Football

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1965

Production year

1964—1965

Premiere

15 October 1965

Runtime

78 min

Category

film

Genre

sport

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Fotbal

Czech title

Fotbal

English title

Football

Summary

In 1965 experienced director Jaroslav Mach made a documentary with re-enacted scenes which addressed topical problems of football, a popular sport in Czechoslovakia. The filmmakers got behind the scenes of football via the team Slavoj, which was preparing for a decisive match. If the coach, Beran, didn’t get his lads to give a convincing performance there was a risk that they’d be relegated to the second league. After a series of dramatic mishaps, Slavoj arrived on the pitch so weakened that the dreaded failure became a reality. Fortunately, in the end the fans vented their anger over “their” team losing on the innocent referee. The film also included criticism of the match officials... Besides the actors Martin Růžek and Bohumil Šmída, Mach’s film also featured real football players from the legendary Dukla Prague club and big football names still celebrated at the time (for example, Slavia Prague's František Plánička, one of the most honoured players in the history of Czechoslovakian football).

Synopsis

Football is the most popular sport in Czechoslovakia alongside ice-hockey. Thousands and thousands of football fans cheer, rage, threaten and laugh at the stadiums. Then they leave and only very rarely do they learn anything about the worries of those who rouse and entertain them week after week. Slavoj team faces demotion to B league and its coach Jarda Beran must settle countless problems before the deciding match. Captain Koubek has been accused of using his hand to score the critical goal of the preceding match. Young Smolka, everybody's favourite, is turning into a primadonna. Technical manager Stárek harangues the excellent goalkeeper Sixta and keeps him on the bench. Stárek plays another negative role in the team, trying to set the players against one another. In all this, nobody really understands how he became such an all-powerful official. The day of the match is approaching, but the young inexperienced goalkeeper is too scared to play and Beran must persuade Sixta to cover for him. But Sixta is equally out of form, he has just had two beers. He does his best but still misses the ball twice. In the second half, the young goalkeeper braces himself and replaces Sixta. He misses the penalty kick and Slavoj loses the game. The angry crowd concentrates at the referee who has to flee from the stadium with his little son. The day is over; the fans have a fiery debate. Next week, however, they will yet again rush to the stadium.

Cast

Martin Růžek

on sám, Martin Růžek

Bohumil Šmída

trenér Beran

Bohumil Musil

Karel Koubek

Vilda Marzin

Alois Sixta

Jiří Laciga

Smolka

František Škoda

Hakl

MUDr. Josef Topinka

lékař Slavoje

Miroslav Polach

Stárek

Jaroslav Kalaš

rozhodčí Válek

Hana Hermannová

Marcela

Josef Koza

Smolkův otec

Jaroslav Matucha

Votruba

Vít Holubec

televizní reportér

dr. Vratislav Fikejs

trenér soupeře

Miloslav Janovský

korpulentní funkcionář

Vladimír Krška

Růžkův přítel

Jaroslav Křečan

masér Pytelka

Jan Kühnmund

člen výboru

Vladimír Navrátil

člen výboru

Jaroslav Obraz

Pepík Válek

Helena Skořepová

trenérova dcera

Antonín Šťastný

Kopecký

Karel Mikyska

televizní komentátor ve studiu

Václav Černý

předseda komise

Miloš Svoboda

kapitán soupeře

Ivo Urban

Urban

Bedřich Tesař

Josef Král

hráč Slavoje

Miloslav Holman (2)

rozhlasový reportér

MUDr. Václav Jutka

Vlastimil Preis

internacionál

Emil Seifert

internacionál

František Plánička

internacionál

Josef Píša

hráč soupeře

Fotbalové mužstvo Dukly B

hráči

Fotbalové mužstvo Dukly Slaný

hráči

Arnošt Bělohlávek

muž s holí

A. Krbcová

manželka Koubka

J. Musil

syn Koubkových

Josef Vojta

on sám

Ivan Mráz

on sám

Svatopluk Pluskal

on sám

Josef Masopust

on sám v dokumentárních záběrech

Andrej Kvašňák

on sám v dokumentárních záběrech

Vladimír Táborský

on sám

Jiří Tichý

on sám

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Stanislav Černý

Assistant Director

Miloslav Čech

Screenstory

Jaroslav Mach

Shooting Script

Jaroslav Mach

Director of Photography

Jan Novák, archivní záběry

Second Unit Photography

Rudolf Jokl

Camera Operator

Jiří Širc, Antonín Vojáček, Bohumil Paris

Production Designer

Karel Černý

Assistent Production Designer

Miloš Červinka

Set Designer

Karel Černoch, Jiří Rulík

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Assistant Film Editor

Ludmila Náprstková

Sound Designer

Roman Hloch

Special Effects

Trikový ateliér FSB

Production Manager

Ladislav Terš

Unit Production Manager

Karel Prchal, Miloš Stejskal

Unit Production Manager

Ctibor Novotný

Consultant

Bohumil Musil, dr. Vratislav Fikejs, Rudolf Koros

Cooperation

Jitka Fryčová (klapka), Jiřina Znamenáčková (klapka), Karel Ješátko (fotograf), Ústřední sekce kopané ČSTV, Sparta ČKD Praha, Dukla Praha

Music

Music Composed by

Štěpán Lucký

Selected Music

Julius Fučík

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Production info

Original Title

Fotbal

Czech Title

Fotbal

English Title

Football

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

sport

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1965

Production Year

1964—1965

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 4 March 1964
technical Screenplay approved 10 September 1964
start of filming 7 October 1964
end of filming 20 May 1965
projection approval 8 July 1965
withdrawal from distribution 30 April 1973

Premiere

premiere 24 September 1965 /suitable for youths/ (kino Lucerna /3 týdny/, Praha)
premiere 15 October 1965 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)

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

78 min

Original length in metres

2 221 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

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