Dark Blue World with Ondrej Vetchý: DVD Cover

    Dark Blue World Director: Jan Sverák Cast: Ondrej Vetchý, Tara Fitzgerald, Oldrich Kaiser, Charles Dance

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    • DVD Release Date: 05/28/2002
    • Original Release: 2001
    • Rating: Rated R

    Viewer Rating: (4 ratings)

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    • Overview
    • Editorial Reviews
    • Scenes
    • Customer Reviews
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    Scenes

    Features

    Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video; Mastered in high definition; Widescreen presentation; Audio: Czech/English 5.1 (Dolby Digital); Subtitles: English; Director and producer commentary; Making-of documentary; Making-of visual effects; Aerial symphony; Photo montage; Weblink to the official "Dark Blue World" site; Theatrical trailers; Interactive menus; Scene selections

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    Scene Index

    Side #1 --
    1. Start
    2. Franta Slama
    3. Karel Vojtisek
    4. Tryst With Hanicka
    5. Occupation Orders
    6. Karel's Documents
    7. English Lessons
    8. Ambushed by Messerschmitts
    9. Karel Bails Out
    10. Susan
    11. Missing-in-Action
    12. A Different Hunger
    13. Evacuees
    14. Blaschke's Birthday
    15. An Afternoon With Susan
    16. Dear Karel Letter
    17. David & Goliath
    18. Something to Tell Him
    19. Parents Visiting Day
    20. A Spin Over France
    21. Two Orphans
    22. "Dark Blue World"
    23. Saving Franta's Life
    24. Franta Apologizes
    25. The Funeral
    26. Taking a Swim
    27. Back From the Dead
    28. Homecoming

    Scene Index

    Editorial Reviews

    The friendship of two men is tested by war, political upheaval, and romantic rivalry in this drama from Czech filmmaker Jan Sverak, whose Kolya became an international success. Lt. Franta Slama (Ondrej Vetchy) is a top pilot in the Czech Air Force who is assigned to train a promising young flier, Karel Vojtisek (Krystof Hadek). Franta and Karel both share a great enthusiasm for the thrill of blazing across the sky, and they become fast friends; however, when Nazi Germany invades Czechoslovakia, Franta and Karel chafe under the authority of their new leaders, and they escape to England, where they join other Czech exiles in the R.A.F. While flying a mission over England, Karel crash lands and happens upon the farmhouse of Susan (Tara Fitzgerald), a young woman whose husband is in the Navy. Karel soon falls head over heels for Susan, but while they enjoy a brief fling, in time Susan decides she prefers the company of the older and more worldly Franta. As Franta and Karel struggle to maintain their friendship despite their romantic rivalry, the war finally comes to a close, and the Czechs return home. Trmavomodry Svet, released in English-speaking territories as Dark Blue World, also features Anna Massey and Charles Dance. Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

    Customer Reviews

    Dark Blue Worldby Anonymous

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    November 13, 2002: This great movie makes the cartoon-like hollywood mess of Pearl Harbor look silly. The director uses real aircraft and models instead of fake digital image gimmicks, and the flying scenes evoke a rare and honest glimpse back to the last great air war. Passion for film-making abounds in this movie, and the detail and effects truly recreate Britain in the 1940's, as well as the smell and feel WWII. You can almost smell the 130 octane fumes, the gunpowder, and the palpable stench of fear that must have existed for these brave men and women. Yet this is not just a ''bang bang shoot-em-up''. The love story rings true, and you really can see how two friends can be torn apart by the frailties of love during wartime. The plot is something fresh - it's not a typical ''Hollywood hero'' movie - these slightly odd Czech Pilots come across as genuine people - living with their weaknesses, yet, inspite of that - striving to somehow protect and save their world - their families, their loved ones, their homeland - you can't help but watch this movie and think that real people, (like you, perhaps?) young and old were truly capable of heroic acts - in this case, of turning the tide of fascism from the face of Europe. The plot also brings in a modern-day element regarding the treatment of the Czech pilots by the ruling communists after the war - a ''flash-back'' technique that adds a dark sense of irony to all the hero's prior deeds - much more poignantly than say, the weak story devices in ''Saving Private Ryan''. This film is a must for anyone who ever wondered what it might be like to have flown in combat in WWII - and what it might have been like to truly been involved in the multi-cultural quagmire that led to - and consumed - an entire generation of Europeans. Don't let the fact that about 1/3 of the movie is in Czech scare you - this is mostly an english film - and the decision to shoot in Czech and subtitle English adds yet another layer of meaning to the entire experience. It's a must see - so get it - and keep it on your shelf for anytime you want to explain to your children what it must have been like fighting the good fight in 1943.

    Dark Blue Worldby Anonymous

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    October 05, 2002: Dark Blue World - The English subtitles actully added to the meaning/content of the film about WW II Czech flyers for the RAF. Anyone interested in WW II airplanes and the war in general will find it supurb!


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