Hurly-Burly in a Circus
Country
Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist RepublicsCopyright
1975Production year
1975Premiere
13 February 1976Runtime
131 minDirector
Oldřich LipskýCategory
filmGenre
comedyTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Cirkus v cirkuseCzech title
Cirkus v cirkuseEnglish title
Hurly-Burly in a CircusParallel title
Solo dlja slona s orkestromWorking title
Ať žije cirkus!Summary
The director Oldřich Lipský was a big fan of the circus. This was evident in his very first film, a comedy titled Cirkus bude! (The Show Is On, 1954). He returned to his favourite venue several times, whether in the documentary Cirkus jede (The Circus is Coming, 1960) or in the comedies 6 medvědů s Cibulkou (Six Bears and Cibulka, 1972) or Cirkus v cirkuse (Hurly-Burly in a Circus, 1975). He did not live to see the realisation of his dream project, the Cirkus Humberto TV series (1968), for which he wrote the screenplay. Cirkus v cirkuse was thus Lipský’s farewell to his beloved ring. The screenplay for the Soviet-Czech project was written by Miloš Macourek, who combined the performance of the Moscow circus, which Lipský had studied with the loving passion of a documentarist, with a fantastic story about a congress of zoophilologists. The British scientist, Dr. Whistler (Iva Janžurová), ventures that if her Czech colleague Professor Růžička (Jiří Sovák) can teach an elephant to sing, she will eat her hat.
Synopsis
To Moscow have arrived the participants of the international conference of the zoophilologists and also the international jury which is to elect for the world festival the best performance of the programme of Moscow circus. Mrs Whistler, British associate professor, makes her understood with the animals in their language but the Czech professor Růžička, though he is capable of using the animals language, prefers teaching the animals the human language. Růžička's friend, the poodle Archibald, speaks "in Human" very well. The scientific dispute ends with a stake - if Růžička teaches the circus elephant to sing, Mrs Whistler will eat up her hat. In circus there starts the programme. Nobody suspects that Gríša, an unsuccesful suitor of charming Táňa, daughter of the director of the circus, out of jealousy and vengeance intentionally tampers with everything. He even slanders at the director a young and talented waiter Aljoša, Táňa's new love, saying he is a drinker. The hypnotist sends the associate professor, who is interfering, to sleep and Růžička teaches the elephant to sing. However, the reward - two buckets of ice-cream - cause heavy hoarseness to the elephant. Gríša has prepared a trap on Aljoša, lemonade with sleeping draught, which is drunk by mistake by the hypnotist who then falls asleep in the middle of his performance. But the spectators have a wonderful time and are amused by circus performers, jugglers, training of animals and most of all by the comic performances - altogether the consequences of Gríša's treacherous activity. Love causes that Táňa and Aljoša fly up over the night town. Poodle Archibald discloses to the director who is guilty of all the collapses. At the end the elephant sings up and Mrs Whistler, in front of the spectators, has to take a bite into her hat which she unsuccesfully attempted to get rid of at the backstage. But with surprise she finds out that it is a cake just as gentleman Růžička had it made. The jury decides to accept for the festival the whole programme.
Photos
Cast
Jevgenij Leonov
Voice by Josef Vinklář
ředitel cirkusu
Jiří Sovák
profesor Růžička
Iva Janžurová
britská docentka Elisabeth Whistle
Alexandr Leňkov
Voice by Michal Pavlata
číšník Aljoša
Natalja Varlej
Voice by Marta Vančurová
Táňa, dcera ředitele
Leonid Kuravlev
Voice by Rudolf Jelínek
Gríša
Savelij Kramarov
Voice by Vladimír Hrubý
zřízenec Lopuchov
Marie Drahokoupilová
francouzská porotkyně
Zdeněk Dítě
italský porotce
Lubomír Lipský
český porotce Lopata
Oldřich Velen
norský porotce
Ján Mistrík
Voice by Karel Hlušička
indický zoofilolog
Alexej Smirnov
Voice by Mirko Musil
hypnotizér Evard Spiridonovič Smir
Jurij Volyncev
Voice by Karel Vlček
inspicient Alexandr Borisovič
Jevgenij Morgunov
Voice by Svatopluk Skládal
žárlivý manžel
Josef Hlinomaz
ošetřovatel slonů Nikolaj
Karel Effa
veterinář
František Filipovský
reportér
Otto Hudrlík
holandský zoofilolog
Karel Hovorka
bulharský zoofilolog
Ludmila Mihulková
německá zoofiloložka
Lubomír Kostelka
francouzský zoofilolog Jean Leriqu
Jiří Lír
italský zoofilolog
Václav Lohniský
polský zoofilolog
Vojtěch Přidal
jugoslávský zoofilolog
Viktor Parkán
švýcarský zoofilolog
Miroslav Svoboda
španělský zoofilolog
Bořek Voráč
švýcarský zoofilolog
Jaroslava Schallerová
sekretářka zoofilologů
Vladimír Ječný
ošetřovatel slonů
Jiří Kosek
letec Aeroflotu
Otto Lackovič
číšník
Viktor Maurer
Voice by Otto Lackovič
číšník
Václav Prostějovský
číšník u zoofilologů
Helena Postránecká
krásná akvabela
Stanislav Remunda
cirkusák-artista
Vladimír Tišer
cirkusák-artista
Karel Engel
muž v bílém
Saša Aišmanová
baletka
Ingrid Bernáthová
baletka
Dalimila Fröhlichová
baletka
Sabina Folprechtová
baletka
Jitka Kloubková
baletka
Radoslava Knechtová
baletka
Eva Sodomová
baletka
Pavel Veselý
tanečník
Naděžda Repina
Máša, manželka žárlivého muže
Pavel Vinnik
divák
Alexandr Sorokoletov
otec holčiček
Michaela Drozdovskaja
matka holčiček
Grigorij Špigel
Anatolij Golik
Alice Kludská
dubl za cvičeného medvěda
Hana Cinková
dubl za Natalji Varlejovou
Jiří Chrastil
dubl za Alexandra Leňkova
A. Abakamov
leki-dagestánský provazochodec
I. Bessarab
akrobat na hrazdách
R. Bellej
uzbecký akrobat s velbloudy
E. Bernadskij
akrobat s kruhem
E. Bubnovova
vzdušná gymnastika
J. Bugrimova
drezura lvů
A. Bondarev
akrobat – obří kroky
Lilija Davidovič
rýnská kola
D. Tuganova
rýnská kola
V. Dovějko
akrobat s odrazným můstkem
V. Elfant
vedoucí skupiny žonglérů
V. Filatov
vedoucí medvědího cirkusu
Iriston
severoosetinští džigisté
L. Košťuk
akrobat na perské tyči
V. Lobzov
létající hrazdy
V. Maximov
čeremošzakarpatský skákač
A. Sokolov
volná drezura koní
L. Pikulinova
akrobatka na motocyklech
M. Širvani
krotitel slonice Rézi
S. Ščukin
E. Badakinova
T. Simoněnkova
Cirkus na ledě
žáci cirkusového učiliště Moskva
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Aleš Dospiva, A. Razumovskij, Andrej Maljukov
Assistant Director
Zdeňka Slunéčková, Viktor Karásek, N. Bilimovová
Continuity
Screenstory
Screenplay
Miloš Macourek, Jakov Kostjukovskij, Moris Slobodskoj, Oldřich Lipský
Shooting Script
Dramaturg
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Pavel Nečesal, Jan Němeček, Oldřich Hubáček, Pavel Dosoudil, Karel Hejsek, Karel Dobřichovský, Ladislav Chroust
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Set Designer
V. Čurinov, Josef Müller, Bohuslav Varhaník, Jiří Žůček
Costume Designer
Costumes
Make-Up Artist
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Special Effects
Jaroslav Kučera, Jiří Rumler, Ludvík Malý, Trikový ateliér FSB
Stunts
Zlatomil Fabinyi, František Faust, Josef Koch, Miloš Novák, Jaroslav Šimonka, Stanislav Tůma, Alexandr Vejsada
Production Manager
Jaromír Lukáš, Lev Kušelevič
Unit Production Manager
Milana Melcerová, R. Kalmykov, Miroslav Dousek, T. Varginova
Unit Production Manager
Jiří Synek
Consultant
A. S. Agadžanov
Cooperation
Mark Mestečkin (režisér cirkusového představení), Dagmar Vrbovcová (klapka), Jan Kuděla (fotograf)
Music
Music Composed by
Music Performed by
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán KoníčekFrantišek Belfín), Orchestr Karla Vlacha
Writer of Lyrics
Michail Ančarov
Singer
Jiří Korn, sbor
Choreographer
P. Grodnickij
Production info
Original Title
Cirkus v cirkuse
Czech Title
Cirkus v cirkuse
English Title
Hurly-Burly in a Circus
Parallel Title
Solo dlja slona s orkestrom
Working Title
Ať žije cirkus!
Category
film
Typology
featuretheatrical distribution
Genre
comedy
Origin country
Czechoslovakia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Copyright
1975
Production Year
1975
Premiere
premiere 5 February 1976 /suitable for youths/ (kino Blaník, Praha)
gala premiere 12 February 1976 (kino Blaník, Praha)
premiere 13 February 1976 /suitable for youths/ (celostátní)
Production
Copyright Holders
Studio
Distribution
Creative Group
Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)
Technical info
Duration typology
feature film
Duration in minutes
131 min
Original length in metres
3 674 meters
Distribution carrier
16mm, 35mm
Aspect ratio
1:1,66
Colour
colour
Sound
sound
Sound system/format
mono
Versions
Czech
Dialogue languages
Czech
Subtitles languages
without subtitles
Opening/End credits languages
Czech
Awards
Vítěz
Festival: 14. festival českých a slovenských filmů Brno
1976
Brno / Czechoslovakia
Oldřich Lipský
Vítěz
Event: 48. ročník Ceny americké Akademie filmových věd a umění Oscar 1975
1976
Hollywood, Los Angeles / United States of America
Vítěz
Event: Československá nominace na Cenu americké Akademie filmových věd a umění Oscar 1975
1975
Praha / Czechoslovakia
