7.2/10
1,880
2 user 21 critic

Black Peter (1964)

Cerný Petr (original title)
| Comedy, Drama | 17 April 1964 (Czechoslovakia)
Black Peter Poster
Reality movie of a few days in the life of a Czech teenager when he starts work.

Director:

Milos Forman

Writers:

Milos Forman, Jaroslav Papousek

Stars:

Ladislav Jakim, Pavla Martinkova, Jan Vostrcil | See full cast & crew »
Reviews

On Disc

at Amazon

2 wins. See more awards »

Photos

See all 15 photos »
Learn more

More Like This 













If Only They Ain't Had Them Bands
Feb 28 1964
◄ Prev 6 Next 6 ►

Next »
Loves of a Blonde (1965)
Comedy | Romance | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X  

A factory manager in rural Czechoslovakia bargains with the army to send men to the area, to boost the morale of his young female workers, deprived of male company since the local boys have... See full summary »

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Hana Brejchová, Vladimír Pucholt, Vladimír Mensík
Next »
The Firemen's Ball (1967)
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Jan Vostrcil, Josef Sebánek, Josef Valnoha
Next »
Audition (1964)
Documentary | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Two closely related episodes. Youths make problems for two local orchestras about to compete nationally, and in a talent competition a young girl gets stage fright, while another lies to her boss to compete.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Jirí Suchý, Jirí Slitr, Marketa Krotka
Next »
Taking Off (1971)
Comedy | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X  

Unable to deal with her parents, Jeannie Tyne runs away from home. Larry and Lyne Tyne search for her, and in the process meet other people whose children ran away. With their children gone... See full summary »

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry, Georgia Engel
Next »
Valmont (1989)
Drama | Romance
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an... See full summary »

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Colin Firth, Annette Bening, Meg Tilly
Next »
Ragtime (1981)
Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X  

A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nostalgic events in early 1900s New York City.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: James Cagney, Elizabeth McGovern, Howard E. Rollins Jr.
Next »
Hair (1979)
Comedy | Drama | Musical
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Claude Bukowski leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly embraced into the hippie group of youngsters led by Berger, yet he's already been drafted. He soon falls in love with Sheila Franklin, a rich girl but still a rebel inside.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo
Next »
Goya's Ghosts (2006)
Biography | Drama | History
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X  

Painter Francisco Goya faces a scandal involving his muse, who is labeled a heretic by a monk.

Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård
Next »
Intimate Lighting (1965)
Comedy | Drama | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X  

One of the most important images of the Czech New Wave 60s, which was ranked among the top ten domestic films of all time. Feature debut screenwriter and director Ivan Passer is currently ... See full summary »

Director: Ivan Passer
Stars: Zdenek Bezusek, Karel Blazek, Miroslav Cvrk
Next »
Diamonds of the Night (1964)
Drama | War
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

Diamonds in the night is the tense, brutal story of two Jewish boys who escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. Ultimately, they are hunted down by a ... See full summary »

Director: Jan Nemec
Stars: Ladislav Jánsky, Antonín Kumbera, Ilse Bischofova
Next »
Visions of Eight (1973)
Documentary | Sport
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7/10 X  

Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Claude Lelouch's take on Olympic losers and ... See full summary »

Directors: Milos Forman, Kon Ichikawa, and 6 more credits »

If Only They Ain't Had Them Bands
Feb 28 1964
Next »
If Only They Ain't Had Them Bands (1964)
Documentary | Short | Comedy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X  
Director: Milos Forman
Stars: Jan Vostrcil, Frantisek Zeman, Vladimír Pucholt
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ladislav Jakim ... Petr
Pavla Martinkova Pavla Martinkova ... Asa
Jan Vostrcil ... Petr's father
Vladimír Pucholt ... Cenda
Pavel Sedlacek Pavel Sedlacek ... Lada
Zdenek Kulhanek Zdenek Kulhanek ... Zdenek
Frantisek Kosina Frantisek Kosina ... Shop manager
Josef Koza Josef Koza ... Mason master
Bozena Matuskova Bozena Matuskova ... Petr's mother
Antonín Pokorný Antonín Pokorný ... Thief
Jaroslav Kladrubsky Jaroslav Kladrubsky ... Stockkeepper
Frantiska Skalova Frantiska Skalova ... Customer
Jaroslav Bendl Jaroslav Bendl ... Mara
Majka Gillarova Majka Gillarova ... Asa's friend
Jaroslava Razova Jaroslava Razova ... Girl
See full cast »
Edit

Storyline

Petr is 17 years old and starts work as a security worker against shoplifting in a busy self-service shop. His boss gives him pretty basic instructions, and Petr is pretty unsuccessful at work. He doesn't do much better at the dance hall either, and at home his bombastic father lectures him about how useless he is. Written by Hazel Freeman <hazel@sabrina.demon.co.uk>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

teenager | young man | 1960s | shoplifting | satire | See All (22) »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

Certificate:

See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

Add content advisory for parents »
Edit

Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

17 April 1964 (Czechoslovakia) See more »

Also Known As:

Black Peter See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmové studio Barrandov See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
Edit

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A cseh új hullám (1990) See more »

Soundtracks

Normálne
Music by Miroslav Duchac
Lyrics by Vladimír Dvorák
Performed by Markéta Petránková
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

 
Black Peter
10 January 2012 | by Martin Teller – See all my reviews

This brought to mind CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS, another early Czech New Wave film about a teenage apprentice who's none too excited about his work. Both are coming-of-age comedies with some moments of awkward teen romance. This film (Forman's first feature) actually predates Menzel's, and has more of a freeform, anecdotal structure. Although not explicitly a commentary on Communism, Petr's distaste for spying on customers clearly has some political implications. The film has a gentle, naturalistic pace with scenes that have a nice attention to detail. Ladislav Jakim struck me as a fine young actor, and I liked how the rival boy gradually developed into a more sympathetic character (particularly during the dance scene, which was my favorite part of the movie). Jan Vostrcil, the wonderful lead in Firemen's Ball, perhaps lays it on a little thick as the overbearing father, but it's a somewhat humorous performance. Although the comedy is quite mellow and subdued, there are a few laugh out loud moments. Unfortunately, the Facets DVD sports an ugly transfer, and woefully incomplete subtitles. Entire swaths of dialogue went by without translation.
10 of 11 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 2 user reviews »
Getting Started | Contributor Zone »

Contribute to This Page

Stream Trending TV Series With Prime Video

Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video.

Start your free trial


Clear your history

Recently Viewed