Steel Strings and Iron Curtains

As you know, the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution is coming up on November 17th. Just in time, we wanted to introduce the English-speaking community to Central Europe’s versions of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Ray LaMontagne and Elliot Smith through Steel Strings and Iron Curtains. In this extraordinary project, a group of...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

October 25, 2019

Watch This: Princezna ze mlejna or The Watermill Princess

Princezna ze mlejna (English: The Watermill Princess) is a Czech fairytale film which tells the story of a young man named Jindřich, who dreams of finding and freeing an enchanted princess. The movie begins in a sun-drenched village in Southern Bohemia, surrounded by shady woods and silvery ponds. It is in this gentle village where...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

October 9, 2019

Lúčnica – Czechoslovakian Folk Ballet from Bratislava

Dancers with the precision, athleticism and enthusiasm of Lúčnica, a Czechoslovak folk ballet, do not come along every day. This is an almost continually fascinating group of expertly trained and excellently choreographed dancers presenting a show unlike any other. I learned about them from an old program I received from their tour in 1976. At...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music, Theater

October 6, 2019

… And Give My Love to the Swallows

Are you interesting true WWII story about the Czech Resistance and a young woman’s role? If so, you will enjoy … And Give My Love to the Swallows, where you will learn about a woman from the past, one whom few remember and the young generation probably does not know at all. Resistance fighter Marie...

History, Movies, Women

October 3, 2019

Czech and Slovak Cinema

Czech and Slovak cinema is finally beginning to make an appearance on the world stage. Among the most successful Czech films made after the fall of communism are: Kolya, Divided We Fall, Cosy Dens, Loners, I Served the King of England and Walking Too Fast. The first Czech CGI animated movie was The GOAT Store...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

September 30, 2019

Antonín Dvořák and His Recorded Works

Today’s post is dedicated to the memory of Antonín Dvořák, the great Bohemian composer. America and the Czech Republic (Bohemia) have a warm place in their hearts for Dvorak. Both country’s love him on account of his visit to America, the influence of the works he wrote in America, and for the splendid lesson he...

Bohemians, History, Music

September 7, 2019

76 Years Ago Today the Brundibar Opera in the Terezin Ghetto

The Brundibar Opera is a children’s opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, made most famous by performances by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp (Terezín) in occupied Czechoslovakia. The name comes from a Czech colloquialism for a bumblebee. Krása and Hoffmeister wrote the opera in 1938 for a...

History, Theater

August 26, 2019

The Night a Russian Cellist Wept for Czechs

It is quite rare to view a live recording of a truly legendary performance, yet I was blessed to do so a few years ago. In a documentary about Mstislav Rostropovich, the genius Russian cellist, I saw such a performance, the night a Russian cello wept for Czechs. It was the 1968 Proms season and...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music

Groovy Dancing and Communist Tanks: Stark Contrasts of Prague in August of 1968

August 16, 2019

Caught in the Clash of Groovy Dancing and Communist Tanks – Prague Spring 1968

What does groovy dancing have to do with communist tanks? Not much, but one day in August of 1968, groovy music videos were being filmed simultaneously in and around Prague. A popular television program at the time, Europarty had crews filming music videos for the show. It was the height of Prague Spring, and there...

History, Music, NOSTALGIA

August 4, 2019

Slovak National Dress Through the Centuries

Today we are looking at a book entitled Slovak National Dress Through the Centuries by Jozef Markov with introduction by Sona Kovacevicova and translated by Hedda Veselá-Stránská. The book was created under the guide of the Ethnographic Institute of the Slovak Academy of Science in Bratislavia and was published in Bratislava, Slovakia in 1955 and...

Books, ENTERTAINMENT

August 2, 2019

Jiří Šlitr – Czech Pop Music & Theatre in the 1960s

When thinking of Czech pop music and theater, there is one main person to mention in that position and that would have to be Jiří Šlitr (1924 – 1969). This mega-talent boasted a wide artistic scope – he was a composer, virtuoso pianist, singer, actor and artist. He learned to play the piano from his...

Art and Design, CULTURE, Movies, Music, Theater

July 18, 2019

Movie Scenes from Prague

Today we are looking at movie scenes from Prague. Many films and music videos choose Prague for obvious reasons, it’s beautiful, picturesque, romantic, haunting, glamorous, unique, and well… just picture perfect. Each of these videos are just a few minutes, so take a peek and enjoy your little video visit to Prague. Mission Impossible –...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

June 25, 2019

Watch This: Swingtime – StB – A False State Border Within the Republic

Imagine it… The StB – A false state border within the republic – and a fictional story of people who have crossed it. This is the theme of the the 2006 film Swingtime. It focuses on the so-called akce Kámen (Stone action), during which State Security agents deliberately mystified the citizens of the Czechoslovak Republic. Especially...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

June 16, 2019

Zem Spieva or the Earth Sings – A Czech/Slovak Magnum Opus

Zem spieva (The Earth Sings) is a 1933 Czech documentary film written and directed by Karel Plicka (in Slovak: Karol Plicka) (1894 – 1987), a Czechoslovak photographer, film director, cinematographer, folklorist, and pedagogue. He is considered a founder of Slovak film education and film making. He helped establish the genre of ethnographic film in Czechoslovakia. Following Karel Plicka’s graduation...

History, Movies, PEOPLE