CZS36 Czech New Wave

Pan-university studies
autum 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/4/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Petr Boucník
Contact Person: Mgr. Petr Boucník
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 65 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/65, only registered: 0/65
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 12 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives (in Czech)
Various modernist and nationally specific cinemas of the 1960s, frequently labelled as the New Wave, are still fondly remembered as the peak of artistic filmmaking. This course will focus on the Czech (Czechoslovak) New Wave, introducing the phenomenon from industrial, stylistic, narrative, generational, collaborative, and international perspectives. Individual lectures will present key filmmakers associated with the label, not only directors but also writers and screenwriters, directors of photography, actors, and other crucial collaborators. The course will proceed chronologically, starting in the late 1950s, which laid the structural, topical, and aesthetic basis for the filmmaking of the following decade, and concluding in the early 1970s, when the New Wave came to a rather abrupt end due to political reasons. The lectures will accompany weekly screenings from VODs, DVDs or Blu-Rays (with English subtitles).
Learning outcomes (in Czech)
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Identify key authors of the Czech New Wave and their work
- Understand this creative output in broader social, economic, cultural, and aesthetic contexts of the decade
- Explain the concept of modernist cinema
Syllabus (in Czech)
  • 1. political, historical, social, and cultural context surrounding the Czech New Wave.
  • 2. What is modernist cinema? Defining art cinema of the 1960s // introduction to the Czech New Wave phenomenon
  • 3. The teachers and their disciples – FAMU film school and previous generation of filmmakers shaping the New Wave authors and vice versa
  • 4. The state socialist mode of production in the 1960s
  • 5. Slovak authors under the New Wave label
  • 6. Censorship as a dialogue?
  • 7. The characters' typology in the films of the New Wave
  • 8. Innovations on the level of narration and style - part I
  • 9. Innovations on the level of narration and style - part II
  • 10. Key collaborators to the authors – screenwriters, DOPs, and actors – part I
  • 11. Key collaborators to the authors – screenwriters, DOPs, and actors – part II
  • 12. The Czech New Wave comes to an end – political changes and the beginning of normalisation at the Barrandov studios and its persistence in contemporary film culture
Literature
  • SKUPA, Lukáš. Perfectly Unpredictable: Early Work of Věra Chytilová in the Light of Censorship and Production Reports. Studies in Eastern European Cinema 9, 2018, No. 3, pp. 233–249
  • GMITERKOVÁ, Šárka. All Those Silhouettes, Colors, and Hats... : Ester Krumbachová as a Costume Designer. In Jeřábková, Edith; Svatoňová, Kateřina. Ester Krumbachová. první. Praha: Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová, Are, 2021, p. 88-101. ISBN 978-80-88308-47-8. URL info
  • OWEN, Jonathan L. Avant-garde to new wave : Czechoslovak cinema, surrealism and the sixties. 1st pub. New York: Berghahn Books, 2011, viii, 245. ISBN 9780857451262. info
  • MAZIERSKA, Ewa. Masculinities in Polish, Czech and Slovak cinema : Black Peters and men of marble. 1st paperback ed. New York: Berghahn Books, 2010, 249 s. ISBN 9781845455408. info
  • KOVÁCS, András Bálint. Screening modernism : European art cinema, 1950-1980. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007, xii, 427. ISBN 9780226451657. info
  • HAMES, Peter. The Czechoslovak new wave. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1985, x, 322. ISBN 0520048598. info
Teaching methods (in Czech)
Topical screenings, followed by a discussion and a lecture.
Assessment methods (in Czech)
The evaluation is going to have two stages. During reading week (17 - 23 11), students will be asked to watch the film "Our Lovely Pig Slaughter" (Mord, 2024, dir. Adam Martinec) and write an essay. The paper should be between three and five pages. It must identify similarities and differences between New Wave cinema regarding storyline, settings, character construction, values, and meanings. The film will be provided in the study materials with English subtitles. The essay will be due on Sunday, November 23rd.
The second part will take place at the end of the semester. It will be an oral examination, including written preparation consisting of abstracts (max. two paragraphs long) of 10 films, and a resumé from one book/chapter/article listed in the required reading list.
Náhradní absolvování (in Czech)
This course is not available for this option.
Language of instruction
English
Study support
https://is.muni.cz/auth/el/cus/podzim2025/CZS36/index.qwarp
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught every week.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (autum 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/cus/autum2025/CZS36