The Fifth Horseman is Fear

The Fifth Horseman Is Fear Czech A pt jezdec je strach is a 1964 Czechoslovak New Wave film about the Holocaust that was directed by Zbynk Brynych. Instead of depicting gas chambers and concentration camps, the film examines the subtler but equally debilitating mental effects of oppression. Restricted by Stalinist censorship, Brynychs uses Nazi fascism as a metaphor to speak out against Soviet communism, highlighting the evils of both oppressive regimes. When it was released in America in 1968, the film was highly praised by critics. Time magazine said it was a superlatively photographed film, and Roger Ebert wrote, A nearly perfect film...beautiful, distinguished work. I imagine it will win the Academy Award for the best foreign film.

Superficially, the city might appear to be normal, but hallucinations, awkward outbursts, and nervous, selfconscious behavior make it clear that society is falling apart. Although images of the Holocaust are never seen, its devastation is understood through an overarching sense of destitution and fear. As Dr. Braun travels through the seedy undergrounds of Prague and back up to his apartment buildingwhere a long winding staircase connects the lives of all his eccentric neighborsa wide variety of personalities are introduced to the screen, each of whom appears equally as tortured.With minimal dialogue and a creeping pace, the sense of impending doom never leaves the screen. Crying babies, heavy shadows and broken records set a consistent tone of nightmarish anxiety. Drawn frenetically from the dancehall, where beautiful young couples bob and empty Champagne glasses litter the tables, to the apartment building of a former piano teacher thats stacked high with sheet music and out onto the empty cobblestone streets, the audience is never allowed to feel at ease. ........

Source: Wikipedia