Invention for Destruction (1958)

Original title

Vynález zkázy

Directed by

Karel Zeman

Genre

fantasy film, adventure film, science fiction film, pirate film, live-action/animated film

Country

Czechoslovakia, United States

Runtime

1h 23m

Rated

U

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 89 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A scientist invents a powerful explosive that attracts the attention of pirates who want to use it for their own evil plans. The film mixes live actors with animation to create a world that looks like old book illustrations.

whimsicalinventiveplayfulnostalgicstylishlightheartedadventurousfantastical

What happens

Invention for Destruction (Czech: Vynález zkázy) (aka The Fabulous World of Jules Verne) is a 1958 Czechoslovak black-and-white science fiction adventure film, directed by Karel Zeman, produced by Zdeněk Novák, and starring Lubor Tokoš, Arnošt Navrátil, and Miloslav Holub. Based on several works by Jules Verne, primarily his 1896 novel Facing the Flag (with which the film shares its Czech title), the film evokes the original illustrations for Verne's works by combining live actors with various forms of animation. The film was distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1961 and was dubbed into English and retitled The Fabulous World of Jules Verne. It was distributed in 72 countries around the world, where it received widespread attention. It is considered the most successful Czech film ever made. During the 2000s, a 35 mm print of the original film, with English subtitles, was shown internationally at film festivals with the on-screen English title A Deadly Invention. In 2014 to 2015, a digital restoration was made which includes the reinsertion of a cut scene not included since the film's original 1958 previews. Now both the original Czech version, with English subtitles, and the English-dubbed version are internationally available, restored in high-definition video under the title Invention for Destruction. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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