History Creator / KarelZeman

* ''Vynález zkázy'' (1958, ''The Deadly Invention'' or ''''Film/InventionForDestruction''), released in the US as ''The Fabulous World of Jules Verne''

* ''Vynález zkázy'' (1958, ''The Deadly Invention'' or ''An Invention for Destruction''), released in the US as ''The Fabulous World of Jules Verne''

** Incidentally, Wiki/TheOtherWiki notes that Zeman's ''Baron Munchausen'' directly inspired Creator/TerryGilliam's take on the character, ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen''.

* ForgottenFramingDevice: ''Journey to Prehistory'', ''The Deadly Invention'', ''A Jester's Tale'', ''The Stolen Airship'' all begin with framing devices of one kind or another, as a sort of bridge between the normal world and the film's stylized world. Not a single one of them find a need to return to the frame on the way out. These aren't just forgotten framing devices; they're downright ''discarded'' framing devices, cheerfully dismantled as soon as they've served their purpose.

** ''Journey to Prehistory'' begins with a FrameDevice showing one of the kids at home, putting together a scrapbook about the journey he's just gone on…but the film doesn't explain [[spoiler:how the travelers got back from prehistory to the present. Was there an alternative route? Did the river start running the opposite direction? [[ItWasAllADream Was it all a dream?]] Did the scrapbook-maker [[UnreliableNarrator make the whole thing up?]]]] No matter; the journey itself happened, and that's the story Zeman wanted to tell.

** ''Journey to Prehistory'' [[spoiler:begins with a FrameDevice showing one of the kids at home, putting together a scrapbook about the journey he's just gone on…but the film doesn't explain how the travelers got back from prehistory to the present. Was there an alternative route? Did the river start running the opposite direction? [[ItWasAllADream Was it all a dream?]] Did the scrapbook-maker [[UnreliableNarrator make the whole thing up?]] No matter; the journey itself happened, and that's the story Zeman wanted to tell.]]
** ''Baron Munchausen'' [[spoiler:ends with love in bloom…between a modern astronaut and an eighteenth-century fictional character. ([[InSpace On the Moon]], no less.) ItMakesSenseInContext, but where will the relationship will go from there? That's for Zeman to know and us to find out.]]

* ''Krabat: Čarodějův učeň'' (1977, ''Krabat: The Sorcerer's Apprentice'')

** ''The Deadly Invention'' combines live actors with all sorts of animation techniques to recreate the original illustration style in Creator/JulesVerne's books. ''The Stolen Airship'' and ''On the Comet'' return to Verne, with a generous dash of UsefulNotes/ArtNouveau for good measure.

A Czech filmmaker (1910–1989) who—despite primitive working conditions, shoestring budgets, near-constant political turmoil in his home country, and Soviet censors breathing down his neck—somehow managed to produce some of the most visually innovative cinematic work of the 20th century.

** Incidentally, TheOtherWiki notes that Zeman's ''Baron Munchausen'' directly inspired Creator/TerryGilliam's take on the character, ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBaronMunchausen''.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Hardly any film theorist has been able to talk about Zeman without either strongly implying, or deliberately stating, that Zeman is the spiritual successor of Creator/GeorgesMelies.

* {{Zeerust}}: Played for {{Retraux}} charm in ''The Deadly Invention'', ''The Stolen Airship'', and ''On the Comet'', befitting their SteamPunk flavor.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: This happened a lot when Zeman's films were released abroad, as the "released in the US" notes in the filmography above indicate.
** Ironically, ''The Deadly Invention'' is itself a Completely Different Title; it's the standard Czech title for Jules Verne's book ''Facing the Flag'' (French: ''Face au drapeau''), the main source material for the film.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: This was the case with Zeman's work for a long time, although the recent Czech DVD releases approved by the Zeman family and produced by Prague's Karel Zeman Museum are beginning to change matters some. The English-speaking world still hasn't gotten its own proper DVD releases of most of the films, however.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: Zeman's endings often end on a note of [[HappyEnding conclusiveness and emotional satisfaction]] while still leaving the narrative itself [[AmbiguousEnding completely open-ended]].

* AndTheAdventureContinues: Zeman's endings often pull the rather remarkable stunt of ending on a note of conclusiveness and [[HappyEnding emotional satisfaction]] while still leaving the narrative itself [[AmbiguousEnding completely open-ended.

** ''The Deadly Invention'' combines live actors with all sorts of animation techniques to recreate the original illustration style in Creator/JulesVerne's books. ''The Stolen Airship'' and ''On the Comet'' return to Verne, with a generous dash of ArtNouveau for good measure.