Von Samstag auf Sonntag

I saw this film when it showed at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1999. It was a long time ago, but many of the beautiful images are still burned on my retinas. The close ups of the scenes in Prague made the City another character in the film, and an engaging one at that! The romance that is the major focus of the second half of the film was incredibly appealing. The acting was convincing and not overly melodramatic -- just a moment of love.

I looked up the summary of the film that was printed on the program: Far less well known than Ecstasy, although it's also one of Gustav Machaty's major achievements, From Saturday to Sunday is marked by a gentle romanticism. Two secretaries go out on a double date, but the inexperienced Mary flees when offered money for sexual favors. She takes refuge in a cafe and encounters a plebeian Prince Charming. The film recounts the simple progress of their romance after they go home together. If the tale is not unusual, the telling is superb. The characters are sharply observed, with a strong sense of social context. Machaty's first talkie is a masterpiece of early sound cinema; his use of off-screen sound, in particular, is as sophisticated as that of René Clair and Rouben Mamoulian. And the Prague studios were as technically sophisticated as any other of the time: The opening sequence, a long low-angle tracking shot through the heroine's workplace, defines the space with breathtaking virtuosity. The film's credits provide ample proof that in pre-war Czechoslovakia, the avant garde made significant contributions to mainstream production: Jaroslav Jezek, the founder of Czech jazz, wrote the excellent score; the movie was coscripted by Surrealist poet Vitezslav Nezval; its art director was experimental filmmaker Alexander Hammid.

-Elliott Stein

This movie aged terribly. If someone is particularly interested in the history of cinematography, he or she can watch it out of curiosity. All the others should stay away.

Supposedly this is one of the earliest Czech movies with sound, so at the time it was very technically advanced. But the script is horrible. It starts as a shallow and boring story about girls planning to have fun on Saturday night, but at least it is watchable. However, the last 15 minutes is a true Czech chainsaw massacre - the filmmakers added such absurd, badly written and badly acted melodramatic plot that ones brain hurts. The more so that for the first 50 minutes acting was quite decent (for a movie from the 30's, that is).

My vote: 2/10

Work on Saturday is over and typist Jirina Sejbalová is planning to go out with an older man -- one with money. When one phones her, she persuades her stay-out-home room mate Magda Maderova to accompany her. When the fellow they are with at a fancy restaurant has a friend come over, Miss Maderova doesn't notice, until the man offers her money, and she flees into the rainy night. There she meets Ladislav Struna, and they connect. Eventually he persuades her to come home with him.

Gustav Machatý's film would be a pre-code movie in the United States, with its implied subjects, but the people are ordinary people leading dreary lives, hoping for better. Hungary certainly had an ambitious film industry -- it's where Michael Curtiz and the Kordas got their starts there -- but was never able to compete effectively with Germany. As a result, their movies relied more on shock value of human sexuality. The performers seem ill at ease in their line readings, which might have been due to direction, or dodgy sound equipment.

An advanced film of its time. Minimalist, austere black and white. Excellent musical band that gives a touch of irony and comedy to history. A cinematic jewel of great value. The story is simple, it is true, but not because of that bad or boring, due to the fantastic interpretations. A rarity that may well be a cult film.