Juraj Jakubisko
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Italians and Bergman for Swedish. In his movies he managed to catch the life's most beautiful colors, unhide 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.
Contents |
[edit] 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 FAMU Czech film school, studying direction under Václav Wasserman's tuition. Graduated in 1965. After his studies Jakubisko worked with Alfred Radok at the Laterna Magika theater in Prague and began winning international acclaim with his experimental short films before making his first feature.
In 1967 he produced his first full length feature film Kristove roky.
The promising career of the young director was heavily crippled by the communist regime. He managed to complete only 3 films before he was banned for 15 years, 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 few documentaries. Fortunately the situation got gradually better so that he could film Tri vrecia cementu a živý kohút (1976) although it was not projected until 1978.
His official return to film making was Postav dom, zasaď strom (1980). Jakubisko earned international acclaim with the epic Tisícročná včela (1983). This movie was the 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. It was probably the most visited movie in Slovakia ever. Since then he won further many international awards and earned great respect worldwide.
Recently a lot of gossip and curiosity is generated regarding his current project Bathory. The movie stars Anna Friel as Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th century countess and reputed mass murder (Famke Janssen was originally cast in the title role), seems to become the most expensive film production in the history of Czech or Slovak cinema, involving investments of numerous companies around Europe.
He is often credited also as a screenplay writer as he usually co-writes or writes the scripts of his movies.
[edit] Filmography
for full filmography check imdb
- Bathory (2007) - working title, in production
- Nejasná zpráva o konci světa (1997) (aka An Ambiguous Report About the End of the World)
- Lepšie byt bohatý a zdravý ako chudobný a chorý (1993) (aka It's Better to Be Wealthy and Healthy Than Poor and Ill)
- Dovidenia v pekle, priatelia (1990)
- Sedím na konári a je mi dobre (1989) (aka Sitting on a Branch, Enjoying Myself)
- Frankensteinova teta (1987) TV miniseries (aka Frankenstein's Aunt)
- Perinbaba (1985)
- Tisícročná včela (1983) (aka The Bee Millennium)
- Postav dom, zasaď strom (1980) (aka Build a House, Plant a Tree)
- Vtáčkovia, siroty a blázni (1969)
- Zbehovia a pútnici (1969)
- Kristove roky (1967) (aka Crucial Years)
[edit] Trivia
- Currently based in Prague
- 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.
