Black Peter
Typology
featureCzech title
Černý PetrRuntime
89Country
CzechoslovakiaCopyright
1963Production year
1963Premiere
17.04.1964Language version
CzechDirector
Miloš FormanSummary
A tragicomedy about a 16-year-old young man who encounters the hypocrisy of the adult world during his first job at a small supermarket. This dazzling debut feature film from noted director Miloš Forman also represents a key work of the Czechoslovak New Wave era. In 1963, the then 31-year-old Forman unveiled this loosely structured personal tale, which also serves as a piercing study of the generation gap. Petr starts working behind the till in a small town supermarket; but his real task is to watch for potential shoplifters. At the same time, Petr is also under pressure from his well-meaning, but imperceptive father. Petr doesn’t even feel at ease among his own contemporaries. The authenticity of this timeless film, shot in the town of Kolín, is aided by several non-actor “discoveries” by Forman – namely Ladislav Jakim as Petr and Jan Vostrčil as a band member. Černý Petr (Black Peter) also sees a breakout performance by the then 21-year-old (but already experienced) actor Vladimír Pucholt, who would become a major performer of choice for the New Wave crowd.
Synopsis
The sixteen-year old apprentice Petr begins his training in a self-service shop. The manager of the shop, the only man among all the women, entrusts the young flabbergasted man with his first task - to move around the shop and catch potential thieves. Petr does his best but the manager reprehends him for being too conspicuous in his white cloak. Petr finds behaviour of an elderly man suspicious, and when he confides this to the cashier, the woman sends him to follow the man. The perplexed youth shadows the man throughout the city for the rest of the shift. Petr does not get on well with his parents - his mother sees only a small boy in him and his father takes pleasure in pontificating to him in long monologues. Petr spends Sunday at a bathing pool with the girl, who accepts his inept courting with a degree of affection. The bricklayer's apprentice Čenda disturbs them and, with the support of his friend Zdeněk, tries to start a fight. The dissention ends with the broken elastic of Zdeněk's trunks. At a dance where they all meet together again, Čenda borrows twenty crowns from Petr, gets drunk and falls asleep. In the shop, Petr spots a woman trying to squeeze a sack of sweets into her bag. But, after the failure of his first efforts, he does not do anything. At home, he confides to his father, but the old man again overwhelms him with lots of clichés. The father calms down only upon finding out that nobody knows about the affair. Čenda comes to them to give back the borrowed sum and the father forces him to display to Petr his work-worn palms. The story ends with the father's unfinished preaching.
Film online
Photos
Cast
Ladislav Jakim
učeň Petr Vaněk
Pavla Martínková
studentka Pavla Vrbová
Jan Vostrčil
Petrův otec
Vladimír Pucholt
zednický učeň Čenda Semerád
Pavel Sedláček
učeň a zpěvák zvaný Sako, Petrův kamarád
Zdeněk Kulhánek
zednický učeň Zdeněk, Čendův kamarád
František Kosina
vedoucí samoobsluhy
Josef Koza
zednický mistr
Božena Matušková
Petrova matka
Antonín Pokorný (2)
podezřelý zákazník
Jaroslav Kladrubský
inventurník
Františka Skálová
nepoctivá zákaznice
Jaroslava Rážová
růžolící dívka v modrém
Majka Gillarová
kamarádka Pavly
Zuzana Opršalová
kamarádka Pavly
Jaroslav Bendl
Franta Mára, Pavlin bývalý chlapec
František Pražák
Sakův kamarád
Dana Urbánková
děvče na loďce
Dubbing
Josef Abrhám
hlas Franty Máry
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Script Supervisor
Lilian Havlíčková
Screenstory
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Camera
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Set Designer
Přemysl Černý, Vladimír Mácha
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Sound Designer
Adolf Böhm, Bohumír Brunclík (zvukové efekty)
Production Manager
Unit Production Manager
Jiří Ulrich, Jaroslav Vlk, Antonín Kubový
Cooperation
Miloš Červinka (asistent architekta), Jaromír Komárek (fotograf), Pavla Marková (klapka), Anna Mejtská (asistentka střihu)
Music
Music Composed by
Karel Valdauf (Pod jednou střechou – píseň), Jiří Šlitr
Selected Music
Julius Fučík (Vjezd gladiátorů)
Music Performed by
Orchestr Ferdinanda Havlíka, Nonet Závodního klubu Tatra Kolín, Orchestr Karla Vlacha, Bigbeatová skupina divadla Semafor
Music Conducted by
Ferdinand Havlík (Orchestr Ferdinanda Havlíka), Petr Brožek (Nonet Závodního klubu Tatra Kolín), Karel Vlach (Orchestr Karla Vlacha)
Songs
Život je pes, Normálně, Tři panenky, Oliver Twist, Nej nej nej, Marnivá sestřenice, Pod jednou střechou
Songwriter
Jiří Šlitr (Život je pes), Miloslav Ducháč (Normálně), Vlastimil Hála (Tři panenky), Karel Mareš (Oliver Twist), Zdeněk Marat (Nej nej nej), Jiří Šlitr (Marnivá sestřenice), Karel Valdauf (Pod jednou střechou)
Writer of Lyrics
Jiří Suchý (Život je pes), Vladimír Dvořák (herec) (Normálně), Vratislav Blažek (Tři panenky), Rostislav Černý (Oliver Twist), Miroslav Zikán (Nej nej nej), Jindřich Zpěvák (Nej nej nej), Jiří Suchý (Marnivá sestřenice), Ladislav Jacura (Pod jednou střechou)
Singer
Pavel Sedláček (Život je pes), Markéta Petránková (Normálně), Markéta Petránková (Tři panenky), Markéta Petránková (Oliver Twist), Markéta Petránková (Nej nej nej), B. Dědek (Nej nej nej), Ladislav Jakim (Marnivá sestřenice), Pavla Martínková (Marnivá sestřenice), Eva Ulihrachová (Pod jednou střechou)
Production info
Original Title
Černý Petr
English Title
Black Peter
Copyright
1963
Production Year
1963
Premiere
17.04.1964
Production
Copyright Holders
Distribution
Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1964, obnovené 1982 a 1987), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2017)
Creative Group
Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor, Jiří Šebor
Technical info
Versions
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Event: Cena Československé federace filmových klubů
1969
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Miloš Forman
Vítěz
Event: Anketa Svazu filmového a televizního tisku ve Velké Británii
1966
Londýn / Great Britain
Vítěz
Festival: 3. mezinárodní filmový festival Lisabon
1966
Lisabon / Portugal
Vítěz
Event: Umělecká soutěž k 20. výročí osvobození Československa
1965
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Miloš Forman
Vítěz
Event: Anketa československých filmových distributorů
1965
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Vítěz
Exhibition: 11. západoněmecké dny krátkého filmu Oberhausen
1965
Oberhausen / Federal Republic of Germany
Vítěz
Event: Cena československé filmové kritiky za rok 1963
1964
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Vítěz
Festival: 25. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky
1964
Benátky / Italy
Vítěz
Event: Čestná uznání Československého filmu a Svazu československých dramatických a filmových umělců za rok 1963
1964
Praha / Czechoslovakia
Vítěz
Festival: 25. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky
1964
Benátky / Italy
Vítěz
Festival: 17. mezinárodní filmový festival Locarno
1964
Locarno / Switzerland
Vítěz
Festival: 17. mezinárodní filmový festival Locarno
1964
Locarno / Switzerland