The Fifth Horseman is Fear is one of those remarkable classics of the Czech so-called New Wave film making, until it was suppressed by the Communist government (and this film, incidentally was banned there). This is one of my most favorite films and I have been waiting and waiting for it to become available (it used to be distributed by Orion Films). Finally, the DVD was issued, and I discovered that one of the key scenes is omitted. This scene, the protagonist's visit to a Nazi brothel (in the course of his search for morphine for the wounded resistance fighter) was one of the original highlights of an already wonderful film. So what happened? Was it censored in the copy that the DVD people used? If anyone has any information about this or as to how I can find the "real" thing, I'd be grateful.
12 Reviews
Probably one of, if not the best Holocaust films ever made!
LONNISAN19 August 2003
I saw this movie when I was a teenager and it's stayed with me ever since. Why it has never been digitalized for VHS and/or DVD is a mystery to me. This movie captures the true essence of horrible Nazi atrocities without today's special effects or computer graphics and is able to communicate it's primal message to the viewer with the best acting, directing and film noir that I've ever seen. Strangely, the film (titled "The Fith Horseman is Fear" for American audiences) leaves you with a sense of hope and is somewhat uplifting - I strongly recommend it and hope that this message helps attract enough attention for someone to format it for home viewing.
Heavy Editing
LONNISAN21 October 2006
Warning: Spoilers
This is a remarkable movie and in it's complete form is probably the finest piece of existential film noir ever made about the Holocaust. However, the currently available restored English version has been over edited, maybe because of the quality of the original print, to the extent that the story would seem incomplete to a first time viewer. The editing has cut enough of the movie (the scene where the doctor is looking for his sister, etc.) to render it less effective in conveying the gut wreching despair of the doctor in his quest for morphine and his dealings with the police. I still recommend the movie to all and suggest that it be viewed with historical interest instead of mesmerizing story line.
this gem of a film..
didier-208 December 2004
I spent one winter systematically going through each & every film in the London Czech Centre's Video library, & of all the films, I returned to this one time & again. It's a fantastic & bizarre film, where the state of despair that existed under communism is encoded in a strange blending of the past , the present & film
noir.
There is the feeling that an ad-hoc attempt to get past the censors unwittingly produces an utterly Czechoslovakian perspective.To those familiar with Eastern Europe pre 1989, the sense of time having become stuck & disorientated & playing games with your perception is part of
the magic of this film.
My fondness for this film is rooted in a nostalgia or need to remember
communist Europe. I first visited Prague in the mid 1980's & i was so struck that the Prague of this film replicated almost identically the Prague i found & came to know 20 years later, in the last years of Communism. My nights at the Cafe
Slavia were exactly as the Jazz club scenes depicted in the film, with the same dramas & the same characters. Also the sense of mistrust , betrayal & of being watched & listened to & the perverse relation to Psychiatry. I thought this connection was very profound, & it made me think this film was, in some way, important . Both the film & my experiences in Prague sat either side of the Brief thaw of the late sixties. They bypassed that optimistic period & looked directly at each other; the one reflecting a National trauma of the war & Communist conversion & the other reflecting the trauma of 2 decades of
stagnation. Often when people think of Czech New Wave, they think in terms of 60's youth & Prague spring. But this film brought home to me how brief that
period really was & it's focus is the context from which that period rose &
returned to; a shockingly, relentless, hyper-unreal, oppressive isolation which was the former state of Czechoslovakia. Go see, fantastic -
noir.
There is the feeling that an ad-hoc attempt to get past the censors unwittingly produces an utterly Czechoslovakian perspective.To those familiar with Eastern Europe pre 1989, the sense of time having become stuck & disorientated & playing games with your perception is part of
the magic of this film.
My fondness for this film is rooted in a nostalgia or need to remember
communist Europe. I first visited Prague in the mid 1980's & i was so struck that the Prague of this film replicated almost identically the Prague i found & came to know 20 years later, in the last years of Communism. My nights at the Cafe
Slavia were exactly as the Jazz club scenes depicted in the film, with the same dramas & the same characters. Also the sense of mistrust , betrayal & of being watched & listened to & the perverse relation to Psychiatry. I thought this connection was very profound, & it made me think this film was, in some way, important . Both the film & my experiences in Prague sat either side of the Brief thaw of the late sixties. They bypassed that optimistic period & looked directly at each other; the one reflecting a National trauma of the war & Communist conversion & the other reflecting the trauma of 2 decades of
stagnation. Often when people think of Czech New Wave, they think in terms of 60's youth & Prague spring. But this film brought home to me how brief that
period really was & it's focus is the context from which that period rose &
returned to; a shockingly, relentless, hyper-unreal, oppressive isolation which was the former state of Czechoslovakia. Go see, fantastic -
A superb Holocaust film that definitely should be revisited now!
LONNISAN18 June 2001
I remember seeing this film when I was much younger and was so taken / moved by it that I've been trying to find it to own. The depiction of the main character's descent into near madness by the evil Nazi occupiers is probably one of the finest performances ever! This movie should DEFINITELY be taped and released as soon as possible.
" . . . and the 5th horseman is fear."
hofnarr3 August 2003
A prophecy in Zechariah 6: 1-3 mentions red horses, black horses, white horses, and grey horses riding out into the world with no real mention of their riders. But in Revelation 6:2-7 in a description of the Apocalypse the riders are given some characteristics: the white horse has a rider with a bow who "went out conquering and to conquer"; the rider of the red horse takes peace from the earth and is given a great sword; the rider on the black horse has a balance and illustrates the calamitous rise in prices of scarce and necessary food; and the rider of the pale horse's name is Death.
Any type of war engenders cruelties. But when hope is displaced by fear, survival is surely threatened. As a fellow doctor tells Dr. Braun, in search of morphine to abate the pain of a wounded man on whom he has operated "We have up to 20 Jewish suicides a day - we manage to save most of them." Certainly a society that has placards proliferating everywhere admonishing "Inform promptly and accurately and insure your own safety," along with the 44811 informer number to call would not give much cause for hope. But Dr. Braun does not seem to give up hope completely - even when all is dark he says "A man is as he thinks - you can't change that." And yet Dr. Braun is assailed by fear also. More than once we hear martial music without seeing a band and Dr. Braun also sees a man with some sort of van who is there one moment and gone the next. Do we see what we fear most? It's hard to tell.
I found the musical score very intriguing - starting off before the opening credits was a brass fanfare, merging into flutes and then saxophones (and/or other reed instruments) and then back to brass and flutes throughout the opening credit sequences against a backdrop of massed notices on walls. The succession of one type of instrument being replaced by another was continued throughout the film.
I was limited to what the different wall placards were saying by occasional subtitles. It would have been interesting to know if the placards dealt with more than just informing. There was one word seen repeatedly - it seemed to start out "PYSA" or "PYHLA" or perhaps "PYKASRA" - the font type made it difficult to decipher . . . and my Czech is rather minimal, ah no . ..
The film music ends much as it began with brass playing to images of trains, then flute and then brass with images of cars then more flutes followed by piano with views of crowds and then ending with the brass section again.
"Death's a trifle if it's not my own."
But Dr. Braun carries on as best he can - "A man is as he thinks - you can't change that."
Any type of war engenders cruelties. But when hope is displaced by fear, survival is surely threatened. As a fellow doctor tells Dr. Braun, in search of morphine to abate the pain of a wounded man on whom he has operated "We have up to 20 Jewish suicides a day - we manage to save most of them." Certainly a society that has placards proliferating everywhere admonishing "Inform promptly and accurately and insure your own safety," along with the 44811 informer number to call would not give much cause for hope. But Dr. Braun does not seem to give up hope completely - even when all is dark he says "A man is as he thinks - you can't change that." And yet Dr. Braun is assailed by fear also. More than once we hear martial music without seeing a band and Dr. Braun also sees a man with some sort of van who is there one moment and gone the next. Do we see what we fear most? It's hard to tell.
I found the musical score very intriguing - starting off before the opening credits was a brass fanfare, merging into flutes and then saxophones (and/or other reed instruments) and then back to brass and flutes throughout the opening credit sequences against a backdrop of massed notices on walls. The succession of one type of instrument being replaced by another was continued throughout the film.
I was limited to what the different wall placards were saying by occasional subtitles. It would have been interesting to know if the placards dealt with more than just informing. There was one word seen repeatedly - it seemed to start out "PYSA" or "PYHLA" or perhaps "PYKASRA" - the font type made it difficult to decipher . . . and my Czech is rather minimal, ah no . ..
The film music ends much as it began with brass playing to images of trains, then flute and then brass with images of cars then more flutes followed by piano with views of crowds and then ending with the brass section again.
"Death's a trifle if it's not my own."
But Dr. Braun carries on as best he can - "A man is as he thinks - you can't change that."
Visually stunning and an unusual indirect presentation of the Nazi Holocaust
JuguAbraham4 September 2021
Superlative camera angles for a Sixties film! Zbynek Brynych is one of the most important Czech directors after Milos Forman, Jiri Menzel and animator Jiri Trnka. The film is about the Nazi Holocaust while it is never openly stated in the film. The confiscated property of the Jews sent to concentration camps and a chimney emitting black smoke are the only close indirect indicators of the main subject. I couldn't spot the word Jews in the English subtitles. The visuals did show the Swastika in a casual manner on printed matter. The use of a young boy and the ominously empty streets are the highlights of the director's creativity. There are two different sequences of two different men on a bicycle--the differences speak volumes, even though the location is the same one. Varied reactions of the building's inhabitants, who knew each other, in the final sequence are amazingly well-captured by the director and his incredibly talented cinematographer Jan Kalis.
unique performance of Miroslav Machacek
honza-tesa2 November 2002
Really great Czech film of the 60´s. I think the best picture by the director Zbynek Brynych. Armin Braun (performed by Miroslav Machacek) is a doctor of Jewish origin. In spite of the fact he could be killed by the Nazis and the whole block-of-flat with him, he is performing an operation of an injured revolter. While the operation is finished he has to find morphine to give it to the revolter because of big pains he has after the medical help.
We can see the excellent performance of Miroslav Machacek in the monologue part (by the way which lasts 3 minutes!!) in which he is deciding to help or not to help. I can recommend this movie to everyone who likes great acting in a good story.
We can see the excellent performance of Miroslav Machacek in the monologue part (by the way which lasts 3 minutes!!) in which he is deciding to help or not to help. I can recommend this movie to everyone who likes great acting in a good story.
Riveting
recubejim21 April 2013
This is the most overlooked film I have seen and I have seen thousands. It doesn't appear in Maltin's book of 17,000 reviews. It is basically a day in the life of a Jewish doctor who is exempted from removal by Nazis because they can use his services. He risks his life helping the underground. In one gut wrenching scene he observes young women in a large shower room. For a moment you wonder if gas will come from the showerheads but it's water and there is a lovely lyrical voyeuristic few seconds before the camera cuts abruptly to the women being distributed to disrobing waiting SS officers. This is not an easy film to watch. It challenges the viewer's imagination with the "What would I do?" question throughout.
"A man who dies unnecessarily ,as opposed to those who live unnecessarily."
morrison-dylan-fan27 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Gathering up the last batch of Czech New Wave (CNW) titles from the Cold War era to view over April,I got an E-Mail from a DVD seller (who is a big fan of Czech cinema) telling me that he had recently tracked down a fascinating CNW War movie.With having recently picked up other Czech War titles,I decided that it would be a good time to meet the fifth horseman.
The plot-
WWII-Nazi Occupied Prague:
Forbidden from working as a doctor by the Nazis,Jewish doctor Braun tries to survive by doing a desk job where he lists all the confiscated Jewish property.Going home to his flat,Braun finds an injured resistance fighter laying outside the apartment building.Taking the fighter into his flat under darkness,Braun discovers that the injured man is in desperate need of morphine to help heal his wounds.Knowing the risks that he is taking and suspecting that there is an informant in the building,Braun decides that he cant's let the horsemen of fear destroy his beliefs.
View on the film:
Largely filmed on location,co-writer/(along with Hana Belohradska/ Ota Koval & Ester Krumbachová) director Zbynek Brynych and cinematographer Jan Kalis showcase the effects that the Cold War was having on the country,with the grubby CNW black and white photography pulling every rotting building and burnt-out street on the screen,as solid pelts of rain hit Braun across the face.Finding beauty in the dirt, Brynych gradually sinks the block of flats into a pit of utter despair,where elegantly hit whip-pans spins an unrelenting atmosphere of fear over the title.
Getting out to cinemas just before the soon to be occupying Soviet Union were to ban it,the writers display a remarkable quality in allegorically commenting on both the former Nazi Occupation,and the oncoming Soviet Union Occupation.Holding everyone up in the flats,the writers hit the Soviet Union with a merciless force,by making the flats a place where the occupying forces push the inhibitions of the flats/country into oppression,and the idea of "naming names" is thinly excused as keeping the country safe.Placing a voice of humanity in the centre of the film, Miroslav Machácek gives an incredible performance as Dr. Braun,thanks to Braun being given a humble appearance,which is delicately torn by Machácek,in desperation of stopping the fifth horseman in his tracks.
The plot-
WWII-Nazi Occupied Prague:
Forbidden from working as a doctor by the Nazis,Jewish doctor Braun tries to survive by doing a desk job where he lists all the confiscated Jewish property.Going home to his flat,Braun finds an injured resistance fighter laying outside the apartment building.Taking the fighter into his flat under darkness,Braun discovers that the injured man is in desperate need of morphine to help heal his wounds.Knowing the risks that he is taking and suspecting that there is an informant in the building,Braun decides that he cant's let the horsemen of fear destroy his beliefs.
View on the film:
Largely filmed on location,co-writer/(along with Hana Belohradska/ Ota Koval & Ester Krumbachová) director Zbynek Brynych and cinematographer Jan Kalis showcase the effects that the Cold War was having on the country,with the grubby CNW black and white photography pulling every rotting building and burnt-out street on the screen,as solid pelts of rain hit Braun across the face.Finding beauty in the dirt, Brynych gradually sinks the block of flats into a pit of utter despair,where elegantly hit whip-pans spins an unrelenting atmosphere of fear over the title.
Getting out to cinemas just before the soon to be occupying Soviet Union were to ban it,the writers display a remarkable quality in allegorically commenting on both the former Nazi Occupation,and the oncoming Soviet Union Occupation.Holding everyone up in the flats,the writers hit the Soviet Union with a merciless force,by making the flats a place where the occupying forces push the inhibitions of the flats/country into oppression,and the idea of "naming names" is thinly excused as keeping the country safe.Placing a voice of humanity in the centre of the film, Miroslav Machácek gives an incredible performance as Dr. Braun,thanks to Braun being given a humble appearance,which is delicately torn by Machácek,in desperation of stopping the fifth horseman in his tracks.
Important film in Czechoslovakian history
jordondave-2808512 April 2023
1968) ...And The Fifth Horseman Is Fear/ ...a pátý jezdec je Strach
(In Czechoslovakia with English subtitles)
WAR/ DRAMA
Almost plot less where the film states the situation without telling a story, but it is still effective once the viewer hangs onto it about actual oppression and dictatorship felt by an once renowned ex-Jewish doctor, Dr. Braun(Miroslav Machácek) while living in the Nazi invaded town of Czechoslovakia. He eventually regains his identity once he was asked to perform surgery to save a stranger injured by a gun shot wound! Possesses the same emotions as "The Pawnbroker" starring Rod Steiger! If watched obliviously without reading the synopsis would make the first half hour hard to get into since it's rather plot less, and was able to tolerate it once I listened to the introduction told by Robert Osbourne of "Turner Classic Movies". Interesting note that the film had to be approved by gov't censors who at the time it was made would not approve the film at all, had they known it was about the Czech authorities working alongside with the Nazis!
Almost plot less where the film states the situation without telling a story, but it is still effective once the viewer hangs onto it about actual oppression and dictatorship felt by an once renowned ex-Jewish doctor, Dr. Braun(Miroslav Machácek) while living in the Nazi invaded town of Czechoslovakia. He eventually regains his identity once he was asked to perform surgery to save a stranger injured by a gun shot wound! Possesses the same emotions as "The Pawnbroker" starring Rod Steiger! If watched obliviously without reading the synopsis would make the first half hour hard to get into since it's rather plot less, and was able to tolerate it once I listened to the introduction told by Robert Osbourne of "Turner Classic Movies". Interesting note that the film had to be approved by gov't censors who at the time it was made would not approve the film at all, had they known it was about the Czech authorities working alongside with the Nazis!
Pure gem of a film
searchanddestroy-11 July 2022
It even more painful to realize that there are maybe thousands of those unknown gems from the other side of the former Iron Curtain; of course not large audiences movies, maybe too intellectual but that's precisely why they are so interesting. This kind of topic could have been told in France, or any other western country. I could think about French MR KLEIN, the closest scheme to this one. Those Polish or Czech films, shot in black and white, were all gloomy, depressing, obscure, but so well filmed, with such camera work skills. I highly recommend it to any WW2 related gem diggers.
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