Jiří Weiss
- Directing
- March 29, 1913 · Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]
- April 9, 2004
Biography
Jiří Weiss (29 March 1913 – 9 April 2004) was a Czech film director, screenwriter, writer, playwright and pedagogue. Jiří Weiss was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Prague. His father was a Czech patriot and named his son after Czech king Jiří of Poděbrady.His parents were Emil Weiss (1880–1942) and Martha Weissová (née Fuchsová; 1882–1944). Emil Weiss owned a liqueur factory in Libeň district. Since his youth, Jiří was an staunch communist, which was at the heart of disputes with his capitalist parents. As a young boy he was friends with Franz Kafka's niece Marianne Pollaková and thanks to her he was able to read the books of then-unknown writer Kafka in the 1920s. Weiss was interested in studying at film school, but his parents wished he studied law. While still a minor, he left his home and lived with his friend K. M. Walló [cs]. Weiss started to work as a copywriter in advertising. His father, who disagreed with his life choices and could still make decisions about his underage son, had him institutionalized in a mental hospital. Weiss never spoke to his father ever again. In his early twenties, he started working as a copywriter for the Prague branch of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. At this time, he wrote his first book – a story for children O věrné Hadimršce. He befriended leading intellectuals of the Left Front in Prague, including Vladislav Vančura and Ivan Olbracht. In 1934, Vančura invited him to be an assistant cinematographer on his movie Marijka the Faithless, based on Olbracht's book.
Known for
Filmography
- Martha and I · Screenplay, Director
- Wie man seinen Gatten los wird · Director
- Die Herberge · Director, Writer
- Waterloo · Director
- Spravedlnost pro Selvina · Screenplay, Director
- Murder Czech Style · Story, Screenplay
- 90° in the Shade · Screenplay, Director
- The Golden Fern · Director, Screenplay
- The King of Kings · Story
- Promiňte, omyl! · Director, Screenplay
- The Coward · Screenplay, Director
- Reportáž psaná na oprátce · Story
- Romeo, Juliet and Darkness · Director, Screenplay
- That Kind of Love · Concert attendant, Screenplay
- Wolf Trap · Story, Screenstory
- The Girl Robinson Crusoe · Screenplay
- A Life at Stake · Director, Screenplay
- Punta and the Four-Leaf Clover · Screenplay, Director
- Můj přítel Fabián · Screenplay, Director
- Vstanou noví bojovníci · Creative Producer, Director
- V trestném území · Creative Producer
- Days of Joy · Director, Screenplay
- The Last Shot · Creative Producer, Director
- Pan Habětín odchází · Creative Producer
- Píseň o sletu – II. část – Bratři a sestry · Director, Screenplay
- Píseň o sletu – I. část – Mládí · Director, Screenplay
- Conscience · Creative Producer
- Křížová trojka · Creative Producer
- Wild Beasts · Director, Screenplay
- O ševci Matoušovi · Creative Producer
- Ves v pohraničí · Creative Producer
- Nevíte o bytě? · Creative Producer
- The Stolen Border · Screenplay, Director
- People Govern Themselves · Story
- We Will Remain Faithful · Screenplay, Editing
- Night and Day · Director
- Before the Raid · Director
- The Other RAF · Director
- 100,000,000 Women · Editing, Director
- John Smith Wakes Up · Director
- Eternal Prague · Director
- Who Killed Jack Robins? · Director
- The Rape of Czechoslovakia · Director
- Zkrocený živel · Dialogue
- The Illusion Factory · Self, Director
- The Sun Shines On The River Lužnicí · Director
- Song of Ruthenia · Director
- Dejte nám křídla · Director, Screenplay
- Marijka the Unfaithful · Assistant Director Trainee, Camera Trainee