Product Details

• Actors: Gene Moskowitz, Ladislav Staidl
• Directors: Jan Nemec
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Facets Video
• VHS Release Date: November 18, 1998
• Run Time: 29 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00000F5FL
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,829 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A video of how force was applied to eastern Europe, June 20, 2001

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

To me, the most amazing thing about communism turned out to be how shallow it was. Seventy years elapsed from the time of the Bolshevik revolution to the pseudo-coup that led to the rise of Yeltsin. Despite all of the blood shed in defense of communism, it died with little more than a whimper. It can be argued that the last chance for communism to have a chance in the modern world took place in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The leaders of the Prague spring were communists whose goal was to simply loosen up the tight controls rather than join the west. Such changes could have led to a more viable form of communism that may have been flexible enough to survive into the 21st century.
Unfortunately, the blossom was nipped before it could bloom and this film is about the events when the Warsaw pact troops crushed the attempt at liberalization. The looks on the faces of the people as the tanks roll through the streets tell the complete story. This was a the brutal application of force to put down what was a popular movement. It is powerful and shows the reality of what Soviet domination of Eastern Europe really meant.
It was only a coincidence that the film makers were in Czechoslovakia when the tanks rolled in. However, that allowed the event to be captured for posterity on film, which is of enormous historical benefit. There was to be one more crackdown and twenty years before communism died in Eastern Europe, but this film captures what it all meant in only 26 minutes. It should be viewed by all interested in the history of that era, which is now over a decade behind us.

4.0 out of 5 stars Prague Spring's painful conclusion, September 10, 2009

By	golgotha.gov (Texas) - See all my reviews

ORATORIO FOR PRAGUE (1968)
directed by Jan Nemec
approximately 28 minutes

When this film project was started, it was to show the loosening of restrictions in Czechoslovakia. While still a part of the Soviet world, the Czechs were beginning to develop signs of openness in society due to some reformers and moderates in the government. This period is known as the "Prague Spring." The first half of the film documents some of these things, such as the budding youth culture that included an antiwar movement. People were excited to participate in public debate and politics. Here you can see some of the only footage of this brief moment where people were trusted to make some of their own decisions.

The boys in Moscow weren't pleased with the decentralization going on in Czechoslovakia. To deal with the matter, they rolled in some Warsaw pact tanks. The party was over and if you didn't think so you were literally beaten in the street. The film's second half shows the occupation of Prague and it isn't pretty. Destruction of property and suppression of dissent were immediate and it is difficult to imagine what it is like to experience these events while they were in progress. That is one of the reasons this film is so important: to show just how fast things can go bad. The spirit of the earlier months does show through at times. For example there is a scene where we see students distributing literature that is critical of the Soviets, and a later shot of a soldier reading one of these pamphlets with great interest! The narration says that perhaps the text will bring the soldier to a change of heart.

This film is not very long but it is important. It wasn't that long ago that this took place! Thank goodness Mr. Nemek was there with his camera to document this terrible event.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very real..., November 19, 1999

By A Customer

When the Russians came to Prague I was 19 a I lived there. The Movie is telling the Story. Russia will never change. Ever the Enemy of the West.