Evald Schorm

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]

Evald Schorm
Born(1931-12-15)15 December 1931
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Died14 December 1988(1988-12-14) (aged 56)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter, actor
Years active1959–1988

Biography

Schorm was born into a farmer 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. 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, Courage for Every Day which dealt with the disillusionment 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 The 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 only worked as a stage director.[2] He was involved with many Prague theatres, 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), and at the Janáček Opera House Brno for posthumous premiere in 1971 of Martinů's film opera Les trois souhaits,[4] 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

Fiction film

Documentary
  • Blok 15 (1959) - 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 (1963) - a short film about the Czech photographer Josef Sudek.[5]
  • Proč? (1964)
  • Reflection (1965)
  • Odkaz (1965)
  • Žalm (1966) - a montage of stills from the Old New Synagogue in Prague, to commemorate the tragic destiny of the Jewish people.[6]
  • Carmen nejen podle Bizeta (1968)
  • Etuda o zkoušce (1976)

Television
  • Král a žena (1967)
  • Rozhovory (1969)
  • Lítost (1970)
  • Úklady a láska (1971)
  • Lepší pán (1971)
  • Král jelenem (1977)
  • 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. Jan Schmid. "Evald Schorm – The Theater Man". www.karamazovi.cz. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  3. Český film. Herci a herečky III. díl (S-Ž) (2008), p. 94
  4. Miloš Šafránek. Czechoslovakia - Martinů's opera-film. Opera, September 1971, Vol.22, No.9, p790-792.
  5. Panorama českého filmu (2000), p. 448
  6. Panorama českého filmu (2000), p. 449
  7. "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.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)

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. ProQuest 305008958.
  • 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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