Back
Section: Special Screenings - Karel Zeman
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1961)
A film inspired by the life of aristocrat, traveler and adventurer Karl Friedrich Hieronymus von Münchhausen. Written by German writers Rudolf E. Raspe and Gottfried A. Bürge in the late 18th century, the stories are of a man who regales audiences with incredible stories from his military service; he embellishes his stories about battles and unusual forms of transport a bit. In his own story, Karel Zeman has added an astronaut named Toník, a present-day hero representing science's opposition to fantasy. Toník sets off with Munchausen to the moon on a dangerous journey. During these adventures, the astronaut meets his love, the Sultan's beautiful captive, Bianca...
| Country | Czechoslovakia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1961 |
| Duration | 87 min |
| Rating | 12 |
| Language | Czech |
| Subtitle | English |
| Directed by | Karel Zeman |
| Screenplay | Karel Zeman, Josef Kainar, Jiří Brdečka |
| Director of Photography | Jiří Tarantík |
| Music | Zdeněk Liška |
| Edited by | Věra Kutilová |
| Contact | Muzeum Karla Zemana z. ú. |
Biography
Karel Zeman (1910-1989), a world-renowned Czech director and artist, worked as an advertising artist and designer before putting down roots at Zlín's film studio. He transformed his interest in a puppet theater and fantastic tales into special effects and animation filled films in which he combined forms and techniques. Among his distinguished works are The Christmas Dream (Vánoční sen, 1945), Journey to Prehistory (Cesta do pravěku, 1955), An Invention for Destruction (Vynález zkázy, 1958), The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (Baron Prášil, 1961), Tales of 1,001 Nights (Pohádky tisíce a jedné noci, 1974) and Krabat — The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Čarodějův učeň, 1977).