Out of the Past 2022 / Pražský kat / Czechoslovakia 1927
Rudolf Měšťák’s silent film The Prague Executioner, based on the novel of the same name by Josef Svátek, is a historical tale of love, betrayal and revenge. The screening of the restored 35 mm copy, coloured in accordance with the original tinting and toning process, will be accompanied by music from an ensemble headed by musicologist and composer Vlastislav Matoušek.
Rudolf Měšťák’s silent film The Prague Executioner presents Gustav Frištenský in the title role of one of the early attempts by Czech cinema to treat epic historical subject matter. Měšťák’s screenplay, based on the novel of the same name by Josef Svátek, recounts an intricate tale of love, betrayal and revenge. The film was reconstructed by the National Film Archive in the years 2017-2022 and, in collaboration with Jan Ledecký, the restored 35mm copy was then coloured in line with the original tinting and toning process. The screening will be accompanied by music from an ensemble headed by musicologist and composer Vlastislav Matoušek, founder of the legendary new wave band Máma Bubo and specialist in East Bohemian folklore and Czech medieval music.
Jonáš Kucharský
104 min / Black & white, 35 mm
Director Rudolf Měšťák
/ Screenplay Rudolf Měšťák podle románu / based on the novel of the same name by Josef Svátek
/ Dir. of Photography Emanuel Smolík
/ Production Republicfilm
/ Cast Gustav Frištenský, Edmond Trachta, Anna Opplová, Marie Kalmarová
/ Sales Národní filmový archiv
Rudolf Měšťák (1878–1946, Prague). Selected filmography: The Legionnaire (1920), The Blacksmith of Lešetín (1924), A Self-Willed Girl (1926), The Prague Executioner (1927), Her Step-Daughter (1929).
Národní filmový archiv
Závišova 5, 140 00, Praha 4
Czech Republic
E-mail: [email protected]
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