Synopsis
A milestone of the Czech New Wave, Milos Forman’s first color film The Firemen’s Ball (Horí, má panenko) 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.
Cast
| Head of Committee | Jan Vostrcil |
| Committee members | Josef Sebánek |
| Frantisek Reinstein | |
| Frantisek Paska | |
| Ladislav Adam | |
| Václav Novotny | |
| Josef Rehorek | |
| Vratislav Cermák | |
| Frantisek Debelka | |
| Josef Valnoha | |
| Josef | Josef Kolb |
| Retired fire chief | Jan Stockl |
| Karel | Stanislav Holubec |
| Ludva | Josef Kutálek |
| Old man | Frantisek Svet |
| Standa | Antonín Blazejovsky |
| Milada Jezková | |
| Waiters | Stanislav Ditrich |
| Jarmila Kucharova | |
| "Miss" contestants | Alena Kvetová |
| Miluse Zelená | |
| Marie Slívová | |
| Hana Hanusová | |
| Hana Kuberová | |
| Anna Liepoldová |
Credits
| Director | Milos Forman |
| Executive producer | Rudolf Hájek |
| Screenplay | Jaroslav Papousek, Milos Forman, Ivan Passer and Vaclav Sasek |
| Cinematography | Miroslav Ondrícek |
| Assistant director | Jaroslav Papousek |
| Camera | Eduard Kaderábek |
| Production manager | Jaroslav Solnicka |
| Makeup | Rudolf Hammer |
| Costumes | Zdena Snajdarová |
| Art director | Vladimir Mácha |
| Music | Karel Mares |
| Set designer | Karel Cerny |
| Editing | Miroslav Hajek |
| Sound | Adolf Böhm |
Disc Features
- New digital transfer, with restored image and sound
- Video interview with director Milos Forman
- A behind-the-scenes look at the transfer process, featuring cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek, and comments from Milos Forman
- New and improved English subtitle translation
From the Current
The Firemen’s Ball
by Feb 11, 2002The last, best, and funniest movie Milos Forman would make in his native Czechoslovakia, The Firemen’s Ball is a deceptively simple miniature. This 73-minute movie, its premise scarcely more than an anecdote, finds an entire universe in the benefit gala staged by a group of...
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