Closely Observed Trains [Ostre sledované vlaky] **** (1966, Václav Neckár, Josef Somr, Vlastimil Brodský) – Classic Movie Review 6930

Co-writer/ director Jirí Menzel won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1968 for his affecting and entertaining 1966 Czechoslovakian satirical comedy Closely Observed Trains about the efforts of an apprentice guard (Václav Neckár) at a distant railway station in the Second World War to gain his first sexual experience.

[Spoiler alert] The women he targets include the wife (Libuse Havelková) of his boss Max (Vladimír Valenta) and a young woman (Nada Urbánková) from Paris. He ultimately loses his virginity to the latter, who turns out to be a saboteur who brings a bomb, sparking a tragic finale to an otherwise lighthearted story.

Menzel rewrote his script when the source novel’s author, Bohumil Hrabal, wanted him to keep the original dark ending.

Closely Observed Trains [original title Ostre sledované vlaky] (also known as Closely Watched Trains) is a key film of the Czech Sixties New Wave.

Also in the cast are Josef Somr, Vlastimil Brodský, Jitka Bendová [Jitka Scoffin],  Jitka Zelenohorská, Alois Vachek, Ferdinand Kruta and Jirí Menzel (as Dr Brabec, uncredited).

Closely Observed Trains is directed by Jirí Menzel, runs 92 minutes, is made by Ceskoslovensky Film and Filmové studio Barrandov, is released by Ustredni Pujcovna Filmu (1966) (Czechoslovakia), Curzon Film Distributors (1967) (UK) and Sigma III Corp (1967) (US), is written by Jirí Menzel, Vaclav Nyvlt and Bohumil Hrabal, is shot in black and white by Jaromir Sofr, is produced by Zdenek Oves, and is scored by Jirí Sust and Jirí Pavlik (sound), with Art Direction by Oldrich Bosák.

Jirí Menzel (1938–2020).

RIP Jirí Menzel, director of the Oscar-winning film Closely Observed Trains, who died on 5 September 2020, aged 82.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6930

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