One of the most powerful documentaries ever made, ORATORIO FOR PRAGUE contains the only footage from the Soviet-led invasion of Prague in 1968. Czech New Wave filmmaker Jan Nemec (A REPORT ON THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS) began filming with the intention to document Prague Spring, a celebration of the newfound liberalization of Czechoslovakia, but the film s subject took a dramatic turn when Soviet tanks rolled through the streets. The invasion ended Prague Spring, leaving Nemec blacklisted and ORATORIO FOR PRAGUE banned. Even so, the film had a profound impact. The raw footage represented the first proof that the Soviet Army was not invited into Czechoslovakia and appeared in international news reports, screened to a standing ovation in New York, sourced for Philip Kaufman s THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, and featured in Slavoj Zizek and Sophie Fiennes THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO IDEOLOGY. ORATORIO FOR PRAGUE is a true part of history as both a document of a monumental event and a political actor that exposed the brutality of Soviet efforts to control opposition.
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