{"product_id":"three-fantastic-journeys-by-karel-zeman-dvd","title":"Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman (DVD)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA one-of-a-kind silver-screen illusionist, Czech filmmaker Karel Zeman devoted his career to transporting viewers to realms bey­ond their wildest imagining. The deft, breathtaking combin­ations of live action and animation techniques that he pioneered in the postwar years earned him comparisons to legends such as Georges Méliès, and an array of followers that includes Jan Švankmajer, Terry Gilliam, and Wes Anderson. Presented here are three of Zeman’s most enchanting fantasies—a boys’ adventure into the mists of prehistory, a Jules Verne–derived flight of fancy, and an exotic eighteenth-century tall tale—all of them treasure chests of wondrous sights, tactile textures, and headlong yarn-spinning that helped put Czechoslovak cinema on the international map.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"product-detail-header\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-detail-title\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"header__primarytitle\" itemprop=\"name\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJourney to the Beginning of Time\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-summary\" itemprop=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA beguiling mix of natural history and science fiction, this early feature by Karel Zeman follows four schoolboys on an awe-inspiring expedition back through time, where they behold landscapes and creatures that have long since vanished from the earth. Hewing closely to the scientific knowledge of its era,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eJourney to the Beginning of Time\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ebrings its prehistoric beasts alive through a number of innovative techniques—including stop-motion, puppetry, and life-size models—creating an atmosphere of pure wonderment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"product-detail-header\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-detail-title\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"header__primarytitle\" itemprop=\"name\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInvention for Destruction\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-summary\" itemprop=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis eye-popping escapade revolves around a scientist and his doomsday machine—and the pirates who will stop at nothing to gain possession of it. Freely adapting the fiction of Jules Verne, and inspired by Victorian line engravings, Karel Zeman surrounds his actors with animated scenery of breathtaking intricacy and complexity, constructing an impossibly vivid proto-steampunk world. Released abroad at the turn of the 1960s,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eInvention for Destruction\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewent on to become one of the most internationally successful Czechoslovak films of all time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cheader class=\"product-detail-header\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-detail-title\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"header__primarytitle\" itemprop=\"name\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Fabulous Baron Munchausen\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/header\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-summary\" itemprop=\"description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Fabulous Baron Munchausen,\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eKarel Zeman conjures the adventures of the legendary, boastful baron, whose whirlwind exploits take him from the moon to eighteenth-century Turkey to the belly of a whale and beyond. A kaleidoscopic marvel that blends live action with techniques including stop-motion, cutout collage, puppetry, painted backdrops, and antique tinting, Zeman’s film is an exhilarating visual delight and a warmhearted whirl through a bygone age too entrancing to have existed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"header_lvl2 hideSmall\"\u003eSpecial Features\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew 4K digital restorations of all three films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eU.S.-release version of\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eJourney to the Beginning of Time\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003efrom 1960\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlternate English-dubbed soundtrack for\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eInvention for Destruction,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand the opening sequence of the 1961 U.S.-release version\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew programs with animation filmmaker John Stevenson and special-effects artists Phil Tippett and Jim Aupperle discussing director Karel Zeman and his complex visual trickery\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFour early short films by Zeman:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Christmas Dream\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1945),\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Horseshoe for Luck\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1946),\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eInspiration\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1949), and\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eKing Lavra\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e(1950)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003ci\u003eFilm Adventurer: Karel Zeman,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ea 2015 documentary about the director, featuring filmmakers Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam, illustrator Ludmila Zeman, and others\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShort documentaries produced by the Karel Zeman Museum profiling the director and detailing the production and effects of all three films\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRestoration demonstrations and an interview with restoration supervisor James Mockoski\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTrailers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNew English subtitle translations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePLUS: An essay by film critic Michael Atkinson, along with (for the Blu-ray) deluxe pop-up art\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eNew covers by Eric Skillman\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Criterion Collection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45130760257736,"sku":"CC3117DDVD","price":100.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0598\/8486\/3688\/files\/threefantasticjourneysbykarelzemandvd.jpg?v=1783103354","url":"https:\/\/videomatica.com\/products\/three-fantastic-journeys-by-karel-zeman-dvd","provider":"Videomatica Ltd (since 1983)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}