Karel Zeman

Known for

Directing

Born

November 3, 1910

Birthplace

Ostromer u Nové Paky, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]

Died

April 5, 1989 (aged 78)

Biography

Karel Zeman was a brilliant pioneer of special effects in film. Despite his artistic talent, his parents insisted he study business. At the age of 17, he went to Aix-en-Provence in the south of France, where he studied advertising design. In 1943, the film director Elmar Klos offered him a job at the Bata Film Studios. Zeman often had to struggle against difficult conditions in the technically ill-equipped Kudlov Studios. Many of the workers with whom he started had no particular experience of filming. They, like Zeman himself, had to learn everything on the job. Journey to the Beginning of Time, released in 1955, became Zeman's breakthrough film, his first to combine live action, animation...

Best known work

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen

1962

The Fabulous World of Jules Verne

1958

Journey to the Beginning of Time

1955

Inspiration

1949

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

1978

On the Comet

1970

The Stolen Airship

1967

A Christmas Dream

1945

The Jester's Tale

1964

Tales of 1,001 Nights

1974

Filmography

2015
Film Adventurer Karel Zeman
as Self (archive footage)
2015
La magie Karel Zeman
Director
2001
Sindbad
Scenario Writer
1980
The Tale of John and Mary
Director, Writer, Art Direction, Animation
1980
Karel Zeman for Children
as Self, Director
1978
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Director, Screenplay, Art Direction
1974
Tales of 1,001 Nights
Director, Screenplay, Art Direction
1970
On the Comet
Director, Art Direction, Screenplay
1967
The Stolen Airship
Director, Art Direction, Screenplay
1964
The Jester's Tale
Director, Screenplay, Story
1962
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen
Director, Story, Screenplay, Art Designer
1962
The Magic World of Karel Zeman
as Himself
1960
Laterna magika II
Director, Writer
1959
Mr. Prokouk, The Acrobat
Writer, Set Decoration
1958
The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
Director, Production Design, Special Effects, Screenplay, Screenstory, Art Designer
1957
Mr. Prokouk, Detective
Screenplay, Animatronics Designer, Story
1956
Black diamond
Story, Screenplay
1955
Strakonický dudák
Special Effects
1955
Journey to the Beginning of Time
Director, Screenplay, Story, Art Designer, Special Effects
1955
Mr. Prokouk, The Animal Lover
Director, Writer
1953
The Treasure of Bird Island
Animation, Director, Screenplay
1952
110 Years of the Pilsen Brewery
Director, Director of Photography
1952
One Hundred and Ten Years of the Pilsen Brewery
Director
1951
King Lavra
Director, Screenplay, Adaptation
1949
Inspiration
as Glass Blower, Director, Writer