Vladimir Valenta Movies
- 1988
- R
- Add The Unbearable Lightness of Being to Queue Add The Unbearable Lightness of Being to top of Queue
In Philip Kaufman's surprisingly successful film adaptation of Czech author Milan Kundera's demanding 1984 best-seller, Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Tomas, an overly amorous Prague surgeon, while Juliette Binoche plays Tereza, the waiflike beauty whom he marries. Even though he's supposedly committed, Tomas continues his wanton womanizing, notably with his silken mistress Sabina (Lena Olin). Escaping the 1968 Russian invasion of Prague by heading for Geneva, Sabina takes up with another man and unexpectedly develops a friendship with Tereza. Meanwhile, Tomas, who previously was interested only in sex, becomes politicized by the collapse of Czechoslovakia's Dubcek regime. The Unbearable Lightness of Being may be too leisurely for some viewers, but other viewers may feel the same warm sense of inner satisfaction that is felt after finishing a good, long novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, (more)
- 1984
- R
Listed as a 1984 release in most sources, Vengeance is Mine was filmed in 1976. As the leading character, a taciturn farmer, Ernest Borgnine offers something of an extension of his characterization in the 1955 melodrama Violent Saturday. The farmer's solitude is shattered when bank robbers invade his farm. Pushed over the edge by the ordeal, the farmer exacts a horrible revenge on the criminals, taking them on one by one. Michael J. Pollard and Hollis McLaren co-star. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
CIA computer technician John Savage seeks revenge for the terrorist killing of his girlfriend. Threatening to make public his insider's information, Savage forces his reluctant bosses to train him in the art of assassination. He then heads into enemy territory (at least, it was enemy territory back in 1982) on a search-and-destroy mission. There is nothing in The Amateur that we haven't seen elsewhere, but Savage and a solid cast of supporting players Christopher Plummer,Marthe Keller, Arthur Hill, Ed Lauter, Nicholas Campbell, Jan Rubes et. al.-- keep the proceedings lively. Robert Littell co-adapted the film's screenplay from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Savage, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1975
In this grim Canadian drama a gentle farmer gets gruesome revenge against a group murderers by capturing and tormenting each of the culprits. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Michael J. Pollard, (more)
- 1974
This Canadian seriocomedy stars Vladimir Valenta as a man going through midlife crisis. He begins spending his evenings at the local zoo, where he stands hours on end observing the wolves. Native American Lawrence Brown shares Valenta's fascination, and together these would-be rugged individualists devise a plan to free the wolves. Unfortunately, the wolves themselves are not as enamored with the Great Outdoors as Valenta and Brown; the contented beasts refuse to leave their cage. Valenta follows suit, resigning himself to the "cage" of his humdrum life. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1972
In this spoof, Canadian politicians and financiers are ridiculed. Smitty (Henry Ramer) has ambitions of becoming an important and immoderately wealthy man. His idea of importance, however, is to become the president of his ethnic society. As for wealth, the path he chooses for that is to bribe or suborn local politicians to clear the way for his shady stock offerings. But between his two-timing wife, his very advanced mistress, and himself, innumerable obstacles to his advancement pop up everywhere. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1968
The Czechoslovakian End of a Priest was released in its country of origin as Fararuv Konec. Vlastimil Brodsky stars as a church bell-ringer with a predilection for dressing up as a priest. A couple of local atheists try to expose Brodsky by setting him up with a prostitute. The phony priest gets wind of the plan and sets fire to the barn where he is to be compromised. The fire kills a sleeping hobo, and Brodsky is accused of murder. The "priest's" end comes as he falls from the roof of the church. End of a Priest was directed by Evald Schorm, characterized by his contemporaries as "the conscience of the Czech New Wave". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jan Libicek, Zdena Skvorecka, (more)
Czech director Jiri Menzel's Closely Watched Trains (Ostre sledovane vlaky) was the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1967. In the story, based on Bohumil Hrabal's novel of the same name, Vaclav Neckar plays a Czech railroad worker during the Nazi occupation. He undergoes several philosophical changes as he becomes attracted to the Czech underground. Determining at last that his own existence hardly matters in the scheme of things, Neckar volunteers for a suicide mission. Ordered by the Czech Communist government to return his Oscar, Menzel refused, opting instead to make a "repentance" film which sang the praises of collectivism. This second film has long since been forgotten, while Closely Watched Trains remains on record as one of the biggest financial successes of the Eastern European Cinema. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vaclav Neckar, Jitka Bendova, (more)
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