Karel Zeman

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Grave of Karel Zeman and his son, the architect Karel Zeman, in Zlín

Karel Zeman (born November 3, 1910 in Ostroměř , † April 5, 1989 in Zlín ) was a Czech film director . Together with Hermína Týrlová and Jiří Trnka, he is one of the founders of the Czech animated film.

life and work

Karel Zeman was born on November 3, 1910 in Ostroměř . He attended school in France and initially worked in the advertising industry. After his return to the Czech Republic he became more and more interested in puppetry and animated films.

In 1943 he began to work in the film studios in Zlín and together with Hermína Týrlová produced his first animated film Vánoční sen (German: "Christmas Dream"). One of his best-known films is " Journey to the Primeval Times ", a documentary about the creation of which was made, and for which Zeman received the 1955 prize for "Best Children's Film" at the Venice Film Festival .

Karel Zeman used innovative trick technology in his films by combining real scenes with actors with animation sequences and using special effects, such as optical illusions . Originally working as a decorator in an advertising studio, he learned about animation and created his first animations. At the same time he designed the popular comic figure “Prokouk the bureaucrat”. His best-known films include “Baron Münchhausen” and the Jules Verne- inspired films “ The Invention of Peril ”, “ The Stolen Airship ” and “On the Comet”. In 2001 the asteroid (19291) Karelzeman was named after him. His final resting place is in the Zlín Forest Cemetery . His daughter Ludmila Zeman (born 1947) is a children's book author and also an animated film producer. She is co-founder of the Karel Zeman Museum in Prague, which opened in 2012 .

Films (selection)

American movie poster for Zeman's film "The Invention of Perdition"
  • 1952: The Treasure of Bird Island (Poklad Ptacího ostrova)
  • 1952: The King with the Donkey Ears (Král Lávra)
  • 1955: Journey to prehistoric times (Cesta do pravěku) with the scientific assistance of Josef Augusta and based on scientific illustrations by Zdeněk Burian
  • 1957: The Invention of Perdition (Vynález zkázy) based on the novel by Jules Verne
  • 1961: Baron Münchhausen (Baron Prášil) based on the novel of the same name by Gottfried August Bürger
  • 1964: The chronicle of court jesters (Bláznova kronika)
  • 1967: The stolen airship (Ukradená vzducholoď) , interpreted very freely from the novel Two Years of Holidays and also from other novels by Jules Verne
  • 1970: On the comet (Na kometě) based on the novel by Jules Verne: Hektor Servadac's Journey through the Solar World (or Journey through the Solar World or Journey through the Solar System , French Hektor Servadac )
  • 1971: The Adventures of Sinbad (Dobrodruzství námorníka Sindibáda)
  • 1977: Krabat (Čarodějův učeň) based on the book of the same name by Otfried Preußler
  • 1980: The fairy tale of Hans and Marie (Pohádka o Honzíkovi a Mařence)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jan Velinger: Karel Zeman - Author of Czech Animated Films including the mixed Animation Classig 'Journey to the Beginning of Time' , on radio.cz on April 6, 2006, accessed on July 19, 2017.
  2. ↑ Jan Velinger: Karel-Zeman-Museum offers special Childrens Programs in Summer , on: radio.cz from July 25, 2014 (English), accessed on July 19, 2017
personal data
SURNAME Zeman, Karel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech film director
DATE OF BIRTH November 3, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Ostroměř , Czech Republic
DATE OF DEATH April 5, 1989
Place of death Prague , Czech Republic