In 1939, as Hitler and Germany ran roughshod over Eastern Europe, many people escaped, including Czech pilots who joined up with the British Royal Air Force to fight the Nazis. Jan Sverák's moving war drama, DARK BLUE WORLD, details the story of one such group of Czech pilots who are at first laughed at by their British superiors until they prove themselves in the air. Ondrej Vetchy stars as Franta Sláma, the father figure to this motley group of men who desperately want to win back their country. Krystof Hádek plays Karel Vojtísek, Franta's young daredevil protegee who falls in love with an older British woman, Susan (Tara Fitzgerald), whose soldier husband is missing in action. When Franta and Susan grow close, everything threatens to erupt.

Sverák, whose previous film was the Oscar-winning KOLYA, has crafted a beautiful film filled with believable, complex relationships, well-drawn characters, and plenty of finely choreographed air-battle scenes between the young, headstrong Czechs and the perfectly organized Nazis. The acting is excellent, especially the love triangle of Hádek, Vetchy, and Fitzgerald, and terrific support is provided by Oldrich Kaiser as Machaty, the piano-playing Gable look-alike. The film's politics are based on real events; when the Czech pilots who flew for the RAF returned home, they were treated as the enemy, not as heroes, and Sverák intercuts harrowing scenes from 1950 in which the pilots who survived the war are subject to jail and torture in their own land.

Theatrical Release: DECEMBER 28, 2001 (NY/LA)

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Widescreen - 2.35
Full Frame
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - Czech
Additional Release Material:
Audio Commentary - 1. Jan Sverak - Director
Trailers
Featurettes - 1. Making Of
2. Visual Effects
Aerial Symphony
Interactive Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Text/Photo Galleries:
Photo Montage
Filmographies
Production Notes
DVD-Rom Features:
Weblink

Ondrez Vetchy: 
Krystof Hadek: Actress, DARK BLUE WORLD (2001)
Tara Fitzgerald: Actress
Oldrich Kaiser: Actor, DARK BLUE WORLD (2001)
Charles Dance: British Actor
Hans Assmann: Actor, DARK BLUE WORLD (2001)
Linda Rybová: Actor, DARK BLUE WORLD (2001)
David Novotny: Actor, DARK BLUE WORLD (2001)

Jan Sverak: Czech filmmaker, "Kolya" & "The Elementary School"

Eric Abraham: 
Jan Sverak: Czech filmmaker, "Kolya" & "The Elementary School"

Zdenek Sverak: Screenwriter, "The Elementary School"

Ondrej Soukup: 

"...Sverak's understated yet luscious style drives the film and brilliantly displays his ability to evoke strong emotions without succumbing to sentimentality..."
"...The movie is very well acted..."
"...There's an old-fashioned Hollywood sweep in the latest film form Czech director Jan Sverak....Affecting..."