A Day for a Front-Runner

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1982

Production year

1982

Runtime

19 min

Category

film

Genre

étude

Typology

featurenon-theatrical distributionstudent filmshort

Original title

Favoritův den

Czech title

Favoritův den

English title

A Day for a Front-Runner

Synopsis

A beautiful bay horse wins the race but is nevertheless sent for tests to a research institute for it should be subsequently used for breeding. Common sense would command that such a front-runner should keep on racing. But a bribed high official wants to remove the successful competitor from the races. The young scientist Grachov accompanies the animal on the way to the laboratory. The truck is driven by the chronic alcoholic and churl Lecha who has the no scruples regarding the horse. He is in a hurry and does not even let throw a blanket on the sweating animal or litter it with straw in an empty truck body. Grachov apprehensively watches Lecha’s drinking and reckless driving. The driver even manages to make an illicit move on the way, transporting planks for somebody. Grachov meanwhile tends to the horse and takes it to water. The young man finally decides it would be better to recall the tests and makes Lecha drive back. The motor, however, begins to belch smoke. The driver stops on a slight slope and gets out of the truck. The truck starts moving autonomically and Grachov succeeds in jumping out of the cab at the last moment. The truck crashes and bursts into flames. The horse, with its legs broken, desperately whinnies in a ditch. The broken Grachov decides to put it out of its misery, killing it mercifully with a hammer.

Cast

Karel Hlušička

řidič Lecha Šavrov

Jan Hartl

Grachov

Jan Teplý

nadřízený

Vladislav Čížek

Crew and creators

Based on

Ilja Kašafutdinov (Favoritův den /Vysokaja krov/ – novela)

Screenplay

Milan Cieslar

Director of Photography

Miroslav Čvorsjuk

Sound Designer

Josef Hubka

Consultant

Josef Vodňanský

Pedagogical management

Ludvík Ráža (režie), Jan Kališ (kamera), Alois Fišárek (střih), Ivo Bláha, Hana Bezrouková

Cooperation

Martin Kubala, Pavlína Moskalyková, Státní statek Šumava Vyšší Brod, P. Feldstein, R. Hojek, P. Potůček

Production info

Original Title

Favoritův den

Czech Title

Favoritův den

English Title

A Day for a Front-Runner

Category

film

Typology

featurenon-theatrical distributionstudent film

Genre

étude

Student film

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1982

Production Year

1982

Production

Studio FAMU

Technical info

Duration typology

short film

Duration in minutes

19 min

Original length in metres

519 meters

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:2,35

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech