
Otakar Vávra
Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. Vávra attended universities in Brno and Prague, where he studied architecture. During 1929–30, while still a student, he participated in the making of a handful of documentaries and wrote movie scripts. In 1931, he produced the experimental film Světlo proniká tmou. The first movie he directed was 1937's Panenství. His 1938 film The Merry Wives was praised in Variety for "first-rate direction, a salty yarn and elaborate production effort", even though it had undergone certain cuts because it was considered too "ribald" by American censors. Vávra was a member of the Communist Party from 1945 to 1989. After the Communists seized power in 1948, Vávra adapted quickly to the new political climate and produced films praising the current regime and supporting the new, official interpretation of the past. In the 1950s he filmed the "Hussite Trilogy", one of his most famous works, consisting of Jan Hus (1954), Jan Žižka (1955) and Against All (1957).[2] In the 1960s, Vávra made his most celebrated films Zlatá reneta (1965), Romance for Bugle (1966) and Witchhammer (1969). Romance for Bugle was entered into the 5th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Special Silver Prize. In the 1970s Vávra produced his "War Trilogy" consisting of semi-documentary movies Dny zrady, Sokolovo and Osvobození Prahy, all being heavily influenced by communist propaganda. The film Dny zrady (Days of Betrayal, 1973) was entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Diploma. In 1979 he was a member of the jury at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival. Since the 1950s Vávra taught film direction at Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Among his students were several directors of the "Czech New Wave".
- Known ForDirecting
- Born28 February 1911 (age 114)
- Place of BirthHradec Králové, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]
Otakar Vávra

- Known ForDirecting
- Born28 February 1911 (age 114)
- Place of BirthHradec Králové, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]

CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel
2018

Searching for Ester
2005
Moje Praha
2002
Evropa tančila valčík
1989

The Great Movie Robbery
1987

Veronika
1986

Oldrich and Bozena
1985
Barrandovské nokturno aneb Jak film tančil a zpíval
1985

Komediant
1984

Putování Jana Amose
1983

Dark Sun
1980

A Story of Love and Honor
1978

The Liberation of Prague
1977

Sokolovo
1975

Days of Betrayal
1973

Witchhammer
1970

The Thirteenth Chamber
1969

Romance for Bugle
1967

Golden Queen
1965
Horoucí srdce
1963
August Sunday
1961

The Night Guest
1961

Policejní hodina
1961
Národní umělec Zdeněk Štěpánek
1960

První parta
1960

Občan Brych
1959
A Box of Film
1958

Against All
1957

Jan Žižka
1956

Jan Hus
1955
Nástup
1953
Láska
1949

Silent Barricade
1949

Krakatit
1948

Presentiment
1947

The Adventurous Bachelor
1946
Cesta k barikádám
1946

Rozina the Love Child
1945
Vlast vítá
1945
Návrat presidenta dr. Edvarda Beneše do Prahy 16. května 1945
1945

Happy Journey
1943

Přijdu hned
1942

Okouzlená
1942
Turbina
1941

May Fairy Tale
1940

The Girl in Blue
1940

Pacientka dr. Hegla
1940

The Masked Lover
1940

The Magic House
1939

Humoreska
1939

The Guild of the Kutná Hora Virgins
1938

Virginity
1937

History of Philosophy
1937

Camel Through The Eye Of A Needle
1937
Listopad
1935
We Live in Prague
1934
Modern shoe production
1931
