Thu, 12. 1. 2023, 7.00 p.m.

C3 S ČERTY NEJSOU ŽERTY

Venue: Zlín Congress Centre  |  Organizer: Filharmonie Bohuslava Martinů, o.p.s.  | 

"Whether or not hell existed, the idea was a good one, Looking around, we can see that even today it's something many people need."

The last few decades in Czech cinematography have seen a whole series of films peppered with all manner of wisecracks and quips which have found their way into common parlance, and one of these is the much-loved film "S čerty nejsou žerty" or "Give the Devil his Due" by the director Hynek Bočan, which has won the hearts of millions of viewers since it was released in 1984.

"S čerty nejsou žerty" is a fairytale film based on Božena Němcová's "Čertův švagr", which came out in the mid-19th century in her collection of National Legends and Tales. The storyline in which Good triumphs over Evil thanks to the justice of hell was taken up by Jiří Just and Hynek Bočan and developed into an elaborate screenplay full of fun and sophisticated humour. This resulted in a truly classic film and one of the best-loved Czech tales among adults and children alike, and its lines - whether spoken by the charismatic Karel Heřmánek's Lucifer, by Viktor Preiss's ignoble governor or by Petr Nárožný's nasty corporal - have found their place in the everyday popular idiom. The film also stands out for its top-class performances by the other actors including Vladimír Dlouhý, Monika Pelcová, Dana Bartůňková, Ondřej Vetchý, Josef Kemr, Jaroslava Kretschmerová, Václav Vydra, Ladislav Gerendáš and others..

The great success of the film was also due in no small part to its atmospheric music by Jaroslav Uhlíř and Zdeněk Svěrák, who also penned a number of authentic sounding songs such as "Voda, voděnka" and "Ta naše hospoda".

The Orchestra's live music accompaniment to our film screening is conducted by Chuhei Iwasaki.