Classics Rebooted

Jiří Trnka’s first feature film is a classic of Czech and world puppet animation and animation in general. You can now enjoy the new digitally restored version of Trnka’s poetic portrayal of folk customs and traditions deep-rooted in the Czech countryside. This film suite is based on a collection of national songs – Špalíček – by the Czech painter Mikoláš Aleš and consists of six interconnected parts (Shrovetide, Spring, Legend of St. Prokop, The Fair, The Feast, Bethlehem). A lyrical story and a play of simple puppets are underscored by music composed by Václav Trojan who included motifs from Czech national songs. In The Czech Year, Jiří Trnka, who worked not only on the design of puppets and decorations, but also on the script, displayed his feeling for plasticity and his scenography talent to the fullest, setting very high standards for post-war puppet films. Trnka’s collaborators on the film were many animators who later had stellar careers of their own such as Bohuslav Šrámek, Břetislav Pojar and Stanislav Látal. The Czech Year won, among many other awards, the Biennial Medal at the IFF Venice.

A documentary looking back at the life, work and significance of the genius and pioneer of trick film. The authors interviewed contemporary filmmakers from Japan to America and tried to find out why Zeman’s films are still relevant and, in many aspects, modern (the interviewees included e.g. Zeman’s “successors” Terry Gilliam, Tim Burton and Koji Yamamura). If we count festival awards, the reaction of the audiences and the number of publications, we must come to the conclusion that Karel Zeman is one of the most successful and celebrated Czech filmmakers in the world. His 1958 film The Fabulous World of Jules Verne was screened in 70 countries. In New York alone 96 cinemas included it in their programmes. Completely unique in his field, autodidact Karel Zeman created his own fantastic world without any kind of formal film education. The film follows one more story – students of animation from the Zlín University try to reconstruct three of Zeman’s famous scenes using original methods and visual effects technologies.

Karel Zeman’s first film, inspired by Jules Verne. Zeman used this film as a test subject for his artistic style, which brings to life black and white line engravings by Édouard Riou and Léon Bennet featured in the original editions of Verne’s novels. Zeman developed and modified this visual style over the course of his career. Verne’s timeless story in combination with paper decorations and stylized settings, actors, costumes etc. creates an original work of art with a unique atmosphere. A thrilling story begins when a genius inventor gets close to inventing a weapon that could destroy the world if placed wrong hands. And those would be the hands of Count Artigas who roams the seven seas in his submarine. He kidnaps the inventor and forces him to finish the weapon. By coincidence, the count also kidnaps the inventor’s assistant and he becomes the only hope for saving the world. In 1958, The Fabulous World of Jules Verne was a huge success all around the world and won many awards, including the Grand Prix at the 1958 EXPO in Brussels.