Jan Procházka
Writing
Known For

When a comet passes the Earth very closely, it pulls a small part of North Africa, and a small swathe of humanity, along with it.
On the Comet
The journey of the Třeboň paddlers to the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Helsinki (1952).
Neklidnou hladinou

Mikolás and his brother Adam end up with a young German hostage of noble blood during a robbery. While their clan prepares for the wrath of the German king, Mikolás is sent to pressure his neighbor Lazar into a defense pact. Persuasion fails and he abducts Lazar's daughter Marketa on the eve of her initiation as a nun in an act of vengeance.
Marketa Lazarová

A group of the bourgeois head for a prominent figure's birthday party. As they venture through the woods and have a picnic, they're suddenly surrounded by some suspicious strangers.
The Party and the Guests

The young Prince Charles (Jaromír Hanzlík), the future King of his country Charles IV, is being educated at the French court in the company of his fiancée Blanche (Daniela Kolárová). One day he receives a summons from his father John of Luxembourg (Milos Kopecký) in Italy. He leaves for Italy accompanied by a deputation from Bohemia. On the way the prince's company fights a battle with armed Milanese against heavy odds. Thanks to Charles's perspicacity, the prince's almost naked soldiers win through. In Lucca in Italy Charles joins his father, and here he experiences an amorous adventure and escapes from the traps laid by the Italian rebels.
Slasti Otce vlasti

It is 5 May 1945 and the uprising against the hated German occupiers has broken out in Prague. The Czech guards open the gate of the Pankrác prison to allow the prisoners to escape en masse. Many of them are shot dead by the German guards but young Ruda (Jaromír Hanzlík) manages to run away. He is taken care of by one of the Prague fighters, concierge Kytka. Kytka hides him in the flat of the house's owner where only the young maid Karla (Jana Brejchová) is left, ordering her to take care of Ruda.
Marathon

Government bureaucrat Ludvik becomes suspicious after several colleagues disappear and he overhears something strange at a cocktail party. Returning home with his wife, Anna, he finds their house under surveillance and spends a fraught night worrying about his possible arrest in the morning. Marital difficulties come to light as Ludvik and his wife attempt to act normal in front of the cameras while dredging up their problems out of sight.
The Ear

A day in the life of Arnošt, a soldier staying in Josefov. A sense of desperation permeates the environment as well as the mind of the protagonist. It is sunday, and saturday left just a hangover. Days go by, nothing changes. A metaphor for the political situation in the Czech lands at a time where depicting a soldier as a drunk was considered out of place to say the least.
Squandered Sunday

Two Jewish boys escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. Beyond themes of war and anti-Nazism, the film concerns itself with man's struggle to preserve human dignity.
Diamonds of the Night

In 1947 Prague, Holocaust survivor Dita lives in a hostel for orphans, acting as a protective mentor to a younger girl while failing to fix her own shattered life. Unable to form lasting bonds or find a place in a society that has moved on, she drifts through emotional isolation.
Dita Saxová

Czech nobleman Petr Vok of Rozmberk (Milos Kopecký) is no longer so young, but his amatory adventures continue to arouse the envy of men and the indignation of respectable ladies. In his "female retinue" at the chateau in Bechyne he has twelve comely girls, but he still manages to seduce the miller's wife and the maid. Lord Vok is in great financial difficulties. His elder brother Vilém advises him to marry a rich woman. Petr surprises him by announcing his intention to marry the very young Katerina of Ludanice.
Svatby pana Voka

Five young people take off in a lighter-than-air machine at the Prague Centennial Exhibition. A live-action/animated film based loosely on Jules Verne's novels Two Years' Vacation and The Mysterious Island. The film in Art Nouveau style consists of live-action scenes, generally shot in black and white, as well as hand-drawn, stop-motion, and cutout animation. Various live-action and animated elements are often composited into the same scene.
The Stolen Airship

The story of this political thriller takes place in the 90s and follows one night of the life of the Deputy Minister Nikola and his wife Ana.
Honey Night

A WW2 story of a young Austrian soldier running from the Russian army and a woman whom he forces to come along in order to save his wounded mate.
Carriage to Vienna

This Czechoslovakian children’s film takes place during the last days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. The young son of a horse trainer loves nothing more than riding his horse, until he is stricken by polio…
Jumping Over Puddles

It is the summer holiday and little Mísa Horák has taken a few animals from the school's so-called "Corner of Living Nature" home to care for. But when he brings home two Angora rabbits, a starling, a little monkey, a tortoise and a small crocodile, his parents order him to take them away. He is helped by Káta, who offers to place the animals in the child's room of her family's apartment. Mísa leaves for her friend where the animals will hopefully be able to stay. Káta goes shopping. In the meantime, Káta's younger sister Minka wakes up and begins to play with the animals, who gradually run off in disarray.
Katya and the Crocodile

Two short stories by Karel Čintamani a ptáci An avid collector of carpets, MUDr. Vitásek discovers a unique piece in Mrs. Severýnová's junk shop - a Persian carpet with a pattern of birds. As a connoisseur, he knows that there are only three of these carpets in existence and they are all owned by different monarchs. Severyn has no idea how rare it is, but the carpet is not for sale. It was saved by the wealthy widow Zanelli, who travels all over the world and rarely visits Prague. Vitásek confides in his lawyer friend Bimbal and with his help tries to retrieve the rare piece. Tales of a marriage fraudster The police headquarters is on high alert as marriage frauds proliferate. The hallmark of the culprit is violin playing and gold teeth. Inspector Pigeon of the train service eventually apprehends the fraudster, Vincent Plichta. The serious criminal doesn't resist arrest, he just bills the costs and goes to serve his sentence. After a while, marriage fraud is reported again.
Čintamani & podvodník
There are fairy tales that appear on TV screens every Christmas and there are fairy tales that have somewhat fallen into oblivion and few people remember them anymore. This is one of the lesser known ones. Its plot certainly needs no further introduction. After all, the fairy tale story of the Swimmer, the charcoal-maker's son, to whom the judges attribute the hand of a royal princess born at the same moment, is one of those which are not forgotten. And the Swimmer's difficult journey in pursuit of an almost impossible task, the three golden hairs of Grandfather Allfather, who is the Sun and dislikes mankind, is as fabulous as the advice he brings to three towns beset by strange woes.
Tři zlaté vlasy děda Vševěda

Three friends - Tomás, Hubert and Jozka - are boys growing up in a little town. Tomás lives with his aunt Apolena and uncle Václav. Tomás is a boy with lots of ideas that often end up getting him into trouble not only with his teachers and aunt, but with the other inhabitants of the town as well. He has a crush on his schoolmate Blanka and for her sake he decides to try to get the prize for the best pupil in the school.
Boys Will Be Boys

Oldrich is the runt of his village, beaten by his father, bullied by the other boys. But he has imagination on his side, and a wiry toughness they can’t defeat. The village is in turmoil, because the Nazi occupiers have just retreated and the Red Army is advancing. Oldrich dodges amid the mayhem and panic, taking his share of blows but always managing to stay one step ahead.