Discover the best of Czech cinema, film, and television
Discover the definitive list of popular and critically-acclaimed movies and TV shows from Czechia. Find your next binge-watch, streaming on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Prime Video, and other top services!
The cinema of Czechia
Czech cinema is a world of mischievous humour and profound humanity, a film culture with one of the most celebrated artistic legacies in all of Europe. Its international reputation was cemented forever by the legendary Czechoslovak New Wave of the 1960s. This was a breathtaking burst of creative freedom, led by brilliant directors like Miloš Forman, who would later conquer Hollywood, and Jiří Menzel, whose masterful tragicomedy Closely Watched Trains won an Academy Award. They specialised in a unique kind of observational comedy, finding the absurdity and poetry in everyday life. But the Czech creative soul has another, wonderfully strange side: a world-class tradition of animation. The surrealist genius Jan Švankmajer, a master of stop-motion, has influenced visionary filmmakers globally. On a gentler note, Zdeněk Miler’s adorable creation, Krtek (The Little Mole), has charmed children in countless countries for generations. This cinematic excellence roared back after 1989, earning another Oscar for Jan Svěrák's touching film Kolya. The era also produced beloved national comedies like Cosy Dens (Pelíšky), which have become essential viewing, and a rich tradition of fairytale films that are a cherished part of every Christmas. What makes Czech cinema so special is this remarkable ability to find the surreal in the everyday and the comedy in heartache. It’s an intelligent, witty, and deeply soulful cinema.
Best Czech series
Wasteland 2016
When Hana Sikorova, mayor of a northern Bohemian village, stands up to a large coal mining concern that offers villagers large compensation in exchange for abandoning their houses built on land containing brown coal deposits, her fourteen year old daughter Misha disappears. The search for her daughter makes Hana suspicious of the whole community, after years of peaceful coexistence. Under the pressure of unfolding events, the community starts to fall apart and show its true face. Solving the mystery divides the story into several interweaving narratives that ultimately connect in unexpected ways.
73MOST! 2019
Divorced man Ludek is surprised when he reconnects with his brother after several years.
82The Sleepers 2019
In this spy thriller, Marie and her husband Victor return from exile to Czechoslovakia on the cusp of the Velvet Revolution — but when the couple gets in a car accident, Marie wakes up from a coma to find her husband mysteriously gone.
69Burning Bush 2013
Based on real characters and events, this haunting drama focuses on the personal sacrifice of a Prague history student, Jan Palach, who set himself on fire in protest against the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1969. Dagmar Burešová, a young female lawyer, became part of his legacy by defending Jan's family in a trial against the communist government, a regime which tried to dishonour Palach’s sacrifice, a heroic action for the freedom of Czechoslovakia.
68Comeback 2008
Comeback is a Czech television sitcom which premiered on TV Nova on September 4, 2008.
81Případy 1. oddělení 2014
77
Best Czech movies
The Bourne Identity 2002
Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?
80The Brothers Grimm 2005
Folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. However, they are put to the test when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.
61The Devil Conspiracy 2023
A powerful biotech company has breakthrough technology allowing them to clone history’s most influential people with just a few fragments of DNA. Behind this company is a cabal of Satanists that steals the shroud of Christ, putting them in possession of Jesus’ DNA. The clone will serve as the ultimate offering to the devil. The Archangel Michael comes to earth and will stop at nothing to end the devil’s conspiracy.
57Restore Point 2023
It’s 2041 and the gaps in social and economic inequality have left the world on the brink. A breakthrough in science has given humanity the ability to bring victims of a violent crime back to life by backing up their brain every 2 days. This allows an ambitious, young detective the opportunity to solve a case of a murdered couple when the restoration team is able to bring one of them back.
64Cosy Dens 1999
Two families, Sebkovi and Krausovi, are celebrating Christmas, but not everyone is in a good mood. The teenage kids think that their fathers are totally stupid, and the fathers are sure that their children are nothing more than rebels, hating anything they say.
85The Painted Bird 2019
After losing his parents, a young Jewish boy wanders Eastern Europe, seeking refuge during World War II.
74