Please note the change of date. This film will screen on Wednesday, April 16, not Tuesday, April 15.
Everything that can go wrong does in this uproarious spoof of a fund-raising dance put on by a group of small-town volunteer firemen. The film was banned in Czechoslovakia—censors viewed the inept protagonists as an allegory of Czech political institutions (Forman maintains that it is really about firemen). Perhaps both sides are correct. As J. Hoberman writes: “The Firemen’s Ball exemplifies the ironic humanism and sly political allegory characteristic of the Czech New Wave.” 1967, new 35mm print, in Czech with English subtitles, 73 minutes.
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