IMDb RATING
7.4/10
12K
YOUR RATING
A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.A volunteer fire department throws a party for their former boss with the whole town invited, but nothing goes as planned.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn spite of many claims the film was banned in Czechoslovakia by the communists in power at the time, it was not. It actually sold over 750,000 tickets in the country and was shown on state-controlled television in 1969.
- Quotes
Gray-haired Committee Member: The lottery has been stolen.
Joska, Committee Member: Gentlemen, there is one fact: if the people stole it, they cannot win it.
Committee Member: Don't talk like that, Joska. What about those people who bought the tickets honestly and didn't steal anything?
Joska, Committee Member: They should have stolen.
- Alternate versionsIn the United States, this film was shown in both subtitled and English-dubbed versions.
- ConnectionsEdited into CzechMate: In Search of Jirí Menzel (2018)
Featured review
Avoid it if you must
The Firemen's Ball (1967) **** Watching Forman's acclaimed comedy ''The Firemen's Ball'' was a very unique movie-going experience. It is filled with the extraordinary subtle humor, compassion for its characters, very realistic setting, acting & feeling and some brief satire. It got various reviews upon releasing. Some critics hailed it as a minimalistic masterpiece (Roger Ebert) others just was ''resistant'' to it's so-called charm (Leonard Maltin). I just know I wasn't. Judge for yourself. I can't, however, recall so sharp and intelligent script and so believable performances packed in mere 70 minutes. I find it superior to acclaimed Oscar winning Czech comedy filmed a year before by Jiri Menzel ''Closely Watched Trains''. By the way, interesting note: Czechoslovakian movies were nominated four years in a row for the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 1960ies. ('65, '66, '67, '68). Two of them won it (''Shop on a main street'' in 1965 and ''Closely Watched Trains'' in 1967) and two didn't (''Loves of a Blonde'' in 1966 and ''The Firemen's Ball'' in 1968).
helpful•3414
- Alexandar
- May 23, 2005
- How long is The Firemen's Ball?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Firemen's Ball and Lottery
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $65,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 13 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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