A Story of Love and Honour

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1977

Production year

1976—1977

Premiere

27 January 1978

Runtime

98 min

Director

Otakar Vávra

Genre

biography

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Příběh lásky a cti

Czech title

Příběh lásky a cti

English title

A Story of Love and Honour

Working title

Román lásky a cti

Summary

After completing his extensive historical trilogy – Dny zrady (Days of Betrayal, 1973), Sokolovo (Sokolovo, 1974) and Osvobození Prahy (The Liberation of Prague, 1975) – veteran director Otakar Vávra opted for a more intimate theme in this 1978 film – the platonic relationship between the writers Jan Neruda and Karolina Světlá. Screenwriter Jiří Šotola created this romance about a pair of exceptional and lonely human beings on the basis of their documented love correspondence. The audience follows Neruda and Světlá as they carefully seek mutual understanding in a world chained by social conventions… Miroslav Ondříček’s camera work beautifully evokes the film’s depiction of 19th century Prague during the Czech National Revival. The principal parts in Vavra’s somewhat abstractly conceived romance are performed by Jiří Bartoška and Božidara Turzonová, while Consuela Morávková takes on the role of Karolina’s sister and Jiří Pleskot that of her husband.

Synopsis

It's Christmas Eve of 1861. So far unsuccessful poet, but already renown journalist - twenty-seven-year old Jan Neruda - calls on the family of professor Mužák unexpectedly. Secretly he hands over a letter to the host's wife Johanna, a beginning woman-writer who has chosen a pen-name Karolina Světlá. The handy and wild young man fell in passionate love with the beautiful woman, a little senior to him. The marriage of the Mužáks has been, after the death of their only child, for ten years only formal. However, Johanna does not take heart to accept the liaison for she knows it would discredit her in a Prague society. The poverty and social isolation of the emancipated and intelligent woman-writer Božena Němcová leading to her premature death is a sufficient memento. Neruda abandons his fiancée Anna Holinová, Johanna agrees to correspondence relationship only and persuades Neruda to pay his attention in public to the very young Lidunka. Letters between Neruda and Světlá are delivered by Johanna's devoted old-maidish friend Marie Němečková. The only Johanna's confidante is her sister Žofie for whom she is copying the whole correspondence. Before departing to summer holiday stay in the country Johanna attempts secretly to help Neruda to get out of debt by selling her jewel. Marie does not stand the pressure of Prague gossips and a scandal breaks. Mužák makes Johanna burn down the letters and makes a scene to Neruda. It is only a copied correspondence that witnesses long past emotions. Johanna's last letter of apology, full of love, the intimidated Marie does not hand over to Neruda and till the end of life the couple doesn't meet again in privacy.

Photos

Eduard Cupák

Crew and creators

Director

Otakar Vávra

Second Unit Director

Milan Kadlec

Based on

Jan Neruda (Jan Neruda – Karolina Světlá – korespondence), Karolina Světlá (Karolina Světlá – Jan Neruda – korespondence)

Screenplay

Jiří Šotola, Otakar Vávra

Shooting Script

Otakar Vávra

Dramaturg

Vladimír Bor, Milena Honzíková

Director of Photography

Miroslav Ondříček

Second Unit Photography

Eduard Kadeřábek

Camera Operator

Jiří Knotek

Production Designer

Karel Lier

Assistent Production Designer

Libuše Jahodová

Set Designer

Eva Slívová, Vladimír Schejbal, Karel Vaňásek

Costume Designer

Jan Kropáček

Costumes

Jaroslava Veselá, Jindřiška Kratochvílová

Make-Up Artist

Miloslav Jandera, Božena Došlá, Eva Vyplelová

Film Editor

Antonín Zelenka

Assistant Film Editor

Eva Lackingerová, Eliška Willigová

Sound Designer

Adolf Böhm

Production Manager

Jan Syrový

Unit Production Manager

Vladimíra Kopecká, Václav Eisenhamer, Věra Lukášová

Cooperation

Ivana Malíková (klapka), Karel Ješátko (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Zdeněk Liška

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (Pochod studentských legií)

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Choreographer

Jiří Blažek, Helena Karasová (taneční spolupráce)

Production info

Original Title

Příběh lásky a cti

Czech Title

Příběh lásky a cti

English Title

A Story of Love and Honour

Working Title

Román lásky a cti

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

biography

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1977

Production Year

1976—1977

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 25 November 1976
start of filming 3 December 1976
technical Screenplay approved 16 December 1976
end of filming 11 July 1977
projection approval 21 July 1977

Premiere

premiere 27 January 1978 /suitable for youths/

Production

Filmové studio Barrandov

Copyright Holders

Státní fond kinematografie

Studio

Barrandov

Distribution

Ústřední půjčovna filmů

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miloše Brože, Miloš Brož (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Sales

Národní filmový archiv, Obchodní oddělení

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

98 min

Original length in metres

2 819 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

A Story of Love and Honour

Country

Copyright

Production year

Premiere

Runtime

Director

Category

Genre

Typology

Original title

Czech title

English title

Working title

Summary

Synopsis

Photos

Cast

Ilona Vaňková

František Struska

Libuše Komancová

Zuzana Bohdanecká

Martina Brynychová

Milan Březina

Štěpánka Diblíková

Marie Dvořáková

František Ehrenberger

Marcela Ertlová

Ivana Fabingerová

Eva Ferlesová

Květa Hanušová

Irena Hollová

Jiří Hortenský

Hyka Hunyad

Zuzana Hušinová

Renáta Chadtová

Jaroslav Kalvach

František Karas

Jiří Koten

Irena Krajčíková

Pavel Krofta

Alena Kutinová

Zdeněk Lavička

Ladislav Lazna

Monika Letenská

Hana Lhotová

Ferdinand Lucek

Libuše Maňáková

Jana Mikulecká

Petr Nedvěd

Roman Novotný

Libuše Pechová

Ivana Peterková

Otka Plavcová

Renáta Podzimková

Antonín Pokorný

Bedřich Prokůpek

Ivana Revková

Petr Režnický

Miroslav Sirový

Marcel Slavík

Eva Stejkosová

Jiří Sýkora (2)

Vilém Sýkora

Jaroslav Šmahel

Petra Šolcová

Jan Šrámek

Petr Šrůtek

Martin Šula

Yvetta Tichá

Rostislav Tomeš

Arnošt Toms

Jaroslav Uličný

Věra Vávrová

Jaroslav Votava (2)

Jiřina Votavová

Zuzana Wiesnerová

Lukáš Zíta

Commentary

Crew and creators