The Mammoth Hunt

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1964

Production year

1964

Premiere

23 April 1965

Runtime

94 min

Director

Oldřich Daněk

Genre

music, comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Lov na mamuta

Czech title

Lov na mamuta

English title

The Mammoth Hunt

Summary

Playwright Oldřich Daněk has several screenplays and directorial ventures to his credit, with the works often connected to his theatrical plays. He himself has called Lov na mamuta (The Mammoth Hunt), the 1964 screen adaptation of the eponymous play, an improbable musical and half-slapstick comedy. The motion picture is an absurdist tale that takes place in a cybernetic super-machine research institution. An ardent young man who says he is the inventor of a machine for predicting dates of death is hired. However, it turns out that he’s made it all up, simply to land the job. The situation tempts the scheming head of research to get shot of the director, whose place he would like to usurp. Lubomír Lipský, Miloš Kopecký and Josef Kemr all star in this lopsided tale, while singers Eva Pilarová and Josef Zíma also make cameo appearances. The narrative is enhanced by dance sequences and even by documentary shots which have nothing to do with the plot.

Synopsis

A young man tries to enter the building of the Mammoth Cybernetic Supermachines Research Institute again and again but each time the doorkeeper spots him and kicks him out. The youth finally arrives with all his friends and a huge live bear from the circus where he works as an accountant. He is finally allowed in where he explains to the members of the directorate that he wants to work at the Institute, since he graduated in cybernetics and, besides, he has invented a machine for forecasting time of death. When the conniving research manager learns that their director is going to die in two days, he hopes to rise to his position. The young man is accepted, works at the Institute and has a love affair with the director's daughter. The director is still alive and the ruthless research manager attempts to kill him to help the forecast death come true. The youth admits that he made up this piece of information. For him, the invention is irrelevant; he simply wanted the job. The sleepy life of the Institute gets back on the rails. The story features the young couple's dance numbers and chorus acts that guide the audience through the film. It also includes numerous documentary shots of both remarkable and everyday events from all over the world.

Photos

vousatý mladík

B. Kleinberg

tančící muž

Commentary

Miroslav Horníček

Crew and creators

Director

Oldřich Daněk

Second Unit Director

Milan Kadlec

Assistant Director

Marie Kaplanová

Script Supervisor

Zdenka Barochová

Based on

Oldřich Daněk (Lov na mamuta – divadelní hra)

Music

Music Composed by

Jan F. Fischer

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (Prodaná nevěsta /árie Věrné naše milování/ – opera)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín), Orchestr Karla Krautgartnera (Music Conducted by Karel Krautgartner), Orchestr Karla Vlacha (Music Conducted by Karel Vlach), Orchestr Ferdinanda Havlíka (Music Conducted by Ferdinand Havlík), Ladislav Simon /elektronická hudba/

Singer

Josef Zíma, Eva Pilarová, Jana Petrů, Miroslav Horníček, Jana Malknechtová, Rudolf Pellar, Pavel Vitoch, Richard Kubernát, Miroslav Šuba

Choreographer

Jiří Blažek (herec), Josef Pivonka

Production info

Original Title

Lov na mamuta

Czech Title

Lov na mamuta

English Title

The Mammoth Hunt

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

music, comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1964

Production Year

1964

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 12 September 1963
technical Screenplay approved 13 March 1964
start of filming 12 May 1964
end of filming 2 October 1964
projection approval 23 December 1964

Premiere

premiere 2 April 1965 /suitable for youths/ (kino Pasáž /2 týdny/, Praha)
premiere 23 April 1965 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Studio

Hostivař

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Novotný – Kubala, Bedřich Kubala (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Ladislav Novotný (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí skupiny)

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

94 min

Original length in metres

2 672 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

The Mammoth Hunt

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Jana Houkalová

Daniela Dostálová

Karla Hetešová

Helena Holubová

Helena Lombardová

L. Jarolímek

K. Šimek

Karel Křeček

Boh. Lopatka

Václav Klíma

Z. Dolejší

M. Gajda

M. Dolejší

F. Bernát

Bernátová

Jan Janeček

K. Málek

A. Málková

F. Moravski

R. Navrátil

V. Opplt

E. Říha

Řízek

F. Skierka

M. Skierková

Josef Šmíd

K. Šmídová

Vilém Štipka

J. Štolfa

A. Šupka

M. Šupková

Vocásek

Hilda Zoppe

Vladimír Brož

Lubomír Pánek

Čestmír Preclík

Zdeněk Procházka (2)

Zdeněk Pulec

Jaroslav Štrudl

Jaroslav Boťa

Zdeněk Hanžl

J. Štengl

Bohumil Zoula

Jar. Indra

M. Borský

Zdena Pavlátová

B. Kleinberg

Commentary

Crew and creators

Director

Second Unit Director

Assistant Director

Script Supervisor

Based on

Screenplay

Shooting Script

Director of Photography

Second Unit Photography

Camera Operator

Production Designer

Assistent Production Designer

Set Designer

Costume Designer