Case for a Rookie Hangman

Case for a Rookie Hangman (Czech: Případ pro začínajícího kata) is a Czechoslovak drama film directed by Pavel Juráček. It was released in 1970. The movie belongs to the Czech New Wave.

Case for a Rookie Hangman
Title screen from the opening credits
Directed byPavel Juráček
Written byPavel Juráček
Based onGulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
StarringLubomír Kostelka
CinematographyJan Kališ
Edited byMiroslav Hájek
Music byLuboš Fišer
Production
company
Distributed byÚstřední půjčovna filmů
Release date
  • 3 August 1970 (1970-08-03)
Running time
102 minutes[1]
CountryCzechoslovakia
LanguageCzech

The movie can be classified as a surrealist[2] or absurdist[1] satire, and it is based loosely on the third book of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, but the story is transferred to an early 20th-century world in decay. The movie shows also the influence of Franz Kafka and Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland).[3]

The satire is aimed at the Czechoslovak society, and the movie was soon banned after its release in 1970.[2] That meant also the end of Juráček's career.[3]

Plot

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Cast

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Release and home media

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Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu re-released the film to Czech theaters in 2002.

Second Run released the film to UK Blu-ray in 2019.

References

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  1. ^ a b "A case for the young hangman + Late august at the hotel ozone". Australian Centre for the Moving Image. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b "The Case for Pavel Jurácek". UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b Pajukallio, Arto (2011-08-10). "Nuoren pyövelin tapaus". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). pp. D 5.
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