Music for Two

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1979

Production year

1979

Premiere

27 June 1980

Runtime

84 min

Category

film

Genre

music, compilation

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Muzika pro dva

Czech title

Muzika pro dva

English title

Music for Two

Working title

Muzika

Summary

A symposium on laughter in film is about to take place at the chateau Zemeč. Doctor Lorenz (Vladimír Krška) selects some apt examples from the archives of older Czech films and driver Jonáš (Václav Sloup) sets out for Zemeč with the footage. But his path is crossed by a charming hitch-hiker (Zlata Adamovská). The girl, who goes by the nickname of “Little Song”, continuously sings, and also messes up the card index for the film excerpts. There’s little time left to get things sorted out, but Jonáš and Lorenz may have a ready solution – to ask Little Song for help. With her exceptional skills, surely she can recognise which films are in which box... This musical comedy from the pre-digital era (specifically, 1979) is in fact cut from segments that film director Zdeněk Míka took from an extensive list of films including Chyťte ho! (Catch Him!, 1924), Život je pes (Life Is a Dog, 1933), Eva tropí hlouposti (Eva Fools Around, 1939), Kristian (1939), U pokladny stál… (He Stood at the Till..., 1939), Přednosta stanice (Station Master, 1941), Právě začínáme (We Are Just Beginning, 1946), Císařův pekař – Pekařův císař (The Emperor’s Baker – The Baker's Emperor, 1951), Hrátky s čertem (Playing with the Devil, 1956), and Kam čert nemůže (Where the Devil Cannot Get, 1959).

Synopsis

In the projection hall at the Film Archives Dr Lorenc chooses clips for a symposium on laughter in film. Driver Jonáš has been commissioned to take the selected films together with their card indexes to the Zemeč chateau, where the symposium is taking place. Jonáš has a weakness for women but only on the film screen and when he drives by a young and attractive hitchhiker he doesn't give her a lift. He is soon distracted from his driving by a song. To his dismay, he realizes that the hitchhiker girl he refused to take on is sitting on the back of his car, singing and making paper swallows out of the index cards, which she then throws out into the wind. Jonáš is horrified, since the film boxes only have numbers and without the index cards the symposium will be at risk. The girl introduces herself as Pisníčka [Song] and claims she knows the contents of all the boxes. She demonstrates her skill to Jonáš only to disappear altogether. Dr Lorenc is following Jonáš on his way to the castle. He doesn't fail to notice the paper swallows. At the chateau, Song appears before Jonáš once again and the confused young man is convinced that he has fallen victim to his own imagination and that he is suffering from schizophrenia. The chateau custodian Halánek is sceptical about Jonáš's schizophrenia. Before long, he discovers Song, who was hiding in the chateau. The girl offers the two men her help and unfailingly labels the contents of all the boxes: Playing with the Devil (Hrátky s čertem), Kristian, and The Stood at the Till (U pokladny stál)... Dr Lorenc arrives at the castle. He is furious at first, but when Song demonstrates to him what she can do, he offers her the post of a lector. Song, however, dances her way into the picture of a green meadow and invites Jonáš, who has not forgotten how to dream, to join her there.

Note

The film was budgeted together with the picture Father-in-Law, doth films were shot simultaneously.

Cast

Zlata Adamovská

Písnička-Lesana

Václav Sloup

řidič Jonáš, filmový fanoušek

Josef Bláha

správce zámku Mazánek Halánek

Vladimír Krška

filmový badatel dr. Lorenz

Jaroslav Moučka

pumpař Haluza

Karolina Slunéčková

hostinská Boženka

Jan Burian (2)

hudebník

Pavel Fořt

hudebník

Vladimír Hruška

hudebník

Vincenc Kummer

hudebník

Rudolf Rokl

hudebník

Jan Spálený

hudebník

Václav Týfa

hudebník

Jan Žižka

hudebník

František Ulrych

hudebník

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Jiří Mikeťuk

Assistant Director

Viktor Walter

Screenstory

Zdeněk Dufek

Screenplay

Zdeněk Dufek

Shooting Script

Zdeněk Míka

Director of Photography

Jiří Stöhr

Second Unit Photography

Michal Krob

Camera Operator

Antonín Mařík

Production Designer

Oldřich Bosák

Assistent Production Designer

František Císař

Set Designer

Jan Hodný, Jaroslav Česal, Karel Kočí

Costume Designer

Lída Novotná

Assistant Film Editor

Eliška Willigová

Sound Designer

Jiří Kejř

Production Manager

Josef Císař

Unit Production Manager

Ladislav Beneš, Jaroslava Pražská

Unit Production Manager

Bohumil Vlach

Cooperation

Zina Kršková (klapka), Miloš Schmiedberger (fotograf)

Music

Music Composed by

Felix Slováček

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán Koníček), Orchestr Ladislava Štaidla

Songs

Vlaštovky vzhůru letí

Song Composer Felix Slováček
Writer of Lyrics Zdeněk DufekZdeněk Dufek
Singer Zlata Adamovská [dab]Jitka Zelenková

Sám

Song Composer Felix Slováček
Singer Jitka Zelenková

Production info

Original Title

Muzika pro dva

Czech Title

Muzika pro dva

English Title

Music for Two

Working Title

Muzika

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

music, compilation

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1979

Production Year

1979

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 20 December 1978
technical Screenplay approved 5 July 1979
start of filming 11 July 1979
end of filming 12 December 1979
projection approval 22 December 1979
withdrawal from distribution 31 December 1986

Premiere

premiere 27 June 1980 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Dramaturgická skupina Miroslava Hladkého, Miroslav Hladký (vedoucí dramaturgické skupiny)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

84 min

Original length in metres

2 043 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

Awards

Vítěz

Festival: 16. mezinárodní filmový festival Chicago

1980
Chicago / United States of America
Karel Vaca