Closely Watched Trains [Criterion Collection]

Director: Jiri Menzel Jiri Menzel

Overview

"Jiri Menzel's Oscar-winning drama Closely Watched Trains comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer. The Czech soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. English subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include the original U.S. theatrical trailer. Although there are few extras, the high quality of the picture and the sound are everything consumers have come to expect from Criterion. Anyone with an interest in world cinema should certainly check out this fantastic release."

Product Details

Release Date:	09/18/2001
UPC:	0037429161524
Original Release:	1966
Source:	CRITERION COLLECTION
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[monaural]
Language:	English
Time:	1:33:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Vaclav Neckar	Milos Hrma
Jitka Bendova	Masa
Vladimir Valenta	Max
Josef Somr	Train Dispatcher Hubicka
Vlastimil Brodsky	Counselor Zednicek
Jiri Menzel	Dr. Brabek
Libuse Havelkova	Max's Wife
Alois Vachek	Novak
Jitka Zelenohorska	Zdenka
Ferdinand Kruta	Masa's Uncle
Kveta Fialova	Countess
Nada Urbankova	Victoria Freie
Marie Jezkova	Actor
Josef Sommer	Actor
Jiri Sust	Composer

Technical Credits

Jiri Menzel

Bohumil Hrabal

Jiri Menzel	Director,Screenwriter
Zdenek Oves	Producer
Bohumil Hrabal	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Ostre sledované vlaky is a rarity -- a internationally acknowledged masterpiece made in a Communist-dominated country at the height of the Cold War. Set in Czechoslovakia during the Nazi occupation, the film nonetheless has a light-hearted tone seldom found in films set in so grim a time. The protagonist, a young railway worker named Milos (Vaclav Neckar), goes through many normal coming-of-age events and a few abnormal ones: volunteering for suicide missions could easily put a halt to further maturity. The film was more popular with international critics than with Czech government officials, who were openly disdainful of the acclaim that it received. Honors collected by Ostre sledované vlaky included a Best Foreign Language Oscar, where it won over another Communist-made film, Skupljaci Perjathe, a Romany-language motion picture produced by Yugoslavia.