Black Peter1964
Paired by the Criterion Channel, both directed by Miloš Forman, and both starring Jan Vostrčil
The Firemen’s Ball
Hoří, má panenko
Czechoslovakia / Czech / 1967 / 1h 13m
- Criterion Collection
- Spine №145
- Connections
- View Connections
Synopsis
A milestone of the Czech New Wave, Miloš Forman’s first color film THE FIREMEN’S BALL is both a dazzling comedy and a provocative political satire. A hilarious saga of good intentions confounded, the story chronicles a firemen’s ball where nothing goes right, from a beauty pageant whose reluctant participants embarrass the organizers to a lottery from which nearly all the prizes are pilfered. Presumed to be a commentary on the floundering Czech leadership, the film was “banned forever” in Czechoslovakia following the Russian invasion and prompted Forman’s move to America.
