Věra Chytilová

Věra Chytilová

Věra Chytilová was an avant-garde Czech film director and pioneer of Czech cinema. At the age of 28 she was accepted into the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). While attending FAMU she studied underneath renowned film director Otakar Vavra, graduating in 1962. Chytilová is best known for her once highly controversial film Sedmikrásky (Daisies) – (1966). Daisies is known for its un-sympathetic characters, lack of a continuous narrative and abrupt visual style. Chytilová states that she structured Daisies to “restrict [the spectator’s] feeling of involvement and lead him to an understanding of the underlying idea or philosophy”. The film was banned within Czechoslovakia upon its initial release in 1966 until 1967, but in 1966 the film won the Grand Prix at the Bergamo Film Festival in Italy. After Daisies the government made it very difficult for Chytilová to find work within Czechoslovakia, even though she was never officially classified as a 'blacklisted' director. After the Soviet Union invasion in 1968 it was virtually impossible for her to find work and she resorted to directing commercials under her husband’s name, Jaroslav Kučera. In 1976, due to the low cinema attendance she was approached by the government to begin directing films through a state-run production company. At the same time the United States was assembling a 'Year of Women' Film Festival and contacted Chytilová to gain permission to screen Daisies as their opening film. She informed the festival that the only non-censored prints of the film could be found in Paris and Brussels, and that her government would not allow her to attend the festival, nor were they allowing her to direct films. The festival then began to apply international pressure upon the Czechoslovakian government by petitioning on Chytilová’s behalf. In accordance with this international pressure Chytilová wrote a letter directly to President Gustáv Husák. Due to the success of the international pressure, and Chytilová’s personal appeal to President Husak, Chytilová began production of Hra o jablko (The Apple Game, 1976). The Apple Game was completed and then was screened at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and won the Silver Hugo and the Chicago International Film Festival. Chytilová described herself as a control freak and was known as being actively critical of the Soviet Union, stating that “My critique is in the context of the moral principles you preach, isn’t it? A critical reflection is necessary”. She would routinely cause havoc to make films that were loyal to her vision regardless of the heavy censorship that was routinely imposed. Věra Chytilová’s last film was released in 2006, and she has taught directing at FAMU. Chytilová embodied a unique cinematographic language and style that does not rely on any literary or verbal conventions, but rather utilizes various forms of visual manipulations to create meaning within her films. Chytilová used observations of everyday life in accordance with allegories and surreal contexts to create a personalized film style that is greatly influenced by the French New Wave, and Italian neorealism.

  • Title: Věra Chytilová
  • Popularity: 2.615
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1929-02-02
  • Place of Birth: Ostrava, Czechoslovakia
  • Homepage:
  • Also Known As: 베라 히틸로바, 베라 치틸로바, 维拉·希蒂洛娃
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Věra Chytilová Movies

  • 1952
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    The Emperor and the Golem

    The Emperor and the Golem

    6.9 1952 HD

    The Emperor's mismanagement of his country is provoking some in his court to plot to overthrow him. He feels successful, at least, when he discovers...

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  • 1962
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    Green Street

    Green Street

    5.3 1962 HD

    Her first foray into documentary filmmaking was a short called Green Street (1959), a look at an over-loaded freight train departing from Prague....

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  • 1962
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    Ceiling

    Ceiling

    5.1 1962 HD

    The young Marta has made a break in her medical education to fully invest in her career as a model. We follow her for a day in her life, almost...

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  • 2004
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    Journey: Portrait of Věra Chytilová

    Journey: Portrait of Věra Chytilová

    4 2004 HD

    Documentary about Czech filmaker Vera Chytilova.

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  • 1970
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    Pravda

    Pravda

    5.6 1970 HD

    Filmed clandestinely in Czechoslovakia on 16mm. It's one of the films Godard made with the Groupe Dziga Vertov - a Marxist film about the political...

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  • 2012
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    Naughty Young People: Chytilová, Kučera, Krumbachová

    Naughty Young People: Chytilová, Kučera, Krumbachová

    1 2012 HD

    Documentary about the making of Vera Chytilová's film DAISIES

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  • 1984
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    The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun

    The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun

    4.8 1984 HD

    A bachelor named Faun with a Don Juan complex, seized with a hypochondriac's fear of the ineluctable approach of death, enters a race against time's...

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  • 1966
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    An Occasion to Speak

    An Occasion to Speak

    1 1966 HD

    Documentary about the film academy in Prague and the Czech Film in 1965.

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  • 1960
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    Caterwauling

    Caterwauling

    1 1960 HD

    In a rare instance of literary adaptation, Chytilová was inspired by Franz Kafka’s writings. Mr. K stashes stolen jewelry away at home...

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  • 2005
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    Searching for Ester

    Searching for Ester

    1 2005 HD

    Ester Krumbachová - a costume designer, screenwriter, director; one of the boldest personalities of the Czech New Wave. She worked in theatre,...

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  • 1982
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    Chytilová Versus Forman

    Chytilová Versus Forman

    1 1982 HD

    An intellectual match between two dramatically different artists, one permanently unsure and frustrated and questioning everything, the other an...

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  • 2018
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    CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel

    CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel

    6.5 2018 HD

    An epic exploration of the Czechoslovak New Wave cinema of the 1960s and 70s, structured around a series of conversations with one of its most...

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  • 2016
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    To Make a Comedy Is No Fun

    To Make a Comedy Is No Fun

    6 2016 HD

    Documentary feature about Czech director Jiří Menzel, featuring Menzel himself as well as Miloš Forman, Emir Kusturica, István...

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  • 1957
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    Konec jasnovidce

    Konec jasnovidce

    8 1957 HD

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  • 1962
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    Ceiling

    Ceiling

    5.1 1962 HD

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  • 1962
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    Ceiling

    Ceiling

    5.1 1962 HD

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  • 1963
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    Something Different

    Something Different

    6.3 1963 HD

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  • 1963
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    Something Different

    Something Different

    6.3 1963 HD

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  • 1963
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    A Bagful of Fleas

    A Bagful of Fleas

    6 1963 HD

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  • 1963
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    A Bagful of Fleas

    A Bagful of Fleas

    6 1963 HD

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  • 1992
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    The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday

    The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday

    6.6 1992 HD

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  • 1966
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    Daisies

    Daisies

    7.3 1966 HD

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  • 1966
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    Daisies

    Daisies

    7.3 1966 HD

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  • 1982
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    Calamity

    Calamity

    5.5 1982 HD

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  • 1954
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    Severní přístav

    Severní přístav

    6 1954 HD

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  • 1955
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    Hudba z Marsu

    Hudba z Marsu

    5.9 1955 HD

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  • 1984
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    The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun

    The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun

    4.8 1984 HD

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  • 1970
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    Fruit of Paradise

    Fruit of Paradise

    6.4 1970 HD

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  • 2001
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    Expulsion from Paradise

    Expulsion from Paradise

    4.2 2001 HD

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  • 1978
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    The Apple Game

    The Apple Game

    5.9 1978 HD

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  • 1988
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    The Jester and the Queen

    The Jester and the Queen

    6.7 1988 HD

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  • 1998
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    Traps

    Traps

    4.9 1998 HD

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  • 1985
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    Prague – The Restless Heart of Europe

    Prague – The Restless Heart of Europe

    5.5 1985 HD

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  • 1992
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    The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday

    The Inheritance or Fuckoffguysgoodday

    6.6 1992 HD

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  • 1966
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    Pearls of the Deep

    Pearls of the Deep

    5.962 1966 HD

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  • 1966
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    Pearls of the Deep

    Pearls of the Deep

    5.962 1966 HD

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  • 1987
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    Wolf's Hole

    Wolf's Hole

    7 1987 HD

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  • 1966
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    Daisies

    Daisies

    7.3 1966 HD

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  • 1960
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    Caterwauling

    Caterwauling

    1 1960 HD

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  • 1963
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    A Bagful of Fleas

    A Bagful of Fleas

    6 1963 HD

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  • 1989
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    A Hoof Here, a Hoof There

    A Hoof Here, a Hoof There

    6 1989 HD

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  • 1963
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    Something Different

    Something Different

    6.3 1963 HD

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  • 2007
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    Troublemakers

    Troublemakers

    1 2007 HD

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  • 2007
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    Troublemakers

    Troublemakers

    1 2007 HD

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  • 2007
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    Troublemakers

    Troublemakers

    1 2007 HD

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  • 1981
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    Panelstory or Birth of a Community

    Panelstory or Birth of a Community

    7 1981 HD

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  • 1957
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    Lost Children

    Lost Children

    7 1957 HD

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  • 1991
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    My Pragues Understand Me

    My Pragues Understand Me

    4 1991 HD

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  • 1991
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    My Pragues Understand Me

    My Pragues Understand Me

    4 1991 HD

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  • 1970
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    Fruit of Paradise

    Fruit of Paradise

    6.4 1970 HD

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  • 2006
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    Pleasant Moments

    Pleasant Moments

    4.6 2006 HD

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  • 1962
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    Ceiling

    Ceiling

    5.1 1962 HD

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  • 1998
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    Traps

    Traps

    4.9 1998 HD

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  • 1962
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    Green Street

    Green Street

    5.3 1962 HD

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  • 1989
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    A Hoof Here, a Hoof There

    A Hoof Here, a Hoof There

    6 1989 HD

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  • 1987
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    Wolf's Hole

    Wolf's Hole

    7 1987 HD

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  • 1968
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    Seven Days to Remember

    Seven Days to Remember

    7 1968 HD

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  • 1993
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    Kam panenky...

    Kam panenky...

    1 1993 HD

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  • 1993
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    Kam panenky...

    Kam panenky...

    1 1993 HD

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  • 1993
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    Kam panenky...

    Kam panenky...

    1 1993 HD

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  • 2006
    imgMovies

    Pleasant Moments

    Pleasant Moments

    4.6 2006 HD

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  • 1985
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    Prague – The Restless Heart of Europe

    Prague – The Restless Heart of Europe

    5.5 1985 HD

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    The Apple Game

    The Apple Game

    5.9 1978 HD

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    The Apple Game

    The Apple Game

    5.9 1978 HD

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  • 1978
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    Time is inexorable

    Time is inexorable

    1 1978 HD

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  • 2003
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    Trója v proměnách času

    Trója v proměnách času

    1 2003 HD

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  • 2003
    imgMovies

    Trója v proměnách času

    Trója v proměnách času

    1 2003 HD

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  • 2003
    imgMovies

    Trója v proměnách času

    Trója v proměnách času

    1 2003 HD

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  • 1984
    imgMovies

    The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun

    The Very Late Afternoon of a Faun

    4.8 1984 HD

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  • 1970
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    Peaches

    Peaches

    1 1970 HD

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Calamity

    Calamity

    5.5 1982 HD

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  • 1960
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    Caterwauling

    Caterwauling

    1 1960 HD

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  • 1981
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    Panelstory or Birth of a Community

    Panelstory or Birth of a Community

    7 1981 HD

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  • 1981
    imgMovies

    Panelstory or Birth of a Community

    Panelstory or Birth of a Community

    7 1981 HD

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  • 2005
    imgMovies

    Searching for Ester

    Searching for Ester

    1 2005 HD

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  • 1990
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    TGM the Liberator

    TGM the Liberator

    10 1990 HD

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Chytilová Versus Forman

    Chytilová Versus Forman

    1 1982 HD

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  • 1978
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    Time is inexorable

    Time is inexorable

    1 1978 HD

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Comrades

    Comrades

    6 1971 HD

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  • 1962
    imgMovies

    Green Street

    Green Street

    5.3 1962 HD

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  • 1962
    imgMovies

    Green Street

    Green Street

    5.3 1962 HD

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  • 1971
    imgMovies

    Comrades

    Comrades

    6 1971 HD

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  • 1978
    imgMovies

    Time is inexorable

    Time is inexorable

    1 1978 HD

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  • 1985
    imgMovies

    Prague – The Restless Heart of Europe

    Prague – The Restless Heart of Europe

    5.5 1985 HD

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  • 2001
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    Expulsion from Paradise

    Expulsion from Paradise

    4.2 2001 HD

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  • 2009
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    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 2009 HD

    Television series Golden Sixties examines new insights into Czech and Slovak cinema of the 1960s and the role of the Czechoslovak New Wave. Each...

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  • 1970
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    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 1970 HD

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  • 1970
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    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 1970 HD

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  • 1970
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    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 1970 HD

    Chytilová’s highly impressive but little-known documentary provides a fascinating and atmospheric journey into a hidden culture, one in...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E2

    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 1970 HD

    Chytilová’s highly impressive but little-known documentary provides a fascinating and atmospheric journey into a hidden culture, one in...

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  • 1970
    imgS1 E2

    Golden Sixties

    Golden Sixties

    1 1970 HD

    Chytilová’s highly impressive but little-known documentary provides a fascinating and atmospheric journey into a hidden culture, one in...

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