The Devil's Trap

1962 film

20 April 1962 (1962-04-20)

Running time

85 minutesCountryCzechoslovakiaLanguageCzech

The Devil's Trap (Czech: Ďáblova past) is a 1962 Czechoslovak historical film directed by František Vláčil. It was inspired by Alfréd Technik's novel Mlýn na ponorné řece.^[1]^[2]^[3] It is considered the first part of a loose trilogy of historical films by Vláčil, the others being Marketa Lazarová and The Valley of the Bees.^[4]

The film's main theme is the conflict between religion and science. Religion is represented by a fanatical Jesuit priest, while science is represented by an old miller and his son.^[5] Vláčil wanted the film to depict the 17th century as authentically as possible.^[4]

Plot

The film is set in the early 17th century. The Regent of Valeč dislikes Spálený, the local miller, whom local people greatly respect. Spálený knows the local lands well, but his family is suspected of witchcraft due to an incident that occurred generations before. When Swedish soldiers arrive and plunder the land, they also burn the mill, but Spálený and his family miraculously survive. Probus, a fanatical priest, is invited to investigate Spálený. Probus unsuccessfully tries to turn the local people against Spálený. Probus and the Regent then attempt to capture Spálený, but he disappears into a cave complex under the mill. Probus and the Regent try to find him, but they cause a landslide. Only Spálený's son Jan and his girlfriend Martina survive.^[6]

Cast

Vítězslav Vejražka as Spálený
Miroslav Macháček as Probus
Vít Olmer as Jan
Čestmír Řanda as a Regent
Karla Chadimová as Martina
Vlastimil Hašek as Gamekeeper Filip

Reception

Accolades

Date of ceremony	Event	Award	Result	Ref(s)
1962	Locarno Festival	Special recognition by film press	Won	^[7]
1965	Artistic competition at 20th anniversary of Liberation of Czechoslovakia	Main award for feature-length film	Won	^[7]

References

^ "Ďáblova past (1961)". Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
^ "Rekonstrukce jednoho zjevení". Euro.cz (in Czech). 6 February 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
^ "Ďáblova past (1961)". FDb.cz (in Czech). Filmová databáze s.r.o. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Out of the past: Frantisek Vlácil". old.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
^ "The 35 Best Czech/Slovak Movies of All Time". Taste of Cinema - Movie Reviews and Classic Movie Lists. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
^ "Ďáblova past". www.nostalghia.cz. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
^ "Ďáblova past (1961)". Filmový přehled (in Czech). Retrieved 11 September 2017.