Lidice (film)

Lidice
United Kingdom poster
Directed byPetr Nikolaev
Written byZdeněk Mahler
Screenplay by
Based onThe Man Who Survived Lidice
by Zdeněk Mahler
Produced byAdam Dvořák
Starring
CinematographyAntonio Riestra
Edited byAdam Dvořák
Music by
Production
company
Movie
Distributed byBioscop
Release date
  • 2 June 2011 (2011-06-02) (Czech Republic)
Running time
126 minutes
Countries
  • Czech Republic
  • Slovakia
LanguageCzech
Budget70,000,000 Kč

Lidice (also known as The Butcher of Prague and Fall of the Innocent in the UK) is a 2011 Czech drama film produced by Adam Dvořák from a screenplay by Zdeněk Mahler.[1] It was initially directed by Alice Nellis, but after she contracted Lyme disease (borreliosis), Petr Nikolaev took over. It tells a story involving the Nazi massacre at—and destruction of—the Czech village of Lidice. It was released in June 2011.[2] The film is streaming on Amazon Prime under the title Fall of the Innocent (US, 15 April 2018).

The budget of the film was around 65–70 million Kč (around US $4 million).[3]

Plot

The film is presented as a true story set during World War II. With the German takeover of Europe under way, the deputy Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich arrives in Prague and his underlings begin enforcing his authority in the towns and villages across the occupied country. In Lidice, the film's main protagonist, František Šíma, is sent to prison following a family dispute that boils over resulting in the accidental death of one of his sons. During Šíma's incarceration one of the other villagers, Václav Fiala, strings along his mistress with lies about his bravery as a resistance fighter against the Germans. Heydrich is assassinated and during the Gestapo investigation that follows, a letter Fiala has written describing his supposed heroism comes to their attention. It leads to the total destruction of Lidice and the mass execution and deportations of its citizens. Throughout the atrocity, Šíma remains in jail, where news of what happened is kept from him. On his release, he returns to Lidice, where he finds the village has been obliterated and finally learns of the tragic events.

Cast

Production

Filming started on 26 July 2010 at the Mladá Boleslav prison, with Karel Schwarzenberg attending the first cut. The shoot lasted 49 days and involved locations including Nové Strašecí, and a secondary school in Kladno.[4] The scenes portraying Lidice were shot at the village of Chcebuz near Štětí.[5]

The first promotional posters appeared at the film festival in Karlovy Vary 2010 on 8 July 2010.[6]

References

  1. ^ Smith, Ian Hayden (2012). International Film Guide 2012. p. 100. ISBN 978-1908215017.
  2. ^ "Lidice měly premiéru, Nikolaev na ní poděkoval původní autorce Nellis". Mladá fronta DNES. Czech Republic. June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  3. ^ Milovník Felliniho; Pasoliniho a (18 May 2009). "Alice Nellis natáčí film Mamas & Papas". Lidové noviny. Czech Republic. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  4. ^ "V Mladé Boleslavi se začal natáčet film Lidice". České noviny (in Czech). Czech Republic. Archived from the original on 10 August 2010.
  5. ^ "Ve Chcebuzi jsou filmaři. Točí tady dramatické scény z Lidic". Deník (in Czech). 26 August 2010. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Vary ukázaly Lidice na plakátu, vévodí mu kráska Issová a synovrah Roden". Mladá fronta DNES. Czech Republic. 9 July 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2011.