The Firemen's Ball (1967)
"Horí, má panenko" (original title)

The fire department in a small town is having a big party when the ex-boss of the department celebrates his 86th birthday. The whole town is invited but things don't go as planned. Someone ... See full summary »

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Milos Forman (screenplay), Jaroslav Papousek (screenplay),

Stars:

Jan Vostrcil, Josef Sebánek, Josef Valnoha

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan Vostrcil	...	Head of Committee
Josef Sebánek	...	Committee Member #2
Josef Valnoha	...	Committee Member
Frantisek Debelka	...	Committee Member #1
Josef Kolb	...	Josef
Jan Stöckl	...	Retired Fire Chief
Vratislav Cermák	...	Committee Member
Josef Rehorek	...	Committee Member #4
Václav Novotný	...	Committee Member
Frantisek Reinstein	...	Committee Member
Frantisek Paska	...	Committee Member
Stanislav Holubec	...	Karel
Josef Kutálek	...	Ludva
Frantisek Svet	...	Old Man
Ladislav Adam	...	Committee Member

Storyline

The fire department in a small town is having a big party when the ex-boss of the department celebrates his 86th birthday. The whole town is invited but things don't go as planned. Someone is stealing the prizes to the lottery and the candidates for the Miss Fire-Department beauty contest are neither willing nor particularly beautiful.

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Plot Keywords:

beauty contest | party | fireman's ball

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Taglines:

A Masterpiece from Czechoslovakia

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia Italy

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

29 September 1968 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Firemen's Ball and Lottery

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carlo Ponti Cinematografica, Filmové studio Barrandov

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Banned in 1968 by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.8 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"From Me to you"
(uncredited)
Written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
Played by the band at the ball

User Reviews

A masterpiece indeed.

This film is great taken at face value. One does not really need to know anything about Czechoslovakia or the time period to appreciate its brilliance, the same way one does not need to know much about Medieval Denmark to appreciate Shakespeare's Hamlet. Therefore, I wish some of you here would refrain from making all kinds of clever comments about communism or how this film attempts to ridicule it. It's a simple story that is both hilarious and tragic, and it could have taken place anywhere. After all, human greed, dishonesty and stupidity are all around us. It just so happens this film was made in Czechoslovakia in 1967 by a Czech director, but the message is universal, and that is what makes it so great. So, to those of you who try read a whole bunch of stuff into it, please drop the condescending western attitude and just enjoy this gem of a movie without analyzing it too much.