''Old Czech Legends'' ( cz, Staré pověsti české) is a 1953 Czechoslovak

stop motion 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 ...

puppet animation film directed by

Jiří Trnka Jiří Trnka (; 24 February 1912 – 30 December 1969) was a Czech puppet-maker, illustrator, motion-picture animator and film director. In addition to his extensive career as an illustrator, especially of children's books, he is best kn ...

. It is based on the 1894 book ''

Ancient Bohemian Legends ''Ancient Bohemian legends'' (''Staré pověsti české'' in Czech) is a book by Alois Jirásek written in 1894. It describes events from Czech history based on folk literature and some historical facts. The model was based on Chronicle of Háje ...

'' by Alois Jirásek.

Production

After the completion of ''

Prince Bayaya ''Prince Bayaya'' (Czech: ''Bajaja'') is a 1950 Czechoslovak animated film directed by Jiří Trnka. Awards 1954 Locarno International Film Festival *Won: Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film ...

'' in 1950, Trnka was praised by the communist regime of Czechoslovakia, and asked to make more films. He planned to make an adaptation of ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

'', but was rejected for the theme being too cosmopolitan. He was pressed to make an adaptation of Jirásek's ''Ancient Bohemian Legends''. Trnka initially didn't want to work on the project. The film has a complex story with many characters and features complicated scenes both to stage and animate. Trnka's use of camera movements, lighting, set design, character design and animation and general storytelling made this an influential film in the history of animation.

Voice cast

Růžena Nasková Růžena Nasková (28 November 1884 – 17 June 1960) was a Czechoslovak film actress. She appeared in 15 films between 1915 and 1953. Selected filmography * '' The Magic House'' (1939) * ''Auntie's Fantasies ''Auntie's Fantasies'' ( cs ...

Zdeněk Štěpánek Zdeněk Štěpánek (22 September 1896 – 20 June 1968) was a Czech actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1922 and 1968. Selected filmography * '' St. Wenceslas'' (1930) * '' Paradise Road'' (1936) * '' The World Is Ours'' (1937) * '' Skelet ...

Eduard Kohout František Eduard Kohout (6 March 1889 – 25 October 1976) was a Czech stage, film actor and television actor.Mitchell p.57 Selected filmography * ''Battalion'' (1937) * '' The Magic House'' (1939) * '' Nocturnal Butterfly'' (1941) * '' Happy Jou ...

* Václav Vydra *

Karel Höger Karel Höger (17 June 1909 – 4 May 1977) was a Czechoslovakian film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1939 and 1977. Selected filmography * '' In the Still of the Night'' (1941) * '' Enchanted'' (1942) * '' Gabriela'' (1942) ...

References

External links

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Jiří Trnka: an artist who turned puppets into film stars
1952 animated films 1952 films Czech mythology Czechoslovak animated films 1950s Czech-language films Films directed by Jiří Trnka 1950s stop-motion animated films Animated films based on Slavic mythology Films based on works by Alois Jirásek Czech animated films Czech fantasy films Czech historical films Films with screenplays by Jiří Brdečka 1950s Czech films Czech animated fantasy films {{1950s-CzechRepublic-film-stub