Presented by the Czech Center, New York.In association with the National Film Archive, Prague."Dazzles the mind with magic."-Filmex"Zeman combines animation and live photography in dazzling complexity, utilizing cartoon work, old engravings, straight scenes, sets, location shots, photomontage, and special effects, sometimes just for the sheer pleasure of being clever. A film buff's delight."-VarietyThe films of master Czech animator and director Karel Zeman (1910-1989) are a glittering jewel box filled with wonders spun from ancient myth and modern science: moon men and underwater pirates, pedal-powered airships and diabolical engines of destruction. In films like The Fabulous World of Jules Verne and Baron Münchausen, Zeman combined cartoon and stop-motion animation, puppetry, matte paintings, and live action, creating a fantastic mechanical clockwork that anticipated the work of later animator/directors such as Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton.Born in 1910 in Ostromer, Czechoslovakia, Zeman began his career as a window dresser and poster artist, graduating to filmmaking in the mid-1940s with a series of shorts featuring his animated alter-ego, Mr. Prokouk. Inspired by the pioneering films of magician/director Georges Méliès and the fiction of Jules Verne, Zeman began animating, art directing, and often writing his own features in the early 1950s, overcoming miniscule budgets and rudimentary equipment to create his elaborate adventures. The joy of Zeman's work is often in the details: stop-motion owls against a crescent moon sky, a gold pocketwatch trapped in a bottle, a crew of sailors who literally paint their ship into existence.-Dennis BartokSeries compiled and program notes provided by Dennis Bartok, American Cinematheque, Los Angeles.We wish to thank Vladimir Opela, National Film Archive, Prague; Irena Kovarova, Czech Center, New York; and Mark Toscano, San Francisco.Children 10 and older can enjoy these delightful films and are welcome to our evening programs.
