Pearls of the Deep

Pearls of the Deep
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jiří Menzel Jan Němec Evald Schorm Věra Chytilová Jaromil Jireš
Based on	Short stories by Bohumil Hrabal
Cinematography	Jaroslav Kučera
Edited by	Miloslav Hájek Jiřina Lukešová
Music by	Jan Klusák Jiří Šust
Release date	7 January 1966 (1966-01-07)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Czechoslovakia
Language	Czech

Pearls of the Deep (Czech: Perličky na dně) is a 1966 Czechoslovak anthology film directed by Jiří Menzel, Jan Němec, Evald Schorm, Věra Chytilová and Jaromil Jireš. The five segments are all based on short stories by Bohumil Hrabal. The film was released in Czechoslovakia on 7 January 1966.^[1]

The film was received as a manifesto for the new generation of Czechoslovak filmmakers, and thus became closely associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave.^[2]

• The Death of Mr Balthazar (Smrt pana Baltazara), directed by Jiří Menzel - A couple take their elderly father to watch the motorcycle races. The wife has perfect pitch and can identify motorcycles by the sound of their engine. They all get very drunk and meet a man who lost his legs in a motorcycle accident. Together they discuss the deaths of their favorite motorcyclists in auto accidents. The race begins and a motorcyclist named Balthazar crashes and dies. The man with no legs remarks he hates how that always happens near him when he goes to a motorcycling event. The couple and their father leave and the father discusses his favorite beer manufactured in Munich.
• Imposters (Podvodníci), directed by Jan Němec- Two old men who are about to die construct false biographies for themselves. One man claims to have been a successful opera singer and the other a successful journalist.
• House of Joy (Dům radosti), directed by Evald Schorm - Two insurance agents visit an eccentric painter and goat farmer and his mother.
• At the World Cafeteria (Automat Svět), directed by Věra Chytilová- A wedding reception takes place at a diner. The guests are able to stay oblivious of the surrounding misery.
• Romance, directed by Jaromil Jireš - A working-class boy becomes infatuated with a Roma girl.

Juraj Herz originally made his short film The Junk Shop to be included in this movie, but it was omitted due to the running time.^[3]

• Pearls of the Deep at The Criterion Collection
• Pearls of the Deep at IMDb
• Pearls of the Deep at the TCM Movie Database
• Pearls of the Deep at AllMovie