Black Peter

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1963

Production year

1963

Premiere

17 April 1964

Runtime

89 min

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Černý Petr

Czech title

Černý Petr

English title

Black Peter

English parallel title

Peter and Paula

Summary

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.

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

Voice by Josef Abrhám
Franta Mára, Pavlin bývalý chlapec

František Pražák

Sakův kamarád

Dana Urbánková

děvče na loďce

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Ivan Passer

Shooting Script

Miloš Forman

Director of Photography

Jan Němeček

Second Unit Photography

Karel Hejsek

Camera Operator

Vratislav Damborský

Production Designer

Karel Černý

Assistent Production Designer

Miloš Červinka

Set Designer

Přemysl Černý, Vladimír Mácha

Make-Up Artist

František Novotný

Film Editor

Miroslav Hájek

Assistant Film Editor

Anna Mejtská

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm, Bohumír Brunclík (zvukové efekty)

Assistant Sound Designer

Václav Kliegel

Production Manager

Rudolf Hájek

Cooperation

Pavla Marková (klapka), Jaromír Komárek (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří Šlitr

Selected Music

Julius Fučík (Vjezd gladiátorů)

Music Performed by

Orchestr Ferdinanda Havlíka (Music Conducted by Ferdinand Havlík), Nonet Závodního klubu Tatra Kolín (Music Conducted by Petr Brožek), Orchestr Karla Vlacha (Music Conducted by Karel Vlach), Bigbeatová skupina divadla Semafor

Songs

Život je pes

Song Composer Jiří Šlitr
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Suchý
Singer Pavel Sedláček

Normálně

Song Composer Miloslav Ducháč
Writer of Lyrics Vladimír Dvořák
Singer Markéta Petránková

Tři panenky

Song Composer Vlastimil Hála
Writer of Lyrics Vratislav Blažek
Singer Markéta Petránková

Oliver Twist

Song Composer Karel Mareš
Writer of Lyrics Rostislav Černý
Singer Markéta Petránková

Nej nej nej

Song Composer Zdeněk Marat
Writer of Lyrics Miroslav ZikánJindřich Zpěvák
Singer Markéta PetránkováB. Dědek

Marnivá sestřenice

Song Composer Jiří Šlitr
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Suchý
Singer Ladislav JakimPavla Martínková

Pod jednou střechou

Song Composer Karel Valdauf
Writer of Lyrics Ladislav Jacura
Singer Eva Ulihrachová

Production info

Original Title

Černý Petr

Czech Title

Černý Petr

English Title

Black Peter

English Parallel Title

Peter and Paula

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1963

Production Year

1963

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 9 January 1963
technical Screenplay approved 20 May 1963
start of filming 3 July 1963
end of filming 13 September 1963
projection approval 6 December 1963

Premiere

preview 3 April 1964 (kino Sevastopol /1 týden/, Praha)
premiere 10 April 1964 /suitable for youths/ (kina Jalta /3 týdny/, Praha /1 týden/ a Radost /1 týden od 17. 4./, Praha)
premiere 17 April 1964 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
renewed premiere 3 September 1982 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 1 October 1987 /suitable for youths/
renewed premiere 14 September 2017 /suitable for all ages without limit/

Copyright Holders

Národní filmový archiv

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů (původní 1964, obnovené 1982 a 1987), Národní filmový archiv (obnovená 2017)

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šebor – Bor, Vladimír Bor (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Jiří Šebor (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

89 min

Original length in metres

2 048 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm, DCP 2-D, BRD

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

black & white

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Nominace

Festival: 33. mezinárodní festival archivních a restaurovaných filmů Il Cinema Ritrovato Boloňa

2019
Boloňa / Italy
Národní filmový archiv

Vítěz

Event: Anketa filmových kritiků o nejlepší česko-slovenský hraný film století

1998
Praha / Czech Republic

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 za rok 1964

1965
Praha / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Exhibition: 11. západoněmecké dny krátkého filmu Oberhausen

1965
Oberhausen / Federal Republic of Germany

Vítěz

Festival: 25. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky

1964
Benátky / Italy

Vítěz

Festival: 25. mezinárodní filmový festival Benátky

1964
Benátky / Italy

Vítěz

Festival: 17. mezinárodní filmový festival Locarno

1964
Locarno / Switzerland

Vítěz

Event: Čestná uznání Československého filmu a Svazu československých divadelních a filmových umělců z produkce roku 1963

1964
Praha / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Event: Cena československé filmové kritiky za rok 1963

1964
Praha / Czechoslovakia