a.k.a. THE FABULOUS BARON MUNCHAUSEN
Ceskoslovensky Statni Film [1961] 83′
country: Czech Republic
director: KAREL ZEMAN
cast: MILOS KOPECKY, RUDOLF JELINEK,
cast: JANA BREJCHOVA, KAREL HOGER

There are a number of big names and big films that people tend to think of when the fantasy genre comes to mind – Disney’s 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Korda’s THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, Harryhausen’s SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, and so on. One of the greatest names in fantastic cinema has been all but forgotten here in the west, with his work largely out of print and the level of critical interest at practically zero – but over the course of his four decade career he crafted what remain some of the most original and aesthetically impressive efforts in the genre.

With the illustrations of Gustav Dore as his guide and a collection of works by Jules Verne and others his inspiration, Karel Zeman set out to create what can only be described as storybooks on film. The results, for the most part, were nothing short of astounding. While less renowned than his earlier JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING OF TIME or THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE, 1961′s BARON PRASIL, which relates the incredulous journeys of Baron Munchausen, stands as one of his very greatest achievements.

The story begins when contemporary astronaut Tonik [Jelinek] arrives on the moon, only to discover that his arrival is hardly the first. Following a set of footprints across the lunar surface, he finds a single glove as well as its owners – the Victorian-era crew of Jules Verne’s legendary moon shot and the titular Baron Munchausen [Kopecky]. Convinced that Tonik is a citizen of the moon, as opposed to the Earth, Munchausen decides to show him the wonders of his time. Sailing from the moon on a ship powered by a fleet of flying horses, the pair make a stop in Turkey. Once there, they manage to simultaneously infuriate the ruler of the Turkish empire and rescue the kidnapped Princess Bianca [Brejchova] from his fortress. The trio escape by sea but find themselves pursued by the entire Turkish armada, which Munchausen tricks into blowing itself to smithereens by obscuring his own ship with tobacco smoke.

Unfortunately his ship is destroyed along with the Turkish Armada, leaving Tonik and the ship’s captain in one life boat, Munchausen and Princess Bianca in the other. His flirtatious advances on the princess are cut short when their lifeboat is devoured by a monstrous fish – deep within its gullet they find refuge on another ship that was swallowed earlier. The fish takes them on a trip around the world and across the North Pole before returning Munchausen to the shores of Europe and Princess Bianca to the arms of her waiting lover Tonik. From their the Baron’s highly improbable adventures continue, with his cannonball flight, romantic exploits, and single-handed [or is that footed?] defeat of a war-hungry general all lovingly retold.

Karel Zeman is often compared to Harryhausen due to his work with stop motion animation, but his style has much more in common with the early fantastic film works of Melies. Through clever combination of stop motion animation, traditional animation, puppetry, and live action, Zeman was able to create an aesthetic that remained entirely unique while recalling the illustrations of Gustav Dore. In its effort to celebrate the fantastic as seen through the eyes of the 19th century, his work is absolutely unparalleled.

BARON PRASIL, the first feature film Zeman was to work on after his successful 1958 Verne adaptation A DEADLY INVENTION [released in the US as THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE in 1960], has its fair share of unforgettable visuals. One remarkable early scene has the sultan of Turkey cruelly forcing one of his servants to dance in coordination with a bunch of grapes he dangles from his fingertips. Equally memorable are the montage of Munchausen and Tonik’s battle with the sultan’s guards – depicted in flashes of red-tinted animation – and their subsequent escape, punctuated with inserts of the furious Turkish army mobilizing. Then there is the sequence in which Munchausen’s lifeboat is surrounded by fanciful imaginary beasts while Princess Bianca sleeps.

The look of the film improves upon that of A DEADLY INVENTION in at least one respect – the addition of color. The animation looks to have been filmed in color outright and presents with wonderful primary shades of red and blue. The live action footage is photographed in economical black and white, then carefully tinted to blend with the animation. While the scenes in Turkey are primarily orange or yellow, the night-time wanderings of Munchausen and the Princess are tinted much more creatively.

As with the majority of Zeman’s storybook-styled offerings, the imagery here doesn’t so much support the story as create it. Dialogue is relatively sparse, with Kopecky’s Munchausen appropriately receiving the greater part of it, recounting most of the story through narration. Kopecky plays the Baron as a delightfully pompous old adventurer who’s imagination has obviously gotten the better of him. Playing the straight man is Jelinek as Tonik, who’s love for Princess Bianca [along with the influence of the Baron] sparks his transformation into an equally fanciful adventurer. The script composed by Jiri Brdecka, Josef Kainar, and Zeman is simple but effective, and never distracts from the all-important visuals.

BARON PRASIL saw a very limited release in the USA in 1964 – a later showing of it held by the British Film Institute served as Terry Gilliam’s inspiration for his troubled big budget adaptation. Image Entertainment saw fit to market it on laserdisc in 1989, albeit dubbed into English. A recent non-English friendly Japanese DVD issue seems to be the only other appearance of the film on home video – a damned shame by my estimation, though I’m hopeful that an English-friendly Karel Zeman collection will eventually materialize [are you listening, Criterion? Eureka?].

If you’re a fan of fantasy film then you really owe it to yourself to track down this uncommon but none-the-less available gem [if all else fails, it is available for download from through a variety of torrent trackers]. Zeman was truly one of a kind, and his work demands a larger audience. Highly recommended.

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