Evald Schorm
Encyclopedia
Evald Schorm was a Czech
film and stage director, screenwriter
and actor. He directed 26 films between 1959
and 1988
. Schorm was a notable exponent of the Czech Film New Wave.
. After communists
confiscated the family property, he was expelled from school and moved to Zličín near Prague
, together with his parents. Schorm had to become a construction worker, but in 1956 he was finally accepted at FAMU, the Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
. He graduated in Film direction in 1963, together with other future members of the Czech New Wave. He began his career at the Studio dokumentárního filmu (Studio of the Documentary Film) together with
cameraman Jan Špáta. Together they created many short films and documentaries of strong humanistic and emotional content, in close and longlasting collaboration. In 1964, Schorm directed his first full-length film, Každý den odvahu (Courage for Everyday) which dealt with the dillusionment of individuals victimized in the name of false ideals. He explored the ethical principles of human behavior in films such as the psychological drama Návrat ztraceného syna (Return of the Prodigal Son - 1966). He also acted minor roles in films made by his friends.
During 1970s and 1980s he was regarded as too "politically undesirable" to be involved in Czech filmmaking, and therefore concentrated more on stage direction. He was involved with many Prague companies, such as Činoherní klub, Studio Ypsilon, Theatre on the Balustrade
, Semafor
, Laterna Magika
, and the National Theatre
as well as with theatres in Brno
, Olomouc
, Cheb
and Gottwaldov. Schorm was also a notable opera director, and directed opera performances in Prague (Fidelio
in Smetana Theatre), Geneva
and Stuttgart
. From 1982 he was engaged by the Prague theatre Laterna Magika.
From 1964 to 1970 he taught at the Film and Television School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1988, shortly before his death, he created his last film Vlastně se nic nestalo. In 1992 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.
Film
Television
Actor
Laterna Magika
Theatre:
Ypsilon Theatre in Liberec
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
film and stage director, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and actor. He directed 26 films between 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
and 1988
1988 in film
-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
. Schorm was a notable exponent of the Czech Film New Wave.
Biography
Schorm was born into a peasant family, and spent his childhood at the family farm in Elbančice near Mladá VožiceMladá Vožice
Mladá Vožice is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic about 17 km north-east of Tábor.-History:The town originated from a settlement around a royal castle built on a hill and is known to have two churches as early as Charles IV's period. According to local resources, the...
. After communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
confiscated the family property, he was expelled from school and moved to Zličín near Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, together with his parents. Schorm had to become a construction worker, but in 1956 he was finally accepted at FAMU, the Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague or FAMU is one of the oldest film schools in Europe. Located in Prague, Czech Republic, FAMU was founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague...
. He graduated in Film direction in 1963, together with other future members of the Czech New Wave. He began his career at the Studio dokumentárního filmu (Studio of the Documentary Film) together with
cameraman Jan Špáta. Together they created many short films and documentaries of strong humanistic and emotional content, in close and longlasting collaboration. In 1964, Schorm directed his first full-length film, Každý den odvahu (Courage for Everyday) which dealt with the dillusionment of individuals victimized in the name of false ideals. He explored the ethical principles of human behavior in films such as the psychological drama Návrat ztraceného syna (Return of the Prodigal Son - 1966). He also acted minor roles in films made by his friends.
During 1970s and 1980s he was regarded as too "politically undesirable" to be involved in Czech filmmaking, and therefore concentrated more on stage direction. He was involved with many Prague companies, such as Činoherní klub, Studio Ypsilon, Theatre on the Balustrade
Theatre on the Balustrade
The Theatre on the Balustrade is situated in Prague, Czech republic.The theatre was founded in 1958. Its founders - Helena Philipová, Ivan Vyskočil, Jiří Suchý and Vladimír Vodička named their professional theatre after a street leading from the square to the river...
, Semafor
Semafor
Semafor is a Czech theatre in Prague established by Jiří Suchý in 1959. It belongs to the so called "Theatres of small stages". Suchý himself has performed there for many years and is the current owner...
, Laterna Magika
Laterna Magika
Laterna Magika is a Non-Verbal theatre located in Prague. Its origins are connected with the Expo '58 in Brussels. The plays are internationally comprehensible since they are silent. The performances are a combination of dance, film and black theatre...
, and the National Theatre
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
as well as with theatres in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
, Cheb
Cheb
Cheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...
and Gottwaldov. Schorm was also a notable opera director, and directed opera performances in Prague (Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
in Smetana Theatre), Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. From 1982 he was engaged by the Prague theatre Laterna Magika.
From 1964 to 1970 he taught at the Film and Television School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1988, shortly before his death, he created his last film Vlastně se nic nestalo. In 1992 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.
Filmography
Documentary- Blok 15 (1959) - a documentary on construction workers at the Orlík DamOrlík DamThe Orlík Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the Czech Republic. It dams the Vltava River near the village of Solenice, which is near the town of Příbram. The structure is named after a chateau, which is situated a few kilometers above the dam...
- Kostelník (1961)
- Jan Konstantin, zasloužilý umělec (1961) - on the National Theatre singer Jan Konstantin
- Země zemi (1962)
- Stromy a lidé (1962)
- Žít svůj život (1963) - a short film about the Czech photographer Josef SudekJosef SudekJosef Sudek was a Czech photographer, best known for his photographs of Prague.Originally a bookbinder. During The First World War he was drafted into Austro-Hungarian Army. In 1915 and served on the Italian Front until he was wounded in the right arm in 1916...
. - Proč? (1964)
- Zrcadlení (1965)
- Odkaz (1965)
- Žalm (1966) - a montage of stills from the Old New SynagogueOld New SynagogueThe Old New Synagogue situated in Josefov, Prague, is Europe's oldest active synagogue. It is also the oldest surviving medieval synagogue of twin nave design.Completed in 1270 in gothic style, it was one of Prague's first gothic buildings...
in Prague, to commemorate the tragic destiny of the Jewish people. - Carmen nejen podle Bizeta (Carmen Not Only According To Bizet) (1968)
- Etuda o zkoušce (1976)
Film
- Každý den odvahu (Courage For Everyday) (1964)
- Perličky na dně (1965)
- Návrat ztraceného syna (Return of the Prodigal Son) (1966)
- Pět holek na krku (1967)
- Farářův konec (End of a PriestEnd of a PriestEnd of a Priest is a 1969 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Evald Schorm. It was entered into the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Vlastimil Brodský - Verger* Jan Libíček - Teacher* Zdena Škvorecká - Anna* Jana Brejchová - Majka...
) (1969) - Sedmý den, osmá noc (1969)
- Zmatek (1969)
- Vlastně se nic nestalo (premiered posthumously) (1989)
Television
- Král a žena (1967)
- Rozhovory (1969)
- Lítost (1970)
- Úklady a láska (1971)
- Lepší pán (1971)
- Král jelenem (1977)
- Bratři Karamazovi (The Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers KaramazovThe Brothers Karamazov is the final novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky spent nearly two years writing The Brothers Karamazov, which was published as a serial in The Russian Messenger and completed in November 1880...
) (1981)
Actor
- Hotel for StrangersHotel for StrangersHotel for Strangers is a 1967 Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Antonín Máša. It was entered into the 1967 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Petr Cepek - Petr Hudec* Tatána Fischerová - Veronika* Marta Krásová - Rosická* Vladimír Smeral - Blech...
(1967) - A Report on the Party and the GuestsA Report on the Party and the GuestsA Report on the Party and the Guests is a 1966 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Jan Němec. It was entered for the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was aborted owing to the events of May 1968 in France.-Cast:* Ivan Vyskočil - host...
(1966) - Žert (The Joke) - based on the novel by Milan KunderaMilan KunderaMilan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
, directed by Jaromil Jireš (1968) - Útěky domů (1980)
- Krajina s nábytkem (1986)
Theatre direction
Činoherní klub Theatre:- Zločin a trest (Crime and PunishmentCrime and PunishmentCrime and Punishment is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866. It was later published in a single volume. This is the second of Dostoyevsky's full-length novels following his...
) - Hodinový hoteliér
Laterna Magika
Laterna Magika
Laterna Magika is a Non-Verbal theatre located in Prague. Its origins are connected with the Expo '58 in Brussels. The plays are internationally comprehensible since they are silent. The performances are a combination of dance, film and black theatre...
Theatre:
- Láska v barvách karnevalu
- Kouzelný cirkus (A Magic Circus) - Schorm was also author of the script
- Sněhová královna (The Snow Queen) - Schorm was also author of the script
- Noční zkouška -
- Černý mnich -
- Oddyseus (Ulysses) - Schorm was also author of the script
Ypsilon Theatre in Liberec
Liberec
Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....
- Comedy, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning
- The Eternal Husband
- Thirteen Scents
- The Twelve Chairs