Evald Schorm

Evald Schorm
Born (1931-12-15)15 December 1931
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Died 14 December 1988(1988-12-14) (aged 56)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Occupation Film director, screenwriter, actor
Years active 1959–1988

Evald Schorm (15 December 1931 – 14 December 1988) 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.[1][2]

Biography

Schorm was born into a peasant family, and spent his childhood at the family farm in Elbančice near Mladá Vožice. 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 the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU). He graduated in Film direction in 1963, together with other future members of the Czech New Wave.[3] 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 long-lasting collaboration.[3] 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.[3] 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 the 1970s and 1980s he was regarded as too "politically undesirable" to be involved in Czech filmmaking, and therefore concentrated more on stage direction.[2] 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.

Filmography

Documentary
  • Blok 15 (1959 . 8mins) - a documentary on construction workers at the Orlík 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 (Living Your Own Life) (1963 . 13mins) - a short film about the Czech photographer Josef Sudek.[4]
  • Proč? (1964 . 29mins)
  • Zrcadlení (1965 . 32mins)
  • Odkaz (1965 . 17mins)
  • Žalm (1966 . 14mins) - a montage of stills from the Old New Synagogue in Prague, to commemorate the tragic destiny of the Jewish people.[5]
  • Carmen nejen podle Bizeta (Carmen Not Only According To Bizet) (1968 . 25mins)
  • Etuda o zkoušce (1976 . 18mins)
Fiction film
  • Každý den odvahu (Courage For Everyday) (1964 . 1hr25mins)
  • Perličky na dně (Pearls of the Deep) segment "Dům radosti" (House of Joy) based on Bohumil Hrabal's work (1965 . 22min segment)
  • Návrat ztraceného syna (Return of the Prodigal Son) (1966 . 1hr43mins)
  • Pět holek na krku (Five Girls Around the Neck) (1967 . 1hr28mins)
  • Farářův konec (End of a Priest) (1969 . 1hr38mins)
  • Den sedmý, osmá noc (The Seventh Day, the Eighth Night) (1969 . 1hr43mins)
  • Zmatek (1969)
  • Vlastně se nic nestalo (In Fact, Nothing Happened) (premiered posthumously) (1989 . 1hr26mins)
Television
  • Král a žena (1967)
  • Rozhovory (1969)
  • Lítost (1970)
  • Úklady a láska (1971)
  • Lepší pán (1971)
  • Král jelenem (1977)
  • Bratři Karamazovi (The Brothers Karamazov) (1981)
Actor

Theatre direction

Činoherní klub Theatre:

Laterna Magika 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

  • Comedy, Satire, Irony and Deeper Meaning
  • The Eternal Husband
  • Thirteen Scents
  • The Twelve Chairs

Malo kazalište Trešnja in Zagreb (1982)

Notes

  1. ↑ "The Reticent Guest Evald Schorm". Festival of Czech Films Finále. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  2. 1 2 Jan Schmid. "Evald Schorm – The Theater Man". www.karamazovi.cz. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Český film. Herci a herečky III. díl (S-Ž) (2008), p. 94
  4. ↑ Panorama českého filmu (2000), p. 448
  5. ↑ Panorama českého filmu (2000), p. 449
  6. ↑ "About the making of the movie "Joke"". Portal of Prague. Retrieved 8 January 2009.

References

  • Fikejz, Miloš (2008). Český film. Herci a herečky III. díl (S-Ž) (in Czech). Prague: Libri. ISBN 978-80-7277-353-4.
  • Ptáček, Luboš (ed.) (2000). Panorama českého filmu (in Czech). Olomouc: Rubico. ISBN 80-85839-54-7.

Further reading

  • Grapko, Andrea Marea (2005). Director Evald Schorm : subversion of classic theatre texts as a means of political dissent in the Czech lands (Thesis/dissertation). University of Colorado.
  • Fryš, Miloš (1992). Filmy Evalda Schorma (in Czech). Prague: Český filmový ústav. ISBN 80-7004-063-7.
  • Bernard, Jan (1994). Evald Schorm a jeho filmy: odvahu pro všední den (in Czech). Prague: Primus. ISBN 80-85625-27-X.
  • Denemarková, Radka (1998). Evald Schorm: sám sobě nepřítelem (in Czech). Prague: Nadace Divadla Na zábradlí. ISBN 80-238-3679-X.
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