Directed by Oldřich Lipský • Drama • With Miloš Kopecký, Michal Dočolomanský, Evelyna Steimarová, Rudolf Hrušínský • 1981 • 99 minutes
A unique and almost indescribable mix of Gothic fiction, steampunk gadgetry (designed by Czech animation wizard Jan Švankmajer), slapstick comedy and romantic opera, director Oldřich Lipský's wonderfully bonkers mystery has elements of Terry Gilliam, Mel Brooks and "The Benny Hill Show." Based on an 1892 Jules Verne novel about an opera singer searching for his lost love in an eerie castle.
Up Next in Czech Republic
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The Pied Piper
Directed by Jiří Barta • Animation • With Oldrich Kaiser, Jirí Lábus • 1986 • 53 minutes
Czech director Jiří Barta's stop-motion animated masterpiece, based on "The Pied Piper of Hamelin," is set in a dark and twisted medieval village of narrow streets and weird Gothic arches inspired by German ...
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Prague Nights
Directed by Miloš Makovec, Evald Schorm, Jiří Brdečka • Drama • 1969 • 100 minutes
The long-lost Sixties Czech occult horror anthology film Prague Nights is filled with magic, giant golems and satanic visitors. In the vein of horror anthologies like Bava’s Black Sabbath, this long-unseen gem is ...
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Reconstruction of Occupation
Directed by Jan Šikl • Documentary • 2021 • 99 minutes
For 30 years, director Jan Šikl has collected amateur films from families in his community. Then one day, he is brought archival materials - stock shot by Czech military cameramen, which remained hidden for over half a century. Jan accomplis...
