Friday Is No Holiday

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1979

Production year

1979

Premiere

14 March 1980

Runtime

83 min

Director

Otakar Fuka

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Pátek není svátek

Czech title

Pátek není svátek

English title

Friday Is No Holiday

Summary

The satire genre’s focus on communal living was enriched in 1979 with this comedy by Otakar Fuka. The story’s protagonists are the Nováks, a family who enjoy the material things in life and have chaotic, frenzied relations. The highlight of their week is a stay at the cottage, which, however, becomes demanding for the Nováks for they must prove their resourcefulness. A shortage of planks, which they want to use to build an extension to the cottage, in the end threatens the promotion of the father, Karel. Our heroes in the end come to understand that family is more important than belongings, but they are still unable to change their behaviour. The film led to a sequel, V podstatě jsme normální (Basically Normal, 1981). Petr Kostka and Jorga Kotrbová once again play a forever fighting couple. The role of the Nováks’ younger daughter marks the big screen debut of the talented Magdalena Bičíková, who was 10 years-old at the time.

Synopsis

It is Friday, and in their flat in a modern Prague housing estate the Novák family are getting ready to go to their weekend wood cabin. As usual, when they get there they quarrel. They are extending the cabin but they can't get hold of the right planks. On Monday the working week begins again. The father Karel works in research for the Tempochron firm, the mother Eva is a hairdresser, the older daughter Mirka is at high school and the younger Jarka is at basic nine-grade school. The whole week is marked by hurry. Eva is buying a dress for Mirka "under the counter" as a birthday present, and on the way she meets a succesful friend Hanuš, who has come back from two years in India. Eva immediately starts praising her husband in front of him. In the evening, the Nováks manage a visit from friends and an outing to the cinema. On Friday Karel is promoted, and has to hand over his work results to his successor at very short notice, but Eva phones him with the news that she located the planks and it is now up to Karel to go and get them. He succeeds, but it means he has to slip out of work early in order to get them to the cabin. On the way, his car breaks down, and he has to get the Yellow Angels (breakdown team) to repair it. The new highway team is being filmed for the evening news on TV, so Karel goes back to work. The director is pleased by his keenness, but later when watching the evening news he realizes why Karel failed to attend the earlier meeting. Eva is missing Karel and Mirka at the cabin. She realizes that people are more important than property. Out of fear for her family, she sets off back to Prague on her motorbike. The whole family meet at the moment when Karel, returning to the cabin, veers off the road into a field.

Film online

Cast

Petr Kostka

výzkumný pracovník Tempochronu Karel Novák

Jorga Kotrbová

kadeřnice Eva, Novákova žena

Magda Reifová

studentka Mirka, dcera Novákových

Magdalena Bičíková

žákyně Jarka, mladší dcera Novákových

Zdena Hadrbolcová

kadeřnice Libuše Blažková, Evina kolegyně

Laďka Kozderková

prodavačka Jituš, Evina kamarádka

Jiří Kodet

Hanuš, Evin přítel

Jana Andresíková

inženýrka Urbanová, Karlova nadřízená

Nina Divíšková

profesorka Švarcová

Nataša Gollová

vrátná Tempochronu

Luděk Kopřiva

vedoucí kadeřnictví Niederle

Zdeněk Dítě

ředitel Tempochronu Leopold Růžička

Josef Vinklář

masér Beznoska

Jiří Hálek

učitel Hrabánek

Jiří Krampol

Emil Blažek, Libušin přítel

Jan Kuželka

svačící mechanik

Monika Hálová

Yveta Síbrtová, Mirčina spolužačka

Antonín Hardt

Ota, manžel Jituš

Roman Hemala

podpraporčík VB

Julius Hirsch

nadstrážmistr VB

Jan Cmíral

provozní v autodopravě

Jiří Sequens ml.

student Petr Kabíček

Eugen Jegorov

mechanik Lojza

Adolf Filip

inženýr Bednář, výzkumný pracovník

Vlastimil Fišar

docent Šiška, vedoucí pracovník Tempochronu

Oskar Hák

elektrikář

Igor Smržík

slovenský zástupce Minárik

Václav Kotva

profesor angličtiny zvaný Higgins

Ivan Glanc

soused/starší pán s jezevčíkem

Lidia Kravková

sekretářka Jarmilka

Luboš Pecháček

televizní reportér

Karel Kafka

televizní kameraman

Olga Michálková

maminka s kočárkem

Vladimír Navrátil

žlutý anděl

Věra Petáková

Růžičková, manželka ředitele

Jana Říhová

dívka v safari šatech

Ljuba Krbová

démonická žena ve filmu

Jaroslav Tomsa

maskovaný muž ve filmu

Eva Weissová

zákaznice v textilu

Karel Bělohradský

řidič nákladního auta

Crew and creators

Director

Otakar Fuka

Second Unit Director

Aleš Dospiva

Assistant Director

Tomáš Kepka

Continuity

Eva Kubesová

Screenstory

Jiří Just

Shooting Script

Jiří Just, Otakar Fuka

Director of Photography

Josef Illík

Second Unit Photography

Zdeněk Prchlík

Camera Operator

Vladimír Murat

Production Designer

Oldřich Bosák

Assistent Production Designer

Bohumil Nový

Set Designer

Ivan Ernyei, Karel Kočí, Stanislav Krejča

Costume Designer

Šárka Hejnová

Film Editor

Zdeněk Stehlík

Assistant Film Editor

Erika Vojáčková

Sound Designer

Milan R. Novotný

Special Effects

Jiří Rumler

Production Manager

Oldřich Mach

Unit Production Manager

Ulrich Jiří ml., Eva Charvátová

Unit Production Manager

Vojtěch Panáček

Cooperation

Vladimír Souček (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Petr Hapka

Selected Music

Bedřich Smetana (Prodaná nevěsta /Věrné naše milování/)

Music Performed by

Studiový orchestr (Music Conducted by Petr Hapka), Orchestr Smetanova divadla (Music Conducted by František Belfín)

Songs

Píseň pro dívku

Song Composer Petr Hapka
Writer of Lyrics Pavel Vrba
Singer Václav Neckář

Production info

Original Title

Pátek není svátek

Czech Title

Pátek není svátek

English Title

Friday Is No Holiday

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1979

Production Year

1979

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 5 February 1979
start of filming 21 February 1979
technical Screenplay approved 2 April 1979
end of filming 19 September 1979
projection approval 22 September 1979

Premiere

premiere 14 March 1980 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Hostivař

Creative Group

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

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

83 min

Original length in metres

2 299 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: 18. festival českých a slovenských filmů Košice

1980
Košice / Czechoslovakia
Otakar Fuka

Vítěz

Festival: 2. festival československé filmové veselohry Nové Město nad Metují

1980
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Petr Hapka

Vítěz

Festival: 2. festival československé filmové veselohry Nové Město nad Metují

1980
Nové Město nad Metují / Czechoslovakia
Otakar Fuka