Jindřich Polák

Writer

May 5, 1925 (78 years)

† August 22, 2003

Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic]

Biography

Jindřich Polák was a Czech film and television director. He is known for his science fiction productions, but worked in many different genres.

Filmography

7.5

The Visitors

It's the year 2484 and the Earth is threatened by a rogue comet which could fatally change its orbit. The solution is surprising - Adam Bernau, the greatest genius of 20th century developed 500 years ago an ingenious formula for easy transporting of continents and even worlds. Unfortunately, he made this discovery at the age of 11 and the exercise book containing it was destroyed in the fire. But this is not a challenge to Academic Filip who decides to send an expedition back in time to retrieve the precious exercise book from the fire. But everything is not so simple as it seems...

7.1

Pan Tau

Pan Tau always had a gentle expression and a friendly smile, he was elegantly dressed in a stroller, with an umbrella and a white carnation in the lapel. Foremost, he was famous for his magic bowler hat. By tapping on his hat, Pan Tau was able to change his appearance into a puppet, to conjure up miscellaneous objects or to do other magic. His most characteristically behavior is that he would help children who were experiencing some sort of difficulties in-between their dreams and reality, like finding a place for skiing, settling family problems on Christmas, and even give a boy a good time at a fair when he is supposed to have piano lessons. To adults, he usually remained invisible.

7.0

The Octopuses from the Second Floor

While on vacation with their bickering parents in Portugal, Eva and her little brother Johnny find two strange clots of clay on a polluted beach, who can speak and move on their own. They create two octopuses out of the blue and green material and take them home to Prague, soon discovering that their new pets attract electricity and other disasters.

7.6

Luzie, der Schrecken der Straße

1980 German/Czech Children TV series

6.8

Ikarie XB 1

The year is 2163. Starship Ikaria XB 1 embarks on a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity.

N/A

Bubu and Filip

A short stories about two brothers whose parents own a car shop.

6.6

The Octopuses from the Second Floor

While on vacation with their bickering parents, young Eva and her little brother Johnny find in a polluted lake two strange friendly sentient octopuses made of strange material that attracts electricity. They take them as pets.

6.2

Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea

Former Nazi Klaus Abard survives to the 1990s by taking anti-ageing pills. He plans to use a time travel trip to return to Germany in 1944 and present Hitler with a hydrogen bomb, so that he can win the war. Unfortunately the pilot, woman-chasing Karel Bures, dies on the morning of the trip and his earnest twin brother Jan impersonates him, without knowing about the plot.

6.7

...and again that Lucy!

A second part of a funny adventures of six years old Lucie and her two magic dolls.

6.4

Pan Tau – der Film

Pan Tau, the friend of all children, now also helps the adults. A movie producer is in trouble and decides to shoot another Pan-Tau movie. But the old Pan-Tau actor Karasek is no longer young enough to walk the almost weightless walk of Pan Tau. Mr. Novak turns up - he resembles Pan Tau like a twin brother. He succeeds every pirouette. And as if by magic, he solves all the problems between people! Who is Mr. Novak? Is he really ...?

6.0

Riders in the Sky

The story of Czech pilots in RAF service during the Battle of Britain, and the ongoing aerial battle in Northern Europe. It tells the story of the crews of the RAF’s No. 311 Squadron, which was mainly crewed by escaped Czech airmen, and their bombing raids during the Second World War.

6.8

Merry Christmas Octopus

Eva and her younger brother Johnny own two sentient octopuses made out of strange matter. Will their parents divorce and ruin Christmas? Will a scientist find a way to use their pets as fuel? Live action film with stop-motion octopuses.

7.3

Lucy, the Menace of Street

A first part of a funny adventures of six years old Lucie and her two magic dolls.

6.8

Kačenka a zase ta strašidla

This time, the eight-year-old girl must fight to keep her parents from turning the House of Horrors, which she received as a gift from her grandfather, the Viennese Czech Swoboda, into a family villa. Helping her are her old friends, with the help of a magical clockwork mannequin, the witch Bertha, the charming Elvira and Dr Caligari. She arranges for notary Weber to come from Vienna to check that the terms of the gift agreement have been kept and that the attraction is fit for purpose...

6.0

Kačenka a strašidla

Jindrich Polák's modern fairy tale comedy tells the story of a girl who unexpectedly inherits a fairground amusement - a haunted house from Vienna's Prater fun park. With the help of a magic timepiece she is able to bring three of the ghosts to life.

5.3

A Game Without Rules

A robbery in a Prague jeweler's shop results in the shop manager Kubát and his deputy Litera being shot and wounded. The culprits take the jewelery away in a stolen car and that very night hide the loot tens of kilometers outside Prague in a forest. Then the three robbers part with each other. One of them, Burian, leaves in the same car, the other two, Duda and Hovorka, take to flight in another car, which soon ends up in a car crash. Hovorka dies in the accident, but Duda survives and hides in an abandoned cottage. Burian is arrested, Duda is traced out by a police dog. Duda confesses to the robbery to the criminologist Málek, but refuses to say where is the jewelery. The robber then begins to shoot and Málek kills him in self-defense. The court fails to prove Litera's involvement in the robbery and the only one convicted is Burian. The disappointed Málek leaves the police and begins to work as a cab driver.

7.6

No Magic from Tomorrow

Mr. Tau, the quiet and kind magician with a bowler hat and an umbrella, shows up unexpectedly on the wings of a plane during flight. The terrified crew contact the airport security service. After the plane lands, Mr. Tau disappears. The third security inspector Málek is determined to catch the hooligan at any price. To achieve this, he gives up his holiday to visit the children's summer camp. Mr. Málek's son, who just like all the other children is delighted by the new camp cook, Mr. Tau himself, has unknowingly set the inspector on the magician's trail. But the children at the camp are determined not to let their beloved magician get caught and ingeniously place all sorts of traps in Inspector Málek's way.

5.3

Death of Hitch-Hikers

Maniac, a driver, sits on the track women, which then rape and kill. For loved ones, he is an ordinary person who has a wife and child. When exposed, he does not stop before killing his wife and takes his son hostage, under the guise of which he is trying to escape abroad.

6.0

Alarm in the Clouds

In defiance of all the laws of physics Mr. Tau is walking on the wing of an aircraft flying close to Prague. Young Alenka is enthusiastic, but the other passengers are horrified. The security inspector Málek believes the report from the crew to be a code alerting him to a hijack, and orders an emergency landing. In the confusion at the airport the fairytale Mr. Tau disappears into one of the halls.

4.0

Noc klavíristy

The problematic protagonist is the head designer of a housing association who wants to make a profit at any cost. His unwitting opponent is a bar pianist who accidentally witnesses the murder of a young man and sets out to investigate on his own. An old-world and somewhat comical figure, he poignantly interferes with the cops' work, only to find that he is the one who is credited with catching the perpetrator...