Jiří Suchý

Theatre personality, musician, poet, writer, graphic artist, collector, self-professed clown, eternally young in spirit – all this is Jiří Suchý, one of the key figures of the domestic cultural scene over the last six decades. He has put on 97 plays at the Semafor theatre and has written the lyrics for 1,400 songs and the music for 500. Today, in an era beset by an onslaught of images that are often of questionable worth, this legendary figure’s tireless efforts to enrich the Czech language and its poetic nuances have been of inestimable value. Olga Sommerová lays before us Suchý’s prolific creative and civic journey through life with the subtle distinctiveness we have come to expect; she also demonstrates her singular flair for capturing exceptional moments.

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The young couple Uli and Vanilla want to split up, but lust and money get in their way.

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Jiří Suchý recalls two of the most prominent artistic and creative figures in Czechoslovak culture of the last century: Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich.

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On Saturday, October 12, 1996, Miroslav Donutil welcomed a sold-out crowd to Prague's Lucerna Hall, bringing his guests and friends onto the stage with him. Among them were Jiří Suchý and the Semafor Theater Orchestra, Jiří Sovák, Iva Bittová, Hana and Petr Ulrych with the band Javory, Miloš Štědroň with the original band of the Na provázku Theater, Bambini di Praga, and others. The program also included the presentation of two platinum records for 120,000 copies sold of the albums "Pořád se něco děje" and "Furt ve střehu," released by Multisonic. The evening, with its unique atmosphere, was recorded by Czech Television.

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Jonáš, an aging comedian, wanders the restored Semafor theater lost in memories of his glory days. He finds unexpected inspiration in Melicharová, a music-loving cleaner who joins him in sketches and songs drawn from their stage show. Interwoven with archival clips from Semafor’s past productions and earlier TV projects, their collaboration sparks a poignant musical reunion.

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This distinctive documentary portrait of Prague extolls the beauty, significance and spirit of the ancient city adopting modern way of life. The form and content of the film share a common underlining principle. The author doesn't simply list out the sequence of events, but rather approaches them in a broader context of their historic implications and circumstances. The content of the film covers a large period from the pagan times to these days. The facts are grouped under several general headings (paganry, the spread of Christianity, renaissance, baroq and modern times) with allusions to the modern life of Prague and Praguers that has its roots in those times.

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A New Year's Eve television variety show from late 1978.

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A 50-year-old foreign trade executive meets a 20-year-old student at a trade fair in Brno. The relationship triggers confrontational memories of his own youth and ideals...

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A dreadful story about a pub keeper's daughter named Kacenka who liquidates a herd of robbers and so revenges for the death of her father. The commentary of the film imitates the style of old folk shopkeepers'songs.

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A short animated movie from 1970 depicting a "grotesque image of the eternal longing for adventure and romance".

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The theft of a pearl necklace and subsequent murder took place at the Tartaros cabaret. All this could compromise the minister, who is an admirer of the singer Clara. The real culprits must be found as soon as possible...

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A New Year's Eve television variety show from late 1978.

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The female employees of the poultry-processing factory find relief from their monotonous work in chatting about weddings and marriages. The very young Zdena (Marta Vancurová), too, dreams about a white veil and an entourage of bridesmaids. On her return home from work, she runs into a peculiar man on an abandoned road who pertinaciously offers to read her palm for a few crowns to buy soup. His augury is rather usual - wealth and poverty, suffering and happiness. Then however, he declares that Zdena must marry exactly on 3 November of that year otherwise she will be unhappy.

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The theft of a pearl necklace and subsequent murder took place at the Tartaros cabaret. All this could compromise the minister, who is an admirer of the singer Clara. The real culprits must be found as soon as possible...

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A military base. An awkward soldier. A statue of Bach. And suddenly all guns in the area change into music instruments. Great mystery is immediately found by TV station. And soon the military base becomes a stage for huge TV show.

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The word recital was supposedly coined by the piano virtuoso Ferenc Liszt for a solo performance. In the introduction, lyricist Jiří Suchý emphasizes that although this program is dedicated to two artists, only one of them will perform, namely himself. He performs in songs that were set to music by his colleague Jiří Šlitr (1924–1969). The audience can thus once again be reminded of the enormous musical talent of this Czech composer, instrumentalist (an excellent pianist), singer, actor and artist, whose life ended prematurely at the age of just 45.

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Two closely related episodes. Youths make problems for two local orchestras about to compete nationally, and in a talent competition a young girl gets stage fright, while another lies to her boss to compete.

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A television adaptation of the successful 1961 Semafor Theatre performance of the same name. The Zuzana who listens to songs from a tape recorder and meditates on them is Zuzana Stivínová. The songs by Jiří Suchý and Jiří Šlitr, which were performed by the theatre stars of the time, became hits and are still sung today. Who doesn't know "Aria of the Moon", "Little Kitten", "Na konče seděla kočka", "Ach, ta láska nebeská", "Zuzana" and many others.

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