The Nude

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1970

Production year

1969

Premiere

1 December 1990

Runtime

102 min

Category

film

Genre

psychological

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Nahota

Czech title

Nahota

English title

The Nude

Summary

Nahota (The Nude) is director Václav Matějka’s first feature film. Unfortunately, the 1970 psychological drama was banned from release because its main star, Slovak Kristina Hanzalová, emigrated to western Europe shortly after the movie was finished. The 1969 Miss Czechoslovakia finished seventh in the 1970 Miss World beauty pageant, and went on to become a model. This drama, which was only released in theatres as late as 1990, after the revolution, was the only film the talented beauty made. She stars as a traumatised country teacher. With some bravura, 30-year-old Petr Čepek plays a young prisoner who is granted a few days’ leave after an unsuccessful suicide attempt.

Synopsis

Young prisoner Jan, nicknamed Roughboy [Drsňák], tries to commit suicide. He was imprisoned for a fight in which he injured a functionary of the National Committee named Froněk, and for stealing material but actually by the blame for this crime was pinned on him by the road-builders in whose group he worked. The prison doctor knows that Jan is an emotionally deprived person who never knew his parents and spent all his childhood - except one year with foster-parents - in orphanages, homes for youth and reform schools. He arranges a five-day holiday for Jan, who wants to find his mother's grave. The old foster-parents do not know anything about her and Roughboy thus goes to the town where he lived. In a hotel, he visits his former lover, waitress Štěpa, who takes him in for the night. At the National Committee, the young man finds Secretary Froněk, who informs him that his mother was buried in the village Horní Světlá. Upon his arrival at the village, Jan learns from the sexton that she committed suicide as a very young woman, unable to bear the fate of an unmarried mother. In the village, Jan meets the pretty teacher, Jarmila. She, too, has unsolved traumas from her past and is afraid of physical love. She does not know anything about Jan and is somehow irritated by his behaviour. Despite this, they visit a wine cellar and the slight drunkenness makes it easier for them to become closer. After a night full of love, conscience wakes up in Roughboy and he reveals his situation to Jarmila. The young woman feels that another dream of hers has evaporated and Roughboy drowns his sorrow in drink in the local pub. They both remain alone.

Note

The film was handed over to the Central Film Distributors on the 4th of May 1970, and the première of the film was scheduled for 12th of March 1971. However, after the emigration of the main character Kristina Hanzalová, it was cancelled at the last minute. Film had its première only in 1990.

Cast

Petr Čepek

Jan zvaný Drsňák

Kristina Hanzalová

Voice by Libuše Švormová
učitelka Jarmila

Věra Galatíková

Jolana, Tomášova milenka

Sylvia Turbová

Voice by Blanka Bohdanová
servírka Štěpa Zelenková

Bohuslav Čáp

tajemník národního výboru Froněk

P.Karel Mach

farář

Jarmila Kurandová

Jarmilina domácí

Emil Iserle

starý pán, Janův pěstoun

Vlasta Jelínková

stará paní, Janova pěstounka

Adam Matejka

kostelník

Václav Mareš

lékař Krása, Jarmilin přítel

Viktor Maurer

praporčík vězeňské stráže

Zdena Burdová

dcera výčepního

Alexandra Korytová

mladá dívka

Vladimír Jedenáctík

hrobař Ferdásek

skupina bratří Gondolánů

romská kapela

Milan Morávek

Voice by Jiří Němeček
vězeňský psychiatr

H. Troníčková

Habrová

J. Váňa

muž

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Vladimír Blažek

Screenstory

Václav Matějka

Shooting Script

Václav Matějka

Director of Photography

František Uldrich

Second Unit Photography

Jiří Macák

Camera Operator

Vladimír Murat

Production Designer

Jindřich Goetz

Assistent Production Designer

Jaromír Švarc

Set Designer

Ivo Černý, Miloš Osvald, Jiří Rulík

Costume Designer

Zdena Kadrnožková

Film Editor

Josef Valušiak

Sound Designer

Ladislav Hausdorf

Production Manager

Jiří Pokorný

Unit Production Manager

Vlasta Synkulová, Václav Dobeš

Cooperation

Hana Macháčková (klapka), Roman Soumar (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Luboš Fišer

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček)

Songs

Romská píseň

Singer skupina bratří Gondolánů

Pod tou naší starou lípou

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer sbor

Ej, ani kukuk, ani sojka

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer Vlado Müller

Lepší je vínečko nežli voda

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer sbor

Na kopečku stála, plakala

Song Composer lidová píseň
Writer of Lyrics lidová píseň
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Nahota

Czech Title

Nahota

English Title

The Nude

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

psychological

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1970

Production Year

1969

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 10 February 1969
technical Screenplay approved 15 April 1969
start of filming 7 July 1969
end of filming 14 November 1969
the first film copy approved 28 April 1970
projection approval 4 May 1970

Premiere

premiere 1 December 1990 /unsuitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Šmída – Daniel, František Daniel (vedoucí dramaturg tvůrčí skupiny), Bohumil Šmída (vedoucí výroby tvůrčí a vedoucí výrobní skupiny), Výrobní skupina Bohumila Šmídy (dokončení)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

102 min

Original length in metres

2 880 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 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