Jan S. Kolár

Jan S. Kolár (11 May 1896 – 30 October 1973) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, actor and film historian. He directed a big budget historical film St. Wenceslas.

Jan S. Kolár
Born(1896-05-11)11 May 1896
Prague, Austria-Hungary
Died30 October 1973(1973-10-30) (aged 77)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
NationalityCzech
OccupationFilm director
Screenwriter
Actor

Life

Jan Stanislav Kolár was born Jan Nepomucký Josef Kohn in a Jewish family in Prague. The whole family converted to Christianity and changed their surname to Kolár. He studied law at Charles University and graduated in 1921. His favorite directors of the silent era were D. W. Griffith and Paul Wegener. He started directing films in 1917.

The most important surviving Kolár's films are a crime drama The Poisoned Light, a fantasy horror The Arrival from the Darkness, and a historical film St. Wenceslas. He stopped directing after 1929 and later worked as a studio executive in a nationalized film industry and then as a film historian in Czech Film Archive. He continued to act in supporting roles until his retirement in 1964. [1]

In 2018 a DVD boxset with seven of Kolár's films was released by Czech Film Archive.[2]

Selected filmography

Director and Screenwriter
YearTitleDirectorScreenwriterNotes
1917Polykarp's Winter AdventureYesYesShort film
1918The Oriental Languages' TeacherYesYesShort film
1919Teddy Would Like to SmokeNoYesShort film. Considered lost.
Lady with the Small FootYesYesCo-directed with Přemysl Pražský.
Alois Wins the LotteryNoYesConsidered lost.
Chord of DeathYesYesConsidered lost.
1920The Missing LettersNoYes
The Song of GoldYesYesConsidered lost.
1921The Cross by the BrookYesYes
The Poisoned LightYesYesCo-directed with Karel Lamač.
The Arrival from the DarknessYesYes
The Torn PhotographYesYesShort film
1922The Maharajah's PleasureNoYesConsidered lost.
The Dead are LivingYesYesConsidered lost.
1925ParnasieNoYes
The Sun DisciplesNoYes
1926The Three Loves of Řina SezimováYesYes
1928Eve's DaughtersNoYes
1929St. WenceslasYesYes
1937BlackmailerNoYes

References
  1. "Jan S. Kolár". Filmový přehled (in Czech). NFA.
  2. Martin Šrajer (2018). "Otrávené světlo a Příchozí z temnot na DVD". Filmový přehled (in Czech). NFA. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
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