Reversing the conventional dawn-to-dusk structure, the Prague city symphony by Svatopluk Innemann (1896–1945) starts with the last of the daylight in the evening and ends with the first sunbeams at dawn. At night, the children may be put to bed, but, otherwise, Prague is a restless city. Thanks to the advent of modern electrical lighting, the city continues to throb at night. In fact, the city seems to show its fully energized and awakened face only after the sun has set. There is the never-ending flow of traffic and city dwellers in the streets, attracted and bedazzled by blinking neon lights. After dusk, work goes on in factories, telegraph offices, train stations, hotels, newspaper offices, and fire departments. The traffic policeman, a veritable icon of the city symphony, here, too, does his best to manage and control the rainy streets at night.
This portrait of vibrant city nightlife with its manifold activities is completed by shots of famous sights and architectural highlights, such as the Týn Church, the medieval Prague Astronomical Clock, the Petřín Lookout Tower, and Prague Castle—all illuminated by electric light. Prague by Night also displays a striking use of spotlights and the headlights and taillights of cars and trams to illuminate parts of the streetscape for the camera. The reasons for this become clear when one takes into account the film’s production history: Prague by Night was commissioned by a local electric company.
After midnight, the city finally comes to rest. But there is still work to be done: tram rails are repaired and policemen are on patrol. In the early morning hours, on their way home, the last night owls meet Prague’s early birds such, as newspaper boys and market vendors, who are already up and about, facing a new work day.
Eva Hielscher
further reading
Block, Marcelline (ed.), World Cinema Locations: Prague (Chicago, IL: Intellect Books, University of Chicago Press, 2013).
Hames, Peter, Czech and Slovak Cinema: Theme and Tradition (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009).
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