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Karel Zeman (3 November 1910 – 5 April 1989) was a Czech
film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
,
artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...
,
production designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
and
animator An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, known as frames, which give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, and video gam ...
, best known for directing fantasy films combining
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
footage with
animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
. Because of his creative use of special effects and animation in his films, he has often been called the "Czech Méliès".


Life

Zeman was born on 3 November 1910 in
Ostroměř Ostroměř is a municipality and village in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,300 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Domoslavice, Nové Smrkovice and Sylvárův Újezd are administrati ...
(near
Nová Paka Nová Paka (, german: Neupaka) is a town in Jičín District in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Heřmanice, Kumburský Újezd, Podlevín, Přibyslav, Pustá Prose ...
) in what was then
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. Published online: At his parents' insistence, he studied
business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
at high school in
Kolín Kolín (; german: Kolin, Neu Kolin, Collin) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservation. Administra ...
. In the 1920s, he studied at a French advertising school, and worked at an advertising studio in
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
until 1936. It was in France that he first worked with animation, filming an ad for soap. He then returned to his home country (by now the
First Czechoslovak Republic The First Czechoslovak Republic ( cs, První československá republika, sk, Prvá česko-slovenská republika), often colloquially referred to as the First Republic ( cs, První republika, Slovak: ''Prvá republika''), was the first Czechoslov ...
, known as
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
), after visiting
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
,
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, and
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. Back in Czechoslovakia, Zeman advertised for Czech firms like Baťa and Tatra. In 1939 he attempted to make an extended stay in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, but was barred by the
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...
established by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
; unable to get the necessary papers in time, Zeman was required to remain in his home country during the
German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
. During the war he worked as a head of advertisement at Dům služeb in Brno. Film director
Elmar Klos Elmar Klos (26 January 1910 – 19 July 1993) was a Czech film director who collaborated for 17 years with his Slovak colleague Ján Kadár and with him won the 1965 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for the film ''The Shop on Main Street' ...
came to Brno to film a newsreel about window-dressing competition, which Zeman won. Klos offered Zeman a job at
Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice river. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the ...
's animation studio. After some consideration (his wife and children were already established in
Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
), Zeman accepted the job in 1943. At the studio, Zeman worked as an assistant to the pioneering animator
Hermína Týrlová Hermína Týrlová (11 December 1900 in Příbram, Březové Hory – 3 May 1993 in Zlín) was a prominent Czech people, Czech animator, screen writer, and film director. She was often called ''the mother of Czech animation''. Over the course of he ...
, and in 1945 he became the director of the
stop-motion animation Stop motion is an animated filmmaking technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appear to exhibit independent motion or change when the series of frames i ...
production group.Hames, p. 196 The same year, in collaboration with
Bořivoj Zeman Bořivoj Zeman (6 March 1912 – 23 December 1991) was a Czechs, Czech film director and screenwriter. Biography Originally a clerk by profession, he started by writing short film scripts just for himself. His real film work began in 1940's in Ho ...
, he made his first short film, '' Vánoční sen'' ("A Christmas Dream"). The short, which combined animated puppets with
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
footage, marked the beginning of Zeman's experiments with new techniques and genres. Zeman then went on to solo work, including a series of satirical cartoon shorts starring a puppet called Mr. Prokouk; the series was a wide success and the character became a Czech favorite. A bet Zeman accepted, challenging him to discover a method of working with glass in animation, led to the unusual short ''
Inspirace ''Inspiration'' ( cs, Inspirace) is a 1949 Czechoslovakian animated short film directed by Karel Zeman. It is a wordless stop-motion film made using glass figurines. The characters in the film are stock characters from Italian '' commedia dell'a ...
'' ("Inspiration," 1948), which tells a wordless, poetic love story using animated glass figurines. Zeman then went on to the half-hour film '' Král Lávra'' (1950), based on the satirical poem by
Karel Havlíček Borovský Karel Havlíček Borovský (; Borová, today ''Havlíčkova Borová;'' 31 October 1821 – 29 July 1856) was a Czech writer, poet, critic, politician, journalist, and publisher. Early life and education He lived and studied at the Gymnasium ...
; the film won a National Award. In 1952, Zeman completed his first feature film, ''
Poklad ptačího ostrova ''The Treasure of Bird Island'' ( cs, Poklad ptačího ostrova) is a 1953 Czechoslovak animated film directed by Karel Zeman in his feature length debut. The film, based on a Persian fairy tale, was Zeman's first feature-length work. The soundt ...
'' ("The Treasure of Bird Island," 1952). It was based on a Persian fairy tale and took its visual inspiration from Persian paintings, combining multiple animation techniques in two- and
three-dimensional space Three-dimensional space (also: 3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a geometric setting in which three values (called ''parameters'') are required to determine the position (geometry), position of an element (i.e., Point (m ...
. It was in 1955, however, that Zeman began the work for which he is best known: six feature films designed artistically to combine
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
and
animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
techniques. These were: *'' Cesta do pravěku'' (1955), inspired by
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's ''
Journey to the Center of the Earth ''Journey to the Center of the Earth'' (french: Voyage au centre de la Terre), also translated with the variant titles ''A Journey to the Centre of the Earth'' and ''A Journey into the Interior of the Earth'', is a classic science fiction novel ...
'' and the paintings of
Zdeněk Burian Zdeněk Michael František Burian (11 February 1905 in Kopřivnice, Moravia, Austria-Hungary – 1 July 1981 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a Czech painter, book illustrator and palaeoartist whose work played a central role in the development of p ...
. In 1966 a partly re-filmed US version was released as ''Journey to the Beginning of Time''. *''
Vynález zkázy ''Invention for Destruction'' ( cs, Vynález zkázy) is a 1958 Czechoslovak black-and-white science fiction film, science fiction adventure film, directed by Karel Zeman, produced by Zdeněk Novák, and starring Lubor Tokoš, Arnošt Navrátil, ...
'' (1958), based on Verne's ''
Facing the Flag ''Facing the Flag'' or ''For the Flag'' (french: Face au drapeau) is an 1896 patriotic novel by Jules Verne. The book is part of the ''Voyages extraordinaires'' series. Like ''The Begum's Millions'', which Verne published in 1879, it has the th ...
'', and filmed to emulate the original illustrations for Verne's novels *'' Baron Prášil'' (1961), celebrating the legendary
Baron Munchausen Baron Munchausen (; ) is a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in his 1785 book '' Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia''. The character is loosely based on a real ...
and the engravings of
Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engraving ...
*'' Bláznova kronika'' (1964), a satire of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, suggested by the drawings of
Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Surname * Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football player and manager ;Given name * Matthäus Aurogallus, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenberg ...
*'' Ukradená vzducholoď'' (1966), inspired by the Verne novels ''
Two Years' Vacation ''Two Years' Vacation'' (french: Deux ans de vacances) is an adventure novel by Jules Verne, published in 1888. The story tells of the fortunes of a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific, and of their struggles t ...
'' and ''
The Mysterious Island ''The Mysterious Island'' (french: L'Île mystérieuse) is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1875. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Jules Férat. The novel is a crossover sequel to Verne's fam ...
'', the
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
style, and the 1891 Prague Centennial Exhibition *'' Na kometě'' (1970), an anti-war fantasy based on Verne's ''
Hector Servadac ''Off on a Comet'' (french: Hector Servadac) is an 1877 science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne. Plot The story starts with a comet called Gallia, that touches the Earth in its flight and collects a few small chunks of it. The disa ...
'' He was a member of the jury at the
2nd Moscow International Film Festival The 2nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 July 1961. The Grand Prix was shared between the Japanese film ''The Naked Island'' directed by Kaneto Shindo and the Soviet film '' Clear Skies'' directed by Grigori Chukhrai. Jur ...
in 1961 and at the
7th Moscow International Film Festival The 7th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 20 July to 3 August 1971. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Italian film ''Confessions of a Police Captain'' directed by Damiano Damiani, the Japanese film ''Live Today, Die Tomorrow!'' ...
in 1971. The Czechoslovakian government awarded him the title of National Artist in 1970. After his live-action films, Zeman experimented with more classical forms of animation, beginning with seven shorts about
Sinbad the Sailor Sinbad the Sailor (; ar, سندباد البحري, Sindibādu al-Bahriyy; fa, سُنباد بحری, Sonbād-e Bahri or Sindbad) is a fictional mariner and the hero of a story-cycle of Persian origin. He is described as hailing from Baghdad ...
which were then expanded into the feature film '' Pohádky tisíce a jedné noci'' (1974). His final films were '' Čarodějův učeň'' (1977), from the novel '' The Satanic Mill'' by
Otfried Preußler Otfried Preußler (sometimes spelled as Otfried Preussler; both ; born Otfried Syrowatka; 20 October 1923 – 18 February 2013) was a German literature, German Children's literature, children's books author. More than 50 million copies of his books ...
, and '' Pohádka o Honzíkovi a Mařence'' (1980). On 3 November 1980, in celebration of Zeman's seventieth birthday, President
Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak communist politician of Slovak origin, who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the president o ...
awarded him the Order of the Republic. Zeman died in Gottwaldov (present-day
Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; german: Zlin) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 73,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice river. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the ...
) on 5 April 1989, a few months before the
Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
.


Legacy

Zeman's works were influential to the Czech animator
Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer (; born 4 September 1934) is a Czech filmmaker and artist whose work spans several media. He is a self-labeled surrealist known for his stop-motion animations and features, which have greatly influenced other artists such as Terr ...
, as well as to the filmmaker
Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...
, who said of Zeman: "He did what I'm still trying to do, which is to try and combine live action with animation. His Doré-esque backgrounds were wonderful." The filmmaker
Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), ''Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ''The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993), ...
described Zeman's creative process as "extremely inspirational" to his own work, and identified Zeman and the animator
Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Might ...
as his influences "in terms of doing stop motion and a more handmade quality … Karel Zeman did that amazingly." Harryhausen himself also spoke in interviews of his admiration for Zeman, and the films of the director
Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by so ...
have included homages to Zeman's works. The film historian
Georges Sadoul Georges Sadoul (4 February 1904 – 13 October 1967) was a French film critic, journalist and cinema writer. He is known for writing encyclopedias of film and filmmakers, many of which have been translated into English. Biography Sadoul was ...
identified Zeman as having "widened the horizons of the eighth art, animation," adding: On the occasion of an animation exhibition in 2010, curators at the
Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
said of Zeman: "although his influence outweighs his global fame, he is unarguably one of the greatest animators of all time." In 2012 a museum dedicated to Zeman and his work, the Muzeum Karla Zemana, opened near the
Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( cs, Karlův most ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The ...
in Prague.


Filmography


Feature films


Short films


References


External links

*
Karel Zeman filmography


at SME.sk
Gallery of Czech stop-action animation
including clips from ''The Fabulous World of Karel Zeman''.
A Strange Introduction to Karel Zeman: The Czech Visionary (TCM Movie Morlocks)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeman, Karel 1910 births 1989 deaths People from Jičín District People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech animators Czech film directors Stop motion animators Czechoslovak film directors Czech animated film directors Czech animated film producers Czechoslovak expatriates in France