright light, for medieval was DARK, HARSH and DIRTY. What's the best part, Kozlik and Lazar were not just family-chieftains or family-heads, they were NOBLE MEN (feudals) and no matter whether they looked (and acted) like prowlers or not. Neither manners nor dresses were the significance of nobles in early medieval, the sword was (which no commoner was allowed to posses), better say swords and estates were.This film is basically about weakness and strength in men. Lazar is thief and coward, kind of vulture, but Kozlik with his sons represents the willful and harsh power and bravery that summons an admiration of a sort, for they fear only the God, what makes them better christians than the sneaky Lazar jaws-full-of-Jesus.Marketa, the unspoiled sweet child resembles all the clear, bright and pure in this world (and the only positive aspect of Lazar's sorry life), and is spoiled as everything clean and pure in this world might be. And she's devoted, first to God, then to earthly Mikolas.I love the metaphore with zealot and little lamb, the connection between Marketa and the God's beast is obvious. Agnus Dei is another clear and bright to be tainted and consumpted by wild Kozlik's House.And the sound and music, that's the world if its own, there's no music but sudden choir impacts!
