''The Fabulous Baron Munchausen'' ( cz, Baron Prášil) is a 1962 Czechoslovak romantic

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, ani ...

directed by

Karel Zeman Karel Zeman (3 November 1910 – 5 April 1989) was a Czech film director, artist, production designer and animator, best known for directing fantasy films combining live-action footage with animation. Because of his creative use of special effec ...

, based on the tales about Baron Munchausen. The film combines

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 ...

with various forms of

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

and is highly stylized, often evoking 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-engravin ...

. A digital restoration of the film premiered on 5 September 2016 at the

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...

in the United States.

Plot

The film begins with footsteps leading to a pond. The camera continually moves upwards to show the flight of butterflies, birds, and a progression of historical aircraft ending with a rocket ship travelling through space and landing on the Moon. The astronaut/cosmonaut leaves his spacecraft and sights other footsteps on the Moon leading him to an old phonograph, then a crashed rocket with a plaque reading

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 extra ...

's ''

From the Earth to the Moon ''From the Earth to the Moon: A Direct Route in 97 Hours, 20 Minutes'' (french: De la Terre à la Lune, trajet direct en 97 heures 20 minutes) is an 1865 novel by Jules Verne. It tells the story of the Baltimore Gun Club, a post-American Civil W ...

''. Taken to a dinner table, the surprised space traveller meets the characters from Verne's book, as well as two other figures associated with fictional Moon voyages: Cyrano de Bergerac and Baron Munchausen. Inviting him to their table, the characters believe that the cosmonaut is a man actually from the Moon, and kindly treat him as a small child. The Baron decides to take him to Earth in a fanciful airship held up by a herd of winged horses. The Baron dresses the spaceman, called "Tony" in the English dubbed version and "Tonik" in the original Czech, in 18th-century costume where they land in the 18th-century

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. Speaking in an unintelligible voice that he calls the "language of diplomacy", the Baron presents Tonik to the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it c ...

. However, Tonik's lack of knowledge of

diplomatic protocol In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state. It may also refer to an international agreement that supplements or amends a treaty. A protocol is a rule which describes how an activity should be performed ...

and his falling in love with Princess Bianca, a

damsel in distress The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...

held prisoner by the Sultan, leads to a series of romantic and fanciful adventures that transform the modern scientific space traveller into a hero rivalling the Baron. Among the exciting and satiric adventures are sword and sea battles with the Turks, being swallowed by a giant fish, and ending the conflict between two warring kingdoms.

Cast

* Miloš Kopecký as Baron Munchausen *

Jana Brejchová Jana Brejchová (born 20 January 1940) is a Czech film actress. She has appeared in more than 70 films since 1953. She was married to director Miloš Forman and later actor Vlastimil Brodský. Her younger sister Hana is also an actress who has ...

as Princess Bianca *Rudolf Jelínek as Tony * Rudolf Hrušínský as The Sultan * Karel Höger as Cyrano de Bergerac *Eduard Kohout as General Ellemerle * Jan Werich as Ship's Captain *František Šlégr as Pirate Captain *

Otto Šimánek Otto Šimánek (28 April 1925 – 8 May 1992) was a Czechoslovak actor. Šimánek worked at the Prague City Theater. He also taught mime at the Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervat ...

as Michel Ardan *Naděžda Blažíčková as Court Dancer * Karel Effa as Adjutant * Josef Hlinomaz as Spanish General *Zdeněk Hodr as Nicole * Miloslav Holub as Enemy General *Miroslav Homola as Chess Player *

Václav Trégl Václav Trégl (10 December 1902 – 11 February 1979) was a Czechoslovak film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1933 and 1977. Selected filmography * '' The Inspector General'' (1933) * '' Workers, Let's Go'' (1934) * '' Po ...

as Sailor *Bohuš Záhorský as Admiral *Richard Záhorský as Barbicain

Reception

The film was released internationally throughout the 1960s, including a 1964 American dub under ''The Fabulous Baron Munchausen''. Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as "a delectable oddity with a perky, intriguing music track," and writer

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

termed it a "charming and sweethearted 1961 Czech fantasy filled with loopy special effects." César Santos Fontenla of '' Triunfo'' called the film "a

masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

" and added: "the film is undoubtedly the most exciting experiment so far in animation and in combining different techniques ... The Méliès influence is present throughout the film, which reaches the same level of poetry as the works of that old master." ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

''s film blog called Zeman's technique "perfectly fitted" (''parfaitement adaptée'') to the Baron Munchausen stories, and described the result as "endowed with a splendid sense of humor and very inventive" (''doté d’un bel humour et très inventif''). The film historian Peter Hames described ''Baron Prášil'' as "perhaps eman'sfinest film." When the film was screened at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

in the 1980s, it served as an influence for

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), '' ...

, who was then making his own version of the Munchausen stories, '' The Adventures of Baron Munchausen''. According to Gilliam: British magazine Home Cinema Choice voted ''The Fabulous Baron Munchausen'' the best digitally restored film of 2017, defeating such films as '' The Thing'', ''

The Wages of Fear ''The Wages of Fear'' (french: Le Salaire de la peur) is a 1953 French thriller film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, starring Yves Montand, and based on the 1950 French novel ''Le Salaire de la peur'' (lit. "The Salary of Fear") by Georges A ...

'' and '' Mulholland Drive''. The restored version of the film is about six minutes shorter and omits 27 scenes compared to the original footage.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabulous Baron Munchausen, The 1962 films Baron Munchausen Czech adventure films Czech animated films Czech fantasy films Czech romantic films 1960s Czech-language films Czechoslovak animated films Films directed by Karel Zeman Films set in the 18th century Films set in Istanbul Films set in the Ottoman Empire Films with live action and animation 1960s romantic fantasy films 1960s stop-motion animated films Films with screenplays by Jiří Brdečka Films with screenplays by Karel Zeman Films based on From the Earth to the Moon Czech animated adventure films Czech animated fantasy films Czech animated romance films