Cutting It Short

1981 1h 33m CS

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 54

Comedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Francin, manager of a small-town brewery, has a charming wife whose abundant blonde locks are an adornment to the town. Maryska looks ethereal but loves meat and beer, while Francin is an ascetic. The strict members of the brewery board of directors come to audit the accounts, but are diverted from concentrating on Francin's detailed reports by Maryska, who has organized a pig-killing feast and is ably assisting the butcher. When she invites the old curmudgeons on the board to enjoy the fresh pork, they are too happy to agree. Francin doesn't know whether he is going to get a permanent contract. To make things worse his brother Pepin - eccentric, noisy and garrulous - turns up on an indefinite visit.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Magda Vášáryová
Maryška
Jiří Schmitzer
správce pivovaru Francin, Maryščin muž
Jaromír Hanzlík
Pepin, Francinův bratr
Rudolf Hrušínský
MUDr. Gruntorád, předseda správní rady pivovaru
Petr Čepek
mistr kominický de Giorgi, člen správní rady
Oldřich Vlach
hoteliér Růžička
František Řehák
statkář Vejvoda
Miloslav Štibich
kovář Bernádek

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jiří Menzel
Writers: Jiří Menzel, Bohumil Hrabal
Languages: Czech, German
Countries: Czechoslovakia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Czech, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jiří Menzel, shot by Jaromír Šofr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jiří Šust. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jiří Brožek shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Magda Vášáryová and Jiří Schmitzer and Jaromír Hanzlík carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0081363 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jiří Menzel directs. Jaromír Šofr behind the camera. Jiří Šust scores. Jiří Brožek cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Czechoslovakia. Dialogue in Czech, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

145 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Czech, German.
3Directed by Jiří Menzel, shot by Jaromír Šofr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Jiří Šust. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jiří Brožek shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Magda Vášáryová and Jiří Schmitzer and Jaromír Hanzlík carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0081363 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 54 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.