Best Czech music movies

In a small kingdom where King William and Queen Olivia are perpetually away, corrupt councilors Ferenc and Lorenc exploit their power by piling on ever-higher taxes, only to have their unjust levies thwarted by the noble robber Karaba, who ambushes the tax collectors and returns the stolen money to the people. After the birth of his daughter Anička, Karaba retires his highwayman’s tools and resumes life as a humble potter, even as the royal couple welcomes a son, Jakub, and the ministers’ greed threatens to draw him back into defending the common folk.

An army deserter and a soon-to-be high school graduate embark on an ill-fated romance in this musical film set in the '60s.

Documentary maker Jan Holman follows the ultrafamous singer/songwriter Jaromír Novahica during his tour with the band Cechomor. The combination is very succesful, but it draws a heavy toll on the band members and Jan Holman.

A period musical comedy set in a quiet Prague quarter at the end of the fifties. Using the western plot device of the "man from nowhere" a generation gap story unfolds of changing social climate. The action is driven by the character of a young man named Baby who causes a local rebellion by bringing rock'n'roll to a Communist neighborhood raised on swing.

The year is 1764. For over a year, Josef has been leading a precarious life in Venice. He hopes to become an opera composer. The city, full of talented and already-established composers, seems closed to him. Looking for work as a violinist, he comes into the orbit of a rich young woman. Thanks to her, he gets the opportunity to play at salons. But his real opportunity arises when he becomes the lover of a libertine marquise. She teaches him worldly manners, rids him of signs of a provincial upbringing and introduces him to a hedonistic existence free from religious intolerance. Thus transformed, Josef gets an incan incredible commission: to write an opera for the San Carlo, Europe's largest theatre.

In a land of two kingdoms - one ruthless under King Vladan’s conquests, the other hidden behind a magical lake and ruled by kindly King Dobromil - Queen of Fire enchants Princess Mariana in living flame to force Dobromil’s hand in ceding the kingdom’s fabled Ruby Heart. Desperate, Dobromil uses a magic ring to summon the ever-jovial Tadeáš from Vladan’s realm; Tadeáš braves the flames, rescues Mariana, and wins her heart, only for their triumph to be threatened once more.

A musical by Ondřej Soukup and Gabriela Osvaldová, starring Lucie Bílá as Joan of Arc. Based on the legend of the French national heroine, the world-famous musical Joan of Arc was created. It became the biggest event on the Prague musical scene in 2000.

"Good Morning, My Dear," "Farmers," "It Didn't Hurt," "Yum," "The Pilot," and many others. The unique and original musician and singer David Stypka from Dobrá near Frýdek-Místek wrote many powerful and hit songs. Exactly two years after his death, Stypka's hits were performed in the Gong multifunctional hall in Ostrava in orchestral arrangements by Jan Lstibůrek, performed by the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava, conducted by Stanislav Vavřínek, and the band Bandjeez. Stypka's closest musical companions – Ewa Farna, Mirai Navrátil, and Kateřina Marie Tichá – took turns at the microphone. They also performed a joint rendition of Stypka's hit "Kříž" at the end of the concert, following up on their legendary performance at the Czech Music Academy Awards – Anděl in 2021.

The band LUCIE – a musical, cultural, and social phenomenon, winner of the most prestigious awards – announced its return to the stage. On a monumental stage, in its original and most famous lineup, it reminded its fans of the greatest hits of its long and successful career.

Artistic rendering of a major concert by Pražský výběr at the O2 Arena with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

The famous composition by Jakub Jan Ryba and illustrations by painter Josef Lada in an animated film celebrating the birth of Jesus. Among the villagers and shepherds rushing to Bethlehem are Mikeš the cat, Kmotra Liška, Mulisákův Bubáček, the mayor, the shoemaker, the chimney sweep, and other well-known characters by Josef Lada.

In 2019, the rock band Kabát celebrated an impressive 30 years on the music scene. With its original lineup intact, the band treated itself to only five concerts for its anniversary, but they were "damn big" ones. The performance at Prague's Eden Arena on June 22, 2019, offered a cross-section of hits from the successful career of the five musicians from Teplice, who once again confirmed that their spontaneous energy can create a thrilling live show.

This feature-length film with songs for the whole family will not only educate, but also entertain and get everyone dancing. We will learn the hours with the song Tik Ťak and exercise to Hejbni kostrou. We will run around like Pejsek and Kočička, and everyone will keep one secret to themselves with the song Šušušu. The Tooth Fairy will visit us, and then we will set off on an adventurous treasure hunt to the land of fairy tales with our new friend, the dog Ňufáček. We will meet Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood. We will teach the proud princess magic words and teach all the bugs to eat with Mňamáček. And because we are friends, we will dance together to the song Jájájá.

Young man in the prison is obsessed with a singer who is to perform in a new musical its director is currently auditioning for. He escapes and through complex and often very funny series of events ends up being the main star of the musical, only to be discovered by the police the day before the premiere...OK, enough spoilers! The story keeps going on... Lots of great dialogs, awesome music and singing, and ever-twisting story (plus, the parallels between the play's script and the real story) makes this one of the most enjoyable Czech movies I've seen in years (and I've seen many)! Definitely check it out if you like comedy, drama, musicals, and theater.

The ancient biblical story of the construction and fall of the Tower of Babel, tragic fates, intolerance, but also the search for love and hope in a television recording of a musical by the Brno City Theater.

Delicate poetry and politically incorrect humor presented by a popular actor and singer-songwriter from Ostrava in the hall of Prague's Forum Karlín.

Documentary about the Czech band Chinaski.

The unmistakable voice of the eleven-time Anděl Award winner, first-class musicians, and songs that flow across musical genres in a concert experience from Brno's Sono Music Club... The concert, recorded on November 28, 2022, at the SONO Music Club in Brno, is the culmination of Dan Bárta & Illustratosphere's concert tour for their joint fifth studio album, Kráska a zvířený prach (Beauty and Stirred Dust). This mutually inspiring and authentically creative community of musicians included not only new songs in the program, but also a selection of some older atmospheric hits from their more than twenty-year musical career. Enjoy Bárta's refined vocal performance and a fusion of virtuosically played original compositions on the domestic scene, combining pop rock, jazz, soul, and funk with intimate poetry in the lyrics, just like hundreds of fans in one of the most acoustically perfect halls in the country.

The young Zuzanka, Honzik and Goat look for the children's parents, whom the devil has apparently kidnapped to punish them for producing devilishly good goat cheese. However, the children find their parents not in hell, but in the castle, where they must make cheese for Kobyl, the king's advisor. Kobyl gained the king's good graces thanks to the cheese. After a dangerous and corny adventure, Kobyl ends up in hell and the family members are reunited.

A recording of the Olympic band's concert celebrating 55 years of performing, which took place on December 9, 2017, at the O2 Arena in Prague.

In this TV film, the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is resented by Antonio Salieri.

The film follows the staging of the opera Olimpiade while at the same time exploring the dramatic life of its composer Josef Mysliveček, a friend and teacher of W. A. Mozart.

The story takes place in two kingdoms—Tatranský and Vltavský. The royal parents of the former have a son of marriageable age, while the latter have a daughter at an age when princesses are most interested in choosing a noble groom, preferably at a lavish ball. However, Princess Liduška is interested in only one thing in the whole world—her beloved carrier pigeons. She devotes all her time to them, and the only man she communicates with, of course via pigeon post, is an unknown fellow breeder. But Prince Vranko is also not interested in getting married and ascending the throne... And to top it all off, the clever maneuvers that Liduška and Vranko use to thwart their parents' wedding plans are complicated by a magical duo—the wizard Čaro and the witch Boska.

Violinist Aleksey Igudesman and pianist Hyung-ki Joo in a unique comedy show combining humor, classical music, and references to popular culture. A program in which they subject Sergei Rachmaninoff to their relentless but respectful scrutiny.

'Mnaga - Happyend' is a crazy pseudo-documentary about Mnaga&Zdorp, a real (and much loved) Czech pop-rock group. It depicts their fictitious history of being created artificially, on demand of the musical market.

With intimate interviews and archival footage, this portrait of Polish-Czech pop star Ewa Farna captures the days before the biggest show of her career.

Prague, 1983. The communist regime, in a suffocating atmosphere ruled over by the secret police, imposes "normalization". Miki and David need some kind of motivation to carry on in the communist wasteland. They discover The Clash's album 'London Calling' and, of course, decide to set up a punk band. But playing punk during normalization in Czechoslovakia isn't the best idea, an opinion shared not only by their horrified parents. Many decisions made under the influence of cheap alcohol and compulsive music could be more fatal than they initially seemed. A story about the revolt of some 18-year-olds against authority, against social norms, against adult duties and responsibility. It is about the search for one's own models and values. Although based on personal experiences from the early 1980s, it could have taken place at any time and anywhere, and is more than likely taking place somewhere right now.

A surprisingly intimate portrait of how the dream of running one’s own business can take on monstrous contours. Managed by the father of one of the singers, over the course of five years the girl band 5Angels had reached the gates of pop fame. But it is a path paved not only with the songs of Michal David, but also with the dogged determination of a man who loses any notion of where his role as manager ends and his role as parent begins. An emotionally moved Karel Gott, five angelic girls, and one overly involved father, thanks to whom the behind-the-scenes pre-Christmas atmosphere melts away just as rapidly as the fat should disappear from the belly. “A singer can’t be a lard bucket!”

Yallah! Underground follows some of today’s most influential and progressive artists in Arab underground culture from 2009 to 2013 and documents their work, dreams and fears in a time of great change for Arab societies. In a region full of tension, young Arab artists in the Middle East have struggled for years to express themselves freely and to promote more liberal attitudes within their societies. During the Arab Spring, like many others of this new generation, local artists had high hopes for the future and took part in the protests. However, after years of turmoil and instability, young Arabs now have to challenge both old and new problems, being torn between feelings of disillusion and a vague hope for a better future.

The story, set mainly in the picturesque surroundings of a First Republic swimming pool, offers many surprises in the form of unexpected performances by acting and singing stars, who pay tribute to the lady of Czech swing.

A documentary about Karel Gott that offers an unconventional view of the master. We will show you that he was not only a divine singer, but also a man who loved humor and exaggeration. And most importantly, he was able to make fun of himself. Tereza Kostková will be your guide through the program. We will present skits and humorous dialogues with Karel Gott and our comedians, an unconventional approach to songs and duets where viewers would not expect to see Karel Gott. We will also add a few gems that the audience may have forgotten. His music and smile will never fade!

Renee Fleming stars in Dvorak's three-act opera based on two fairy-tales which tells the story of a water-nymph called Rusalka (Fleming), who wishes she was human, after falling in love with a mortal.

Concert of Karel Gott to celebrate his 70th birthday.

A film full of songs and melodies ranging from folk roots to contemporary rock, set in the Czechoslovak-Polish border region, in the rugged but charming region of Těšín Silesia, where a man's word still carries weight, women's charm has been irresistible since time immemorial, and music has its irreplaceable place. In short, it is a magical region for seemingly ordinary stories that are nevertheless unique and interwoven with deep humanity and happy endings...

Three chords, three countries, one revolution...PUNK IN AFRICA is the story of the multiracial punk movement within the recent political and social upheavals experienced in three Southern African countries: South Africa, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Young artist Dan dreams of success, but for now he is serving community service cleaning the city. His boss is Kristián Hovorka, who works with Ota in the Technical Services Department at the Pilsen City Hall, where they are responsible for cleaning the city. Dan meets Betka at a disco, and Kristián is attracted to Dan's pretty sister Danka, who is always cleaning up after her brother. But not everything goes according to plan. Betka's jealous friend and her boyfriend Robert decide to complicate everything with an unfair game. And while Danka and Kristián are looking for a way to finally settle down in the "turbulent waters of life," Kristián's father Láďa and Betka's charming aunt prove to the whole world that age is just a number. In addition, Kristián is waiting to right an old wrong, as advised by his best friend Lenka, and to find a "way" to his daughter Jitka.

Highlights from the mega concert organized by Impuls radio at Prague's O2 Arena on October 19, 2019.

The life story of Marta Kubišová as a musical, broadcast live from the Summer Stage of the Kampa Museum in Prague, based on real events in the life of Marta Kubišová. On stage, we meet not only the two remaining Golden Kids, but also Jan Němec, Jan Moravec, Alexander Dubček, and Václav Havel.

Dracula arrives in Los Angeles to drain Hollywood of blood. Van Helsing is looking for Dracula to revenge his dead father. Lucy is missing in action and Mina is …

Students from the Prague Conservatory leave for a workshop in the picturesque South Bohemian countryside, where they are placed before a demanding task, from which only some of them will emerge successful and they will then continue in their dream to be famous. Each of them will find their true path to happiness.

Dracula is an adaptation, first published in 1996, by American playwright Steven Dietz of Bram Stoker's novel by the same name. Though it has never run on Broadway, the author lists it among his most financially successful works, and it is frequently performed near Halloween in regional and community theaters.

The seven members of the gypsy band Lomnické Čháve come from a Roma settlement and dream of making it big. Sensitively observed and with uplifting music the film tells the story of their journey, struggles, enthusiasm, failures and perseverance.

At a roadside inn, the wandering knight Dan and his squire Vítek meet two offended former ministers of the Forest Kingdom. They complain that the young princess Jelena, who recently took the throne, spends her time hunting with her female companions, but hates men and does not want to marry—and with a capricious woman on the throne, the country will soon come to a bad end. This intrigues the young men—they have never met Amazons before—and so they set off for the capital city.

A cheerful fairy tale with songs about magic and a tangled search for a missing baron. All it took was one petty argument, a little absent-mindedness, and Lady Valentina of the princely Rybenský family accidentally turned her fiancé, Baron Lumír Mokřenský, into a donkey. Such a mishap must be kept secret, especially since Valentýna has no idea how to reverse the spell. She prefers to let everyone think that Lumír ran away before the wedding and that she keeps the donkey as a pet...

Ninth-grader Nikola, along with her younger sister Aneta and their father, are moving to a new city. This means changing schools and finding new friends. Nikola is starting ninth grade in an unfamiliar environment where she has to earn her place. However, it is not easy for her, because the girls are led by Majda, who resents the fact that the class idol Šimon has begun to discreetly eye the new student.

This film traces the life of Jan Kapr, a prominent Czech composer of the 20th century. A documentary opera with an ambitious libretto and playful and refined editing work, Kapr Code is an unexpected celebration of creativity that shakes up our ideas of biography and pays tribute to the importance of resisting homologation and censorship through art and creation.

Car Men is a collaboration between the renowned choreographer Jíri Kylían and filmmaker Boris Paval Conen. Based on the opera 'CARMEN' by Georges Bizet they shot a hilarious and poetic short film in the destroyed landscape of a Czech brown coal mine. The actors in this film are older dancers from Kylían's troupe (around 50 years old) and the main prop is a 'TATRA 87', a famous car from 1937.

Karel Gott's concert is undoubtedly part of the Christmas tradition on Czech Television. The broadcast recording took place, as usual, at Lucerna in Prague on December 8 and 9 as part of the "Christmas Concerts – Karel Gott 1996" tour. Songs from the album "Zázrak vánoční" (Christmas Miracle) and the CD "Belcanto" were performed, as well as the ever-popular older hits and lovely guests invited by K. Gott to his program – Marta Kubišová, Petra Janů, Ilona Csáková, and Leona Machálková. The performances were accompanied by two orchestras – Karel Gott's Orchestra, conducted by M. Talián, and the Czech Christmas Symphony Orchestra, conducted by F. Preisler. And what would Christmas be without Christmas songs and carols? Of course, Karel Gott did not forget about them either. They will be the traditional highlight of the entire program, which will certainly contribute to the Christmas atmosphere in your home.