Poster Designs / Sixties – Antonín Dimitrov. The Story of Film Posters.

Film posters in history. Sixties poster designs.

Poster Designer / Antonín Dimitrov

Graphic Art / Painting / Set Design / Typography

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Collage poster, The Cremator, 60s Poster art
The Cremator movie poster by Antonín Dimitrov, 1968.

   ***

  • b. 27th February 1928, Mšecké Žehrovice/Rakovník, Czech Republic
  • d. 27th December 2014, Bobcaygeon, Canada
  • lived in Canadian exile from 1968

Education:

  • 1945 – 1953, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Antonín Strnadel)

Exhibitions:

  • until 1968 mostly Prague exhibitions
  • Toronto, Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (member), Canada, 1991
  • London / United Kingdom

***

In few of our recent articles we have discussed absurdity and inappropriate behaviour of Communist leaders. Terrifying act of those in power and their constant fight towards fictional enemy was very systematical. In country as small as Czechoslovakia it was not impossible to succeed.

***

Film poster, Four in a Circle, Collage poster
Four in a Circle movie poster by Antonín Dimitrov, 1967.

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Similarly to Jan Brychta, Antonín Dimitrov’s profile was simply deleted. Second successful attempt of leaving the country in 1968 took Antonín Dimitrov with his wife Olga to Canada. His first try when he and his soul mate swam across the river Danube to neighbouring Austria, just to get caught and handed in to Russian soldiers, cost him several years in prison and forced labor.

Before their disappearance, Antonín Dimitrov and his wife worked professionally as a set and costume designers in various theatres across the country. Antonín’s rebellious nature has been proved several times. Exclusion from the Art Academy for his incorrect political views (note: even the students had to be the members of Communist party. Same applied to parents, if there was a non member in the family, studying at higher education was impossible. Not talking of grand parents.) and his unsuccessful immigration right after that are only few examples of his misbehaviour.

***

Vintage movie Poster, Antonin Dimitrov
Sign of the Cancer movie poster by Antonín Dimitrov, 1967.

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His collaboration with Czechoslovak New Wave directors, specially with Juraj Herz must have also spiced the soup up. Juraj Herz’s Cremator was the movie Communist could not swallow, similarly to other two titles in the showcase. In cases when the Communists decided to ban the movie everything would go off the shelf. Film director, author of the script / writer and the same destiny would meet the film poster.

Movie posters of Antonín Dimitrov are reflecting the times utterly. His posters are incredibly attractive, no matter if he touches the scissors or the paint brush. Excellent typographer and master of the blend, his virtues are sensibly hidden mostly in the collage. His posters are missing on one thing, there are only very few of them. He possibly did not design more than ten movie posters.

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Documentary Poster, 1970s Poster Art
Masters of Congo Jungle movie poster by Antonín Dimitrov, 1967.

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Even though Antonín Dimitrov luckily led succesful life in the exile. As a set designer he and his wife worked on numerous theatre and opera productions. He was also head of the design programme at the prestigious Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana[^1] . But for Czechoslovak film poster his departure was a great loss. Many fascinating artists remained and learn how to overcome the situation, while building one of the most impressive poster archive in design history. It would be truly interesting to see what else could Antonín Dimitrov pull out of that hat.

***

Surreal Poster, 1960s Poster Art
The Limping Devil movie poster by Antonín Dimitrov, 1968.

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Note: this showcase is part of our ongoing article Film posters / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters.

Available posters by artist or other fascinating film posters designed for Czechoslovak New Wave.

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Resources:

Literature:

  • plenty with zero results

Online:

  • abArt / Antonín Dimitrov / Big thanks to abArt for their research on invisible.
  • Royal Canadian Academy of Arts / list of members since 1880
  • [^1]:  Obituary of Antonin Dimitrov, Hendren Funeral Homes, Norwood and Bobcaygeon, Ontario / it is sad when only biography on artist can be found in his obituary.  Beautifully written, one should take a look.

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Similar Posts

  • Poster Designs / Sixties – Vladimír Bidlo. The Story of Film Posters.

    Film posters in history. Sixties poster designs.

    Poster Designer / Vladimír Bidlo

    Painting / Graphic Art / Illustration

    Vladimír Bidlo, Sweet Bird of Youth, Original Film Poster
    Sweet Bird of Youth movie poster by Vladimír Bidlo, 1962.
    • 19th of October 1926, Kouřim, Czech Republic
    • 1997, Prague, Czech Republic

    Education:

    • 1945−1950, State Graphic School, Prague
    • 1945−1950, Charles University, Prague (Faculty of Pedagogy / Art?)
    • 1945−1950, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (prof. F. Tichý)

    ***

    Sixties poster design brought in many interesting artists coming also from other art disciplines. Czech illustrator, graphic and poster artist Vladimír Bidlo is certainly one of them. His adventurous repertoire of film posters starts somewhere in the beginning of 1960s and extends to the mid 1970s. Vladimír Bidlo’s film posters are proving his incredible talent for drawing and illustration (The Appaloosa, below). He also falls for photography and mix the two delicately as can be seen on his earlier film posters.

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    ***

    We believe poster design for Miloš Forman’s The Firemen’s Ball had to resonate together with the film on its premiere in Cannes 1968, poster depicts the film perfectly. Too controversial for the Communists, film was banned and reappeared again by the end of the 1980s, same for the poster. Film posters created for majority of banned films were designed by the most appealing artists of the time. It is hard to tell if designing of film posters for censored movies had any effect on their future art profession. Vladimír Bidlo’s main focus laid on book illustration and after producing several dozens of excellent film posters he fully returned to that.

    ***

    ***

    Note: Artist’s showcase is part of our ongoing article Film posters / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters..

    Available film posters by Vladimír Bidlo.

    ***

    Resources:

    For shop and blog highlights, please SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter.

  • Poster Designs / Sixties – Adolf Born. The Story of Film Posters.

    Film posters in history. Sixties poster designs.

    Poster Designer / Adolf Born

    Painting / Stage Design / Illustration / Graphic Art / Caricature / Animation

    Film poster, Adolf Born, 60s poster design
    Virgin Soil Upturned – Adolf Born, 1960.

       ***

    • b. 12th of June 1930, České Velenice, Czech Republic
    • lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic

    Education:

    • 1949−1950, Charles University, Prague (Faculty of Pedagogy / Art?)
    • 1950−1953, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (Pelc Antonín)
    • 1953−1955, Academy of Fine Arts, Prague (Pelc Antonín)

    Awards:

    • many, mostly for his animated films and book illustration (few shown bellow)
    • 1974, caricaturist of the year, Montreal
    • 1979, Golden Apple, Book Illustration Biennials, Bratislava
    • 1985(?), Gold Medal, IBA, Leipzig
    • 1988, Honorary Artist

    Film posters designed: 19 (1959-1989)[^1]

    ***

    FIlm poster, Adolf Born 60s poster artThe Smallest Show on Earth – Adolf Born / Oldřich Jelínek, 1960.

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    To meet with the fantastic world of Czech artist Adolf Born in former Czechoslovakia was not as complicated. One only had to get born there and the ticket for his show was lying in front of you. His visual presence was absolutely everywhere. Book illustrations and television programme was provided for the smallest audience and for those older ones there were magazines covered with his caricatures. He has also made the older population interested into watching animated films for the children.

    Adolf Born’s work is well known also to international spectator. His book illustrations (over 400 books) and animated films (by the 1980 he produced 45 of them)[^2] visited many countries and have taken part in many exhibitions. Humorous depiction is very characteristic in his work. Adolf Born is here to make you smile.

    His film poster portfolio extends from early 1960s all the way to mid 1990s, with limited number designed. Adolf Born was preoccupied with other things. Film posters were possibly only other commission he was getting from the art union, where every illustrator/graphic had to be a member. Very few, but all very impressive. If the film poster was not made for the World War II film, it would definitely leave one with the grin on the face.

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    Burning Daylight, J.London, cover by Adolf Born
    Front cover for the Burning Daylight / Jack London, illustrated by Adolf Born, 1970.

    [^3]

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    Note: this showcase is part of our ongoing article Film posters / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters.

    Available posters by Adolf Born or other interesting film posters designed in Sixties.

    ***

    Resources:

    Literature:

    • [^1]: Flashback / Czech and Slovak Film Posters 1959-1989, ed. Libor Gronský, Marek Perůtka, Michal Soukup, Olomouc Museum of Art, 2004. (p.45)
    • [^2]: BIB, Bienále Ilustrácií / Biennale of Illustration ’79 ’81, Bratislava; Anna Horváthová, Mladé Letá, 1983 (p.60)
    • [^3]: Burning Daylight / Jack London; Lidová knihovna, 1970

    Online resources:

    • abArt / Adolf Born
    • Český Rozhlas / Czech Radio Broadcast (archive full of interviews with Adolf Born)

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  • Poster Designs / Sixties – Jiří Balcar. The Story of Film Posters.

    Film posters in history. Sixties poster designs.

    Poster Designer / Jiří Balcar

    Painting / Graphic Art / Typography

    The Death of Tarzan, Film poster, 60s Poster Art
    The Death of Tarzan movie poster by Jiří Balcar, 1962.

    ***

    • 26th of August 1929, Kolín
    • 28th of August 1968, Prague

    Education:

    • 1947-1948, Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague
    • 1948-1953, Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague (prof. F. Tichý, F. Muzika)

    Awards:

    • 1960, The most beautiful book of the Year, (Brno ?)
    • 1962, Toulouse-Lautrec Prize, Paris (film poster Moby Dick)
    • 1964, Honorable Mention, First Czechoslovak Showcase of Poster and Promotional Graphic Art, Brno[^1]

    Film posters created: 34 (1960-1967)[^2]

    ***

    Excellent 60s poster design by Jiri Balcar
    This Year in September movie poster by Jiří Balcar, 1963.

    ***

    Czech artist Jiří Balcar could easily belong to one of the most fascinating poster designers of the Sixties. It’s hard to judge by the small number of his posters in our collection, but his artwork as we are finding out, spreads all across the globe (short list bellow). Internationally started off at Farleigh Dickinson University in Madison (New Jersey) where he took part in International Invitational Seminar of Art, followed by exhibition in New York in 1964[^3] , Berlin (1965-66) and Wien (1966). Paris exhibition in Musée d’Art Moderne (1969) was held soon after his early death in 1968.

    A wide spectrum of his artistic experiments are brought in from the painting and are reflected in his poster designs. Extensive use of letter templates, sometimes broken into separate parts, wise and bright selection of colours (unless Monochromatic, or sensible mix of both), unconventional use of photography and perfect understanding of space. His faceless figures, motif reappearing on several of his paintings, could become alive only on the film poster.

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    Movie poster, The Dacians, 60s poster design
    The Dacians movie poster by Jiří Balcar, 1967.

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    Jiří Balcar was the member of several art groups.

    ***

    His artwork takes place in collections of museums and galleries worldwide. We have picked little selection with direct links.

    • The Baruch Foundation (impressive collection of Jiří Balcar‘s portfolio and other artists from behind the “Iron Curtain”), Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • The British Museum, London, United Kingdom
    • Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
    • Czech Museum of Fine Arts, Prague, Czech Republic
    • Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York, USA
    • National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA
    • Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark
    • Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA
    • Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

    ***

    Note: this showcase is part of our ongoing article Film posters / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters.

    Sixties film posters available in our shop.

    ***

    Literature:

    • [^2]:  Flashback / Czech and Slovak Film Posters 1959-1989, ed. Libor Gronský, Marek Perůtka, Michal Soukup, Olomouc Museum of Art, 2004. (p.41)

    Online resources:

    ***

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  • Poster Art / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters. Take 2.

    Poster art in the history. Story of the Czechoslovak film poster in few takes.

    When the Cat Comes / directed by Vojtěch Jasný, 1963
    When the Cat Comes, directed by Vojtěch Jasný, 1963

    ••

    The ideas of cultural revolution of the Sixties were gently spreading across the Czechoslovakia. The death of Stalin resulted in major positive cultural and political changes. Revealing political crimes of the 1950s helped many to react. Cultural institutions were breathing in fresh air and for almost whole new decade possibilities were gradually becoming reality. Country was getting back in bloom and ready for the new era that would bring many significant names in literature, film and art in general.

    ••

    ••

    Film poster and its visual quality was always present, however “Brussels style” brought in some vitality to poster art. Bright pastel colours and curvy shapes were welcoming cinema enthusiasts on the way to see the films. There was a special platform dedicated to film posters with 6 posters always on display.[^1] Poster art gallery on the street, if one wants to think. Understanding of newly approaching contemporary cinema also made huge impact on the look of the future poster art. After all photography and film were both sharing so much, not to mention the film frame. Photography was drastically changing its status in poster art and was very often becoming part of the collages, or similar innovative techniques developed by new thinkers.

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    • Foreign films were filling up the cinemas, however the choice was very limited. Films criticising western society made by the controversial film directors were the most preferable.

    ••

    Film festivals, International reputation, Good bye Stalin!

    Sixties brought in various alternative films from behind the Iron Curtain. Visually diverse films were screened in the cinemas across the country and have been admired by many. Culture was adopting new ways of expression and started to imply them further more in daily practise. Names such as Jean Luc-Godard, Luis Bunuel, Michelangelo Antonioni or Federico Fellini were resonating in freshly introduced film magazines, that were not lacking the visual quality of those printed in the West. Rich content was provided by healthy criticism, something unheard of in the past.

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    Cinema Magazines from Sixties. Cinema Art.
    Good looking magazines with great content appeared in 1960s.

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    Appearance of the Czechoslovak films on International film festivals didn’t wait for long. In 1961 first Slovak film A Song About the Grey Pigeon / Stanislav Barabáš enters the Cannes Film Festival.[^2] Followed by the colourful award winning musical When the Cat Comes / Vojtěch Jasný (Cannes, 1963) and The Shop on Main Street / Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos (Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, 1965). Together with directors as Otakar Vávra or Evald Schorm they were paving up beautiful path for forthcoming generation.

    ••

    ••

    Czechoslovak New Wave. Sun in the net.

    [quote]”We had a feeling that literature is far ahead of the film, mean Slovak film, you know. That it is necessary to find the contact with writers and involve them in Slovak film production. Albert Marenčín”[^3][/quote]

    Light was getting green also for the young film graduates at FAMU (Film faculty, Prague). Immense visual response to the current state of the country was phenomenal. In some cases maybe mere innocent poetic experiments, but the “real film” could not overlook the situation and reality seemed pure irony at the time. Great source of motivation was coming from the literature, many “lost authors” like Alfonz Bednár, Bohumil Hrabal, Jan Johanides, Milan Kundera, Dominik Tatarka and others were giving young film makers valuable hints. By the mid sixties Czechoslovak New Wave was already established. Young directors were influenced by everything worth of observation and wanted to add it to their art. Although the work of Czechoslovak New Wave was praised by international critics, at home with Communist power and their “relevant values” behind the back they were finding great difficulties. Majority of their films were banned right after the premiere and most of those films would not see the screening room until 1989. In many cases their activity was completely stopped, some of them emigrated (Miloš Forman, Jan Němec). Very similar destiny was following the poster art and its creators. Among few of many representatives of New Wave Cinema in Czechoslovakia belongs Věra Chytilová, Dušan Hanák, Elo Havetta, Juraj Herz, Juraj Jakubisko, Jaromil Jireš, Pavel Juráček, Jiří Menzel, Ivan Passer, Štefan Uher, Věra Vihanová, František Vláčil.

    ••

    • Surreal nudity. Very few film posters involved images of naked body.

    • Witchhammer / dir. Otakar Vávra. Different poster designs for the same film.

    ••

    No matter how miraculous they were, pretty much all of the above Czechoslovak films were banned in the late 1960s and onwards. Communists made the shame out of them and they would soon moved all of them to the special archive named “TREZOR” (Communist party safe-deposit box for disturbing material, in this case it was film deposit).

    ••

    Film poster and poster artists. Variety in poster art.

    One of the main reason why Czechoslovak film poster art became so noticeable was the fact that the surrounding of poster making was made up of rich resource. The sixties has given away the opportunity to try out more courageous and innovative forms. Those were adopted by the groups of painters, sculptors, illustrators and graphic designers who used and mixed them in their own fashion. With strong individual approach rather than uniformed style or tendency, poster design became the playground for all. Extensive use of collage, illustration, photography or typography was applied. They all played important role in poster art and would often encounter on the same film poster. The playful and courageous approach was used by many significant poster designers such as Rudolf Altrichter, Zdeněk Chotěnovský, Zdeněk Kaplan, Zdeněk Palcr, Karel Teissig, Karel Vaca or Zdeněk Ziegler. Having been schooled as sculptors, painters, book illustrators, architects or sometimes self-taughts, poster designs were handled in all possible manners. From the dominating titles set across the poster to decomposing the subject into reduced forms.

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    ••

    21.8.1968. Invasion of Czechoslovakia

    The strongest and the most critical films of Czechoslovak cinema emerged in the second half of the sixties. As we know there is no place for criticism in any political regime. Sixties remained a myth for next twenty years and were systematically erased by Socialist invention called “Normalization”. That did not however stop poster designers from carrying on, as Zdeněk Ziegler puts it “all of us had the same enemy, after all”. [^4]

    Before we enter poster art of 1970s, we thought that you might enjoy a little visual intermezzo. Sixties poster artists and detailed description about their studies, exhibitions and related informations are getting together for the next part.

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    • Master Executioner / dir. Paľo Bielik, test print of unrealised version of the 1966 film, with Slovak version of The Seventh Seal / dir. Ingmar Bergman that have possible never seen the light either, printed at the back.

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    [quote]”It is getting even worst. It’s hard to say, where is the end of the road we have not chosen. Somewhere has been decided, that this generation must remain forgotten. Whole army of chief executives and referees gathered together and they all came up with strictly planned programme. Instead of Poledňák there came Purš, instead of Harnach – Šťastný, instead of Kunc – Toman. Common sense refuses to believe it, but for several months, these three gentlemen have been working hard on the disposal of Czechoslovak film. 19.2.1971 / Pavel Juráček”[^5][/quote]

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    Poster art by Jan Meisner, 60s poster
    322 / Dušan Hanák, Jan Meisner, 1969.

    •••

    [^1]:Vratislav Hlavatý for the Czech Radio Interview / 29.3.2013
    [^2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannes_Film_Festival
    [^3]:Albert Marenčín / Golden Sixties, TV document, dir. Martin Šulík, 2009. (Albert Marenčín / artist, writer, surrealist and former director of one of the artistic group of film producers in Slovakia (Produced also Sun in the Net). He was very much responsible for pulling Slovak young film directors to studios in Bratislava)
    [^4]:Zdeněk Ziegler for the Czech Radio Interview / 15.5.2013.
    [^5]:The Key for Determining Dwarfs or The Last Travel of Lemuel Gulliver, dir. Martin Šulík, 2002.

    ••

    Additional research:

    Literature:

    • Flashback / Czech and Slovak Film Posters 1959-1989, ed. Libor Gronský, Marek Perůtka, Michal Soukup,  Olomouc Museum of Art, 2004.
    • Elo Havetta (1938-1975) / Václav Macek, SFÚ, 1990.

    Online web:

    Note: First take on history of Poster art in Czechoslovakia. For shop and blog highlights SUBSCRIBE to our weekly newsletter.

  • Poster Designs / Sixties – Bedřich Dlouhý. The Story of Film Posters.

    Film posters in history. Sixties poster designs.

    Poster Designer / Bedřich Dlouhý

    Fine Art / Graphic Design / Typography

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    Hiroshima Mon Amour poster, Vintage Movie Poster
    Hiroshima Mon Amour movie poster by Bedřich Dlouhý, 1963.

    •••

    • b. 2nd August 1932, Plzeň (Pilsen), Czech Republic

    Education / Pedagogue:

    • 1949 − 1952, Specialised Ceramics school in Prague [^1]
    • 1953 − 1959, Academy of Fine Arts, Prague (Karel Souček, Miroslav Hollý)
    • 1990 – 1995, taught as professor at Academy of Fine Arts, Prague

    Exhibitions / Awards:

    • up to 70s artist exhibited mostly in group shows across the Europe and Czechoslovakia
    • IV. Biennale de Paris, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 1965 (Awarded)

    Art Groups:

    • Palette of Homeland (unofficial trans.) / Paleta vlasti (Hockey team consisting of several of artist’s friends)
    • Šmídrové (from 1954)
    • Confrontation / Konfrontace (from 1961, also Jiří Balcar)
    • Retarded / Zaostalí (from 1987)

    Film posters created: 23 (1962-1971) [^2]

    •••

    [quote]”It may sound slightly disrespectful, but I am aware that I have a huge wide inventiveness and it makes and justifies me to take interest in many sectors of the art form.” [^3][/quote]

    We are somewhere in mid fifties, in times of the most absurd terror upon democracy, constant greyness (Stalin’s monument in Prague and similar monsters are being raised across the Czechoslovakia) and bleak vision of existence. At the Academy of Fine Art in Prague the group of three interesting characters are meeting up. In the following words we will try to get closer to one of them.

    [quote]”I started out as no one in that field and I was getting jobs for pretty inconsequential films from Romania, Bulgaria and Russia. They were productions of a third or second category. Because of the impressive quality of my work, film poster committee and ÚPF representatives (Formal state film distribution 1957 – 1991) were constantly adding to a momentum. It was reflected in good quality commissions for example for Fellini’s or Visconti’s magnum opus. I had to earn it.” [^4][/quote]

    Bedřich Dlouhý was not such a tyro/novice at the beginning of his poster designing career as he explains in the quote above. By the time he started to design movie posters (1962) his portfolio contained already good body of art work, some important exhibitions and possibly something extra to it. To his future colleagues he must have been known as someone incredibly talented, the man without hesitation and very likely also without compromise.

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    The Fall of Berlin poster designed by Bedřich Dlouhý, 1968
    The Fall of Berlin movie poster by Bedřich Dlouhý, 1968.

    •••

    Neglecting the art

    Among Bedřich Dlouhý’s best early pieces was exhibiting with art group Šmídrové. Their first exhibition in 1954 called Malmuzherziáda (varieté of painting, music and act as we understand) was made in the hardest times of Stalinist propaganda and Social Realism. Jan Koblasa (Czech artist and the member of the group) in the documentary made for Czech Television demonstrates the climate of late fifties as “very dark and grey”. Days in art school, as days among communist collaborators (“recommended working class was gaining high school diplomas to get legal access to Universities). Loneliness among them was unbearable.” [^5] No wonder that the three of them had met under such a circumstances. The group itself had very playful character with Neo Dadaist expression, hockey team and brass band.(Traditional folk music was not in favour of communist propaganda either, they had their own songs full of ridiculous slogans.)

    [quote]“We loathed to look as an artists. We loathed to do things as an artists. We played hockey as part of our manifest Šmídrové. It may sound unbelievable, but the main thing was not to be an artist.” [^6][/quote]

    After their first collaborative exhibition the group was officially established. Show or rather happening in 1957 called “Exhibition for one day” brought in too much controversy. Event had to be cancelled in duration, but it took place elsewhere the following day. On the day one Václav Havel (Czech writer, poet, ex-president) was giving the speech and on the second day he was already taking part with good number of other artists and musicians. Bedřich Dlouhý’s discharge from the Academy followed and lasted for a while.

    Poster days and …

    As for the film poster Bedřich Dlouhý was testing the new medium so intensely as anything else. His posters might appear visually settled and designed in quite minimalist style. In our examples even his typography might look very basic. Less is more, but not for Bedřich Dlouhý’s movie posters. They are full of hidden symbols and impressions even when they seem so simple.

    Please come closer and let’s take a look at his The Fall of Berlin movie poster for instance. Fairly suggestive photograph of burning German capital is taking over the larger part of the poster. Pure catastrophe straight into ones face and quite rightly in monochrome. Message is very simple, anyone could guess what the movie poster offers. Bedřich Dlouhý does not want you to only see the movie but he also wants you to use the rest of your senses.

    [quote]”I enjoyed improvising incredibly.” [^7][/quote]

    He takes your attention a bit further by exploring the large circle in the middle of the rich red bottom half of the poster. Red colour could represent the tons of blood and it is possibly also used to say big STOP. Almost like the red colour on traffic light advising one to stop, only the circle here is empty. Negating reality and pointing out that people will never learn. Or take the circle together with rectangularly shaped photograph. Two objects want to look little something like exclamation mark and set the message to following? STOP THIS! ? Similarly to the inner part of the circle that tells how it could all end up if we do not stop the wars. His movie poster for Hiroshima Mon Amour was designed in absolutely different style, but the poster also suggests close catastrophe.

    •••

     Five Men and One Heart, movie poster by Bedřich Dlouhý, 1970.
    Five Men and One Heart movie poster by Bedřich Dlouhý, 1971.

    •••

    There are not only serious movie posters author has designed, he does not omit humour and irony (posters designed for The Pink Panther / Blake Edwards in 1966 or In the Woods / Akira Kurosawa in 1970 ) [^8] when necessary. He does not use any particular style either, but instead he approaches each individual poster very differently. The one connecting link we have found is that Bedřich Dlouhý’s curiosity does not like to leave things as they are. He wants to get right into to the core of his subject by bringing out the deepest details and he starts from there. He slips between the most complicated expressive forms (techniques frequently used in his paintings) [^9] to the most simple designs masterly. Visual illusion and yet with fantastically clear almost microscopic explanation.

    Even thought Bedřich Dlouhý created some of the most iconic movie posters of the 60s, his unconventional approach to art form did not meet with the official agenda of the following decade. Similarly to many other artists in the beginning of the 70s he was forced to stop exhibiting and discontinued with designing movie posters.

    Note: this showcase is part of our ongoing article Film posters / Made in Czechoslovakia. The story of film posters.

    Available posters designed by the artist.

    •••

    Resources:

    Literature:

    • Collective authors: Czech film posters of 20th century / The Moravian Gallery in Brno, Exlibris Prague, 2004.
    • [^2]: Flashback / Czech and Slovak Film Posters 1959-1989, ed. Libor Gronský, Marek Perůtka, Michal Soukup, Olomouc Museum of Art, 2004. (p.49). 25 movie posters to our knowledge.
    • Tomáš Vlček: Současný Plakát / Contemporary Poster, Odeon, Prague, 1976.
    • Československý Plakát / Czechoslovak Poster, exhibition catalogue, Olomouc (Czech Republic), 1967. One of the most important poster exhibition in the history of Czechoslovak poster design. We wish to return back to catalogue and give it a full blog post once we are ready.

    Online:

    • [^1]: abArt / Bedřich Dlouhý / see for the full list of exhibitions. abArt takes always first place and star when it comes to research.
    • [^3]: / [^4]: Czech Radio Archive / offers few of his interviews
    • [^5]: / [^6]: / [^7]: Fenomém Underground / Underground Phenomenon (unofficial title), Collective authors, 2012. Documentary made for Czech Television. 52 min.
    •  [^8]: Filmový plakát (Bedřich Dlouhý) / excellent archive of Czechoslovak poster art

    Additional research:

    • for Pinterest users, some posters are available to see in our board
    • [^9]: Museum Montanelli, Prague / Return of the King, exhibition 2015

    •••

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  • Movie posters by Jaroslav Fišer and his collaboration with Věra Chytilová

    Poster art by Jaroslav Fišer for Věra Chytilová’s films.

    We can hardly hide our excitement about BFI’s wonderful retrospective of one of the most innovative Czech filmmakers Věra Chytilová. It is also a very good opportunity to introduce the work of Jaroslav Fišer, prolific graphic designer and author of several posters for her films.

    Jaroslav Fišer studied at the Technical University in Prague and at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design, Prague, former Czechoslovakia. During 1959 – 1987 Jaroslav Fišer designed 104 movie posters and his poster for film The Apple Game won a Silver Hugo at the International Film Festival in Chicago, USA.

    BFI’s tribute to the director is organised in collaboration with Czech Centre, London and Czech National Film Archive and is on from 1st March – 17th March 2015.

    Movie posters designed for Věra Chytilová’s films:

    Selection of movie posters by Jaroslav Fišer:

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