Juraj Jakubisko

Juraj Jakubisko (b. 30 April 1938, Kojšov, Slovakia) is arguably the most esteemed living Slovak film director, with domestic acclaim said to be equal to that of Fellini for the Italians and Bergman for the Swedes. In his movies he managed to catch life's most beautiful colors, unhinge the poetry behind the ordinary and to be ahead of his time without forgetting his roots. Recently he was several times voted the most significant Slovak film maker ever, by both the critics and the audience.

Career

Before entering the film industry, Jakubisko taught still photography at a Bratislava secondary school for applied arts and worked for a television in Košice. In 1960 he moved to Prague where he attended the FAMU (Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts), [http://web.amu.cz/?r_id=610 FAMU] studying direction under Václav Wasserman's tuition. He graduated in 1965.After his studies Jakubisko worked with Alfréd Radok at the "Laterna magika" [http://www.laterna.cz/welcome.php?lang=en] theater in Prague and began winning international acclaim with his experimental short films before making his first feature "Crucial Years" or "Christ's Years" ("Kristove roky," 1967).

The promising career of the young director was heavily crippled by the communist regime. He managed to complete only 3 films before he was sidetracked in the difficult period following the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion which crushed the Prague Spring reform period in Czechoslovakia. During that period, he made a few documentaries. Fortunately the situation got gradually better so that he could film "Three Sacks of Cement and a Live Rooster" ("Tri vrecia cementu a živý kohút," 1976) although it was not released until 1978.

He returned to feature film-making with "Build a House, Plant a Tree" ("Postav dom, zasaď strom," 1980). Jakubisko earned international acclaim with the epic "A Thousand-Year Old Bee" (sometimes mistranslated as "millennial"; "Tisícročná včela," 1983). This movie was a real event for the country. People of all ages went to see it in mass and the tickets were sold out for many weeks after its release. Since then he won further international awards and earned great respect worldwide. Another popular film still played at the TV is Perinbaba.

Jakubisko is often also credited as a screenplay writer as he usually co-writes or writes the scripts of his movies.

=Báthory (2008 Film)=

Recently a lot of gossip and curiosity has been generated regarding his current project "Báthory". The film stars Anna Friel as Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th-17th century Countess regarded as history's most prolific and bloodthirsty mass murderer. Famke Janssen was originally cast in the title role.

In addition to being Jakubisko's first English-language film,"Báthory" is reported be the most expensive motion picture production in the history of Czech or Slovak cinema, involving investments of numerous companies around Europe.

"Báthory" is scheduled for release in Czech Republic and Slovakia on July 4, 2008 at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and on September 11, 2008 in Hungary.

In 2007 it was reported that two former production staff members, Jan Milic and Karel Lupomesky, stole a copy of "Báthory" from studios in Prague and were threatening to release it on the Internet if they weren't given GB £12,000. They were soon apprehended and the film was recovered, apparently without being prematurely leaked online. After their trial, the pair were given eight and ten month suspended sentences for trying to blackmail producer Deana Jakubiskova-Horvathova [ [http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_2615363.html?menu=entertainment.films Ananova - Blackmailers convicted over sexy Friel film ] ] .

Filmography

for full filmography check [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416036/ imdb]

*"Bathory" (2008)
*"Post Coitum" (2004)
*"Nejasná správa o konci sveta" (1997) ("An Ambiguous Report About the End of the World")
*"Lepšie byť bohatý a zdravý ako chudobný a chorý" (1993) ("It's Better to Be Wealthy and Healthy Than Poor and Ill")
*"Dovidenia v pekle, priatelia" (1970, released 1990) ("See You in Hell, Friends")
*"Sedím na konári a je mi dobre" (1989) ("I'm Sitting on a Branch and I'm Fine") [ [http://www.ce-review.org/kinoeye/kinoeye11old.html Andrew James Horton, "Juraj Jakubisko's "Sedim na konari a je mi dobre."] ]
*"Frankensteinova teta" (1987) TV miniseries ("Frankenstein's Aunt")
*"Perinbaba" (1985)
*"Tisícročná včela" (1983) ("A Thousand-Year Old Bee") [ [http://www.kinokultura.com/specials/3/vcela-bro.shtml Kevin Brochet, "Juraj Jakubisko: "A Thousand-Year Old Bee (Tisícročná včela)" 1983."] ]
* "Nevera po slovensky" (1981) ("Infidelity, Slovak Style;" 2-part TV miniseries)
*"Postav dom, zasaď strom" (1980) ("Build a House, Plant a Tree")
*"Vtáčkovia, siroty a blázni" (1969) ("Birds, Orphans and Fools")
*"Zbehovia a pútnici" (1968) ("The Deserters and the Nomads", aka "Deserters and Pilgrims")
*"Kristove roky" (1967) ("Crucial Years" aka "Christ's Years")

Trivia

*Currently based in Prague. [http://www.jakubiskofilm.com/en/index.php]
*He is often compared to Fellini, sometimes described as the "Fellini of the East". The two were actually friends with mutual admiration. Also the wife of Fellini Giulietta Masina played in one of the Jakubisko's movies (Perinbaba).

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416036/ imdb]
* [http://www.sfd.sfu.sk| Slovak Movie Database]
* [http://www.thebathorymovie.com Bathory website (Non-English)]
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=2meKu7qQNIs&session=8fyqE2WBifx8Gsllpog-OjkVn6CjHQMfILqw7W1gAbQDC2I0Snnh2_6EYqD-gpUpFJkP4jToSVhGKRLx_TAPGJpO9b2rH-LmX6ftQa0Ff8EQhghI-kEPOllR6Odl6TqQdm7i_tHYiUUc0Gh8vRmLNNGqNpTKOE5DRlwuHyy3VGhrCJivbD3LSN4I3NCFupDfsAd0hHapqsUhGq3Wu9FhFlcSymQ-9SiXWtBJdpS0deHkCDR0jjBMQi8e57ies0pC Bathory movie trailer on YouTube (9 min.)]