Rent Marketa Lazarova (1967)
3.7 of 5 from 106 ratings
2h 39min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Voted the best Czech film of all time, 'Marketa Lazarová' is a powerful and passionate medieval epic set in the mid-13th Century. Based on avant-garde writer Vladislav Vancura's novel, it follows the rivalry between two warring clans, the Kozlíks and the Lazars, and the doomed love affair of Mikolá Kozlík (Frantisek Velecký) and Marketa Lazarová (Magda Vásáryová). Vlacil draws upon remote historical sources to recreate an authentic primitive world and fashion a film with surprising contemporary impact. Owing as much to the stylistic vigour of Kurosawa's 'Seven Samurai' as it does to the rich tapestry of Czech fiction, this ambitious and poetically extraordinary film is the crowning achievement of Vlacil's career and an undiscovered cornerstone of world cinema. - Actors:
- Josef Kemr, Magda Vásáryová, Nada Hejna, Jaroslav Moucka, Frantisek Velecký, Karel Vasicek, Ivan Palúch, Martin Mrazek, Václav Sloup, Pavla Polaskova, Alena Pavlíková, Michal Kozuch, Zdenek Lipovcan, Harry Studt, Vlastimil Harapes, Zdenek Kutil, Frantisek Nechyba, Zdenek Kryzánek, Zdenek Rehor, Jan Pohan
- Directors:
- František Vlácil
- Producers:
- Josef Ouzký
- Voiced By:
- Antonie Hegerlíková, Petr Kostka, Martin Ruzek, Karolína Slunécková, Klaus-Peter Thiele, Marie Tomásová, Ladislav Trojan, Gabriela Vránová
- Narrated By:
- Zdenek Stepánek
- Writers:
- Frantisek Pavlícek, Vladislav Vancura, Frantisek Vlácil
- Studio:
- SECOND RUN DVD
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- A Brief History of Films About Nuns, Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 1, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Czech Films, Top 10 Winter and Snow Films, Top Films
- Countries:
- Czechoslovakia
More like Marketa Lazarova
Reviews (3) of Marketa Lazarova
What was it all about? - Marketa Lazarova review by MD
I was looking forward to seeing this film, but found it incomprehensible. I could see it was trying hard to be realistic, but it was too bleak.
2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Mud, Myth, and Mayhem: Medieval Life Without the Romance - Marketa Lazarova review by griggs
This isn’t a cosy medieval epic. It’s a black-and-white fever dream where the Middle Ages feel wet, hungry, and slightly feral. Christianity is pushing in, older rituals are still clinging on, and “law” mostly means whoever has the horses, the weapons, and the nerve to impose it.
What you get is less a neat story than a plunge into a world of raids, feuds, and shifting loyalties, where people are treated like property and faith sits right next to brutality. It’s unflinching about cruelty, including sexual violence, so that’s worth flagging up.
Vlácil doesn’t hold your hand. The film drops you in the mud and expects you to find your footing: jagged editing, huge widescreen frames, snow, blood, prayer, panic. The narration drifts like a battered chronicle — more myth and mood than explanation.
If you need clear plotting and someone to root for, it can feel like hard work. If you let it wash over you as sensory history with teeth, it’s weirdly unforgettable.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Really hard to Interpret - Marketa Lazarova review by CD
This film gets great reviews and is artistically acclaimed. The winter backdrop and constant snow sets the scene for a rather grim tale. Even with subtitles I struggled to make much sense of it and found it difficult to watch without the assistance of the fast forward button. I cannot do the film justice in my review as some bits I skipped through, and I am sure that film students will enjoy it far more than I did. For mediaeval epics I would recommend the Ingmar Bergman films, especially "The Seventh Seal" and "The Virgin Spring".
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.