Marketa Lazarová

Drama, History, Romance · 1967Not Rated

In its native land, František Vláčil’s Marketa Lazarová has been hailed as the greatest Czech film ever made; for many U.S. viewers, it will be a revelation. Based on a novel by Vladislav Vančura, this stirring and poetic depiction of a feud between two rival medieval clans is a fierce, epic, and meticulously designed evocation of the clashes between Christianity and paganism, humankind and nature, love and violence. Vláčil’s approach was to re-create the textures and mentalities of a long-ago way of life, rather than to make a conventional historical drama, and the result is dazzling. With its inventive widescreen cinematography, editing, and sound design, Marketa Lazarová is an experimental action film.

Starring

František Belfín, Jiří Zobač, František Velecký, František Pavlíček, František Belfín, Magda Vášáryová, František Pavlíček, Ivan Palúch, František Pavlíček, Pavla Polášková, Vlastimil Harapes, Miroslav Hájek

Director

František Vláčil