Theodor Pištěk (costume designer)

Theodor-Pištěk

Theodor Pištěk, Josef N., (1978)

Theodor Pištěk, Ecce Homo, 1983

Prague Castle Guard wearing uniforms designed by Pištěk

Theodor Pištěk (born October 25, 1932 in Prague ) is a former Czech costume designer who won an Oscar for best costume design , a César for best costumes and a Bohemian lion .

Life

Pištěk comes from a family of Czechoslovak filmmakers: his father Theodor Pištěk was an actor who starred in 250 films between 1921 and 1959, his mother the actress Mána Zenísková. Her sisters Erna Zenísková and Jana Zenísková also worked as actresses for a while, as did their uncles Fred Bulín and Bretislav Hrstka.

He himself began his work as a costume designer in the film studios Barrandov in 1960 for the film Holubice and worked on the costume design of almost seventy films and TV series such as Pan Tau (1977 to 1978), The Fairy Tale Bride (1979), The Visitors (1983), Dune - Der Wüstenplanet (2000) and most recently Children of Dune (2003) with.

For the film Amadeus (1984) by Miloš Forman with F. Murray Abraham , Tom Hulce and Elizabeth Berridge in the leading roles , he won the 1985 Oscar for best costume design. At the same time he was nominated for the British Academy Film Award for the best costumes in 1986.

He had a second success with the film Valmont (1989), also directed by Forman, with Colin Firth , Annette Bening and Meg Tilly : for this he won a César in 1990 for the best costumes. He also received a nomination for an Oscar in 1990 for the best costumes, and in 1992 another nomination for the BAFTA Film Award for the best costumes.

In 2004, Pištěk, who also designed the uniforms for the Prague Castle guards , was awarded a Bohemian Lion for his artistic merits in the film industry.

Filmography (selection)

1960: Holubice
1970: three weak hours ( Luk královny Dorotky )
1973: Three hazelnuts for Cinderella
1974: Zbrane pro Prahu
1977: Our spirits should live ( Ať žijí duchové! )
1979: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Death ( Smrt stoparek )
1982: Race with the sun ( Sarâb )
1984: Amadeus
1989: Raggedy - A Tale of Love, Escape and Death ( The Raggedy Rawney )
1989: Valmont
1996: Larry Flynt - The Naked Truth

Awards

1985 : Oscar for best costume design
1990 : César for the best costumes
2000: Medal of Merit
2004: Bohemian lion for artistic merit

Web links

Commons : Theodor Pištěk (artist) - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Literature and other media by and about Theodor Pištěk (costume designer) in the catalog of the National Library of the Czech Republic
Theodor Pištěk in the Internet Movie Database (English)
http://cyranos.ch/sapist-d.htm Portrait of Theodor Pistek

personal data
SURNAME	Pištěk, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Pistek, Theodor (different spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Czech costume designer
DATE OF BIRTH	October 25, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH	Prague