The Rediscovery of Czechoslovak Film

Karol Szymański

Abstract

Szymański argues that the Polish edition of Peter Hames’ Czechoslovak New Wave might, finally, make one of the most important movements in the history of world cinema, widely known and recognized in Poland. The structure of the monograph is based on the analysis of work of individual directors, including those of the older generation and responsible for the creation of so called First Wave. The history of the movement is shown in the full splendor of social, political, cultural and economic contexts of the time, and in relation to earlier and later achievements of the Czechoslovak cinematography. Hames is opposed to presenting the New Wave as a phenomenon which is only a reflection of the trends in the West, and stresses the national traditions and sources of its development. He considers the variety of creative stances, and consequently a great variety of the resulting films to be the characteristic feature of the movement, that hides one unifying feature - namely the aim for the autonomy of the art and its anti-totalitarian character.