THURSDAY NIGHT! ~ Karel Zeman's Invention For Destruction ~ SEE IT!

Message sent via email

October 5, 2023

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CZECH FILM IN HISTORY

Invention For Destruction
(Vynález zkázy)

 

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CZECH FILM IN HISTORY

Invention For Destruction
(Vynález zkázy)

Invention For Destruction

 

The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman: Invention For Destruction
Thursday, October 5th, 2023
Doors 7:30pm / Film Starts 8:00pm
Tickets $14 / VPES Members $12

** Special introduction & screening of Middle Watch (2022) by John Stevenson **
*** Garden Reception with Czech delicacies after the film ***

The most successful Czech film in history, Invention for Destruction (1958) is a visionary antiwar film influenced by the 19th century engravings of Édouard Riou and based on the novel Facing the Flag by Jules Verne. The film follows lead character Simon Hart, inventor and engineer, and his mentor Professor Roch on their quest to understand the “nature of pure matter”.

Critic Alex Barret writes in Experimental Conversations:
 

 

...the film combines all manner of tricks and effects – double exposures, painted animation, cut-out animation, stop-motion animation, puppets, miniatures, models, stylised matte-paintings, and who knows what else – with its live-action footage to create a seamless blend of startling, crisp, black-and-white material. The process was dubbed ‘Mystimation’, a name which seems perfectly apt for something which really does need to be seen to be believed.
 

 

Director John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda, Sherlock Gnomes) will be present to give a special introduction to Invention for Destruction and screen his new BAFTA nominated animated short film Middle Watch, inspired by the films of Karl Zeman and based on a real maritime mythical encounter of a World War Two sailor aboard a ship in the Indian Ocean.
 

--------------------

SOME OF THE MOST EXQUISITE DINOSAURS TO EVER GRACE THE SILVER SCREEN

Journey to the Beginning of Time
(Cesta do pravěku)

 

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CZECH FILM IN HISTORY

Invention For Destruction
(Vynález zkázy)

Invention For Destruction

The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman: Invention For Destruction
Thursday, October 5th, 2023
Doors 7:30pm / Film Starts 8:00pm
Tickets $14 / VPES Members $12

** Special introduction & screening of Middle Watch (2022) by John Stevenson **
*** Garden Reception with Czech delicacies after the film ***

The most successful Czech film in history, Invention for Destruction (1958) is a visionary antiwar film influenced by the 19th century engravings of Édouard Riou and based on the novel Facing the Flag by Jules Verne. The film follows lead character Simon Hart, inventor and engineer, and his mentor Professor Roch on their quest to understand the “nature of pure matter”.

Critic Alex Barret writes in Experimental Conversations:
 

...the film combines all manner of tricks and effects – double exposures, painted animation, cut-out animation, stop-motion animation, puppets, miniatures, models, stylised matte-paintings, and who knows what else – with its live-action footage to create a seamless blend of startling, crisp, black-and-white material. The process was dubbed ‘Mystimation’, a name which seems perfectly apt for something which really does need to be seen to be believed.
 
Director John Stevenson (Kung Fu Panda, Sherlock Gnomes) will be present to give a special introduction to Invention for Destruction and screen his new BAFTA nominated animated short film Middle Watch, inspired by the films of Karl Zeman and based on a real maritime mythical encounter of a World War Two sailor aboard a ship in the Indian Ocean.
 
--------------------

SOME OF THE MOST EXQUISITE DINOSAURS TO EVER GRACE THE SILVER SCREEN

Journey to the Beginning of Time
(Cesta do pravěku)

Journey To The Beginning of Time

 
The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman: Journey To The Beginning Of Time
Sunday, October 8th, 2023
Doors open 1:30pm / Film Starts 2:00pm
** Czech Garden Party & Vintage Car Show 3:30pm-6:00pm **
Tickets $14 / VPES Members $12

This film from 1955 tells the story of four boys who set sail on a wooden boat up the river of time on a fantastic journey to the prehistoric Earth. One by one they explore the Quaternary, the Tertiary, the Mesozoic and the Paleozoic Eras up to the Silurian sea.A visually stunning work that doubles as a rumination on the beauty of natural landscape, the film was made in the Kudlov Studios in Zlín and in studios in Hostivař, Czech Republic.
 

--------------------
These screenings are made possible through the digital restoration efforts of "Restoring the World of Fantasy," a collaborative project by the Karel Zeman Museum, the Czech Film Foundation, and Czech Television. The events for The Painted Cinema of Karel Zeman are co-organized by the Velasavasay Panorama Enthusiast Society, the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Los Angeles, the Czechoslovak Society of Arts & Sciences in Los Angeles, R. Jelinek Distillery, and Artinii.