Enchanted Heritage

Country

Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic

Copyright

1985

Production year

1984—1985

Premiere

1 October 1986

Runtime

77 min

Category

film

Genre

fairytale

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Čarovné dědictví

Czech title

Čarovné dědictví

English title

Enchanted Heritage

Co-production title

Eine zauberhafte Erbschaft

Summary

This debut feature film from writer-director Zdeněk Zelenka is a fairytale loosely inspired by a storybook of the same name written by Václav Řezáč. The title inheritance in question is a magic hat, which fulfils every wish of its owner. By chance, the hat ends up in the possession of hat maker’s son Vítek and his band of young friends. But a power-hungry duke, who rules over his subjects in a harsh and unjust manner, is also after the magical item. The children realise that in the wrong hands, the magic hat could become a dangerous weapon, and so they rid the item of its powers. Evil is ultimately punished and ordinary folk realise that they can best govern themselves... Zelenka’s “de-magicked fairytale” is an East German-Czechoslovak co-production released in 1985. Asides from illustrating the strong state of 1980s children’s film fairytales, it offers a fantastic performance from Jiří Kodet in the role of an irascible blue-blooded fiend.

Synopsis

A small town living at a satisfied and calm pace is approached by a regiment of the duke's cavalry. The baker Průba is followed by a peculiar man wearing a cloak - a junk dealer and the duke's informer. At the town market, the cavalry men break the inhabitants' goods and then lead the hatmaker Vojtěch away. His son Vítek escapes and meets his friends, Hynek and Majda, in the evening. He finds out that the housekeeper Agáta is searching for something in their house. The children scare her and the woman runs away. The dog Cesar guides them to a coffer, which contains a document and a hat. Vítek puts the hat on his head and learns after a while that it is magical and fulfils every wish he says. A duke's gunsmith shows a new model of three-barrelled cannon. The duke wants the reported treasure from Vojtěch's house, not knowing that the treasure is in fact the hat. The cavalrymen, the junk dealer and Agáta search for the treasure in vain. They focus on the children because Agáta learned from the document that it is them who have the hat. The children try to free Vítek's father with its help. He, however, has already escaped from the prison himself. The junk dealer attempts to get the hat by a trick. But the children, who got to the castle before, realize that the hat would be very dangerous in the wrong hands. They thus say a wish to make it lose its magical power. The people have enough injustice and set off to the castle. Vítek gives the hat to the duke and liberates all the imprisoned. The duke wants to fight the people with the cannon because the hat cannot help him any more. But the cannon explodes and catapults the duke to the tower. The people celebrate their victory. The duke is locked in a cage below the castle gate and becomes just a laughing stock.

Cast

Tereza Chudobová

Majda, Hynkova sestra

Miloš Kopecký

vetešník Hertlich

Luba Skořepová

hospodyně Agáta

Jiří Kodet

vévoda Adalbert z Wasserburgu

Fred Delmare

Voice by Ilja Prachař
zbrojíř baron Ruprecht

Jan Spitzer

Voice by Jiří Prager
kornet

Jörg Panknin

Voice by Michal Pavlata
čepičář Vojtěch, Vítkův otec

Václav Helšus

pekař Průba, otec Majdy a Hynka

Václav Sloup

pekařský tovaryš Jáchym

Zbyněk Honzík

učeň Matěj

Viktor Král

učeň Prokop

Miroslav Donutil

rejtar s jizvou převlečený za pekaře

Jiří Pecha

vrchní rejtar převlečený za pekaře

Oldřich Vlach

hubený rejtar převlečený za pekaře

Karel Hábl

starý rejtar

Jan Kraus

rejtar

Ladislav Gerendáš

žalářník Tintítko

Miloslav Štibich

cukrář na trhu

Jarmila Renčová

hraběnka

Miroslav Grác

soukeník

Petr Šporcl

podlejzálek

Hana Bauerová

tlustá hraběnka

Zdeněk Srstka

sedlák s krávou

Ladislav Krečmer

medvědář, vyhlašovatel mobilizace

Martina Richterová

holčička

Lucie Vojtěchová

holka

Ivo Kieslich

bubeník

Peter Heiland

žalářník

Jaroslav Tomsa

dubl za Ladislava Gerendáše/vesničan

Peter Pauli

Alexandra Antalová

tanečnice

Petr Hlinka

tanečník

Jiří Hnilička

tanečník

Miroslava Housková

tanečnice

Gabriela Janíková

tanečnice

Miroslav Komárek

tanečník

Josef Kraus

tanečník

Jana Lálová

tanečnice

Marie Ladmanová

tanečnice

Michaela Medová

tanečnice

Božík Petrovič

tanečník

Václav Podlipský

tanečník

Radka Sládková

tanečnice

Jaroslava Šporclová

tanečnice

Jaroslav Štojdl

tanečník

Jiří Štosek

tanečník

Miroslav Tampír

tanečník

Jiřina Tampírová

tanečnice

Jana Tomášková

tanečnice

Václav Tupý

tanečník

Hana Čarná

hudebnice

Vladimír Čunát

hudebník

Eva Karlíková

hudebnice

Jaroslava Kozibratková

hudebnice

Drahomíra Ptáková

hudebnice

Eva Slavíčková

hudebnice

František Švamberk

hudebník

Rostislav Tarasuk

hudebník

Jiří Kuba

dubl za Lubu Skořepovou

Karel Vávrovec

dubl za Václava Helšuse

Dubbing

Antonín Jedlička

hlasy zvířat

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Stanislava Hutková, Michael Kann

Based on

Václav Řezáč (Čarovné dědictví – kniha)

Shooting Script

Zdeněk Zelenka

Dramaturg

Jiří Švejda (Filmové studio Barrandov), Carmen Blazejewski (DEFA)

Director of Photography

Viktor Růžička

Second Unit Photography

Oldřich Kovář

Camera Operator

Ivan Šimůnek

Assistent Production Designer

Václav Hlávka

Set Designer

Ladislav Balous, Günther Pullmann, Josef Pavlík, Josef Večerek, Miloslav Dvořák

Costume Designer

Marta Kaplerová

Film Editor

Petr Sitár

Sound Designer

František Fabián

Production Manager

Vladimír Vojta, Dietmar Richter

Unit Production Manager

Jarmila Benešová (2), Ralf Biok, Eva Kulhánková

Unit Production Manager

Zdena Junková, Zdeněk Hurník, Karel Hrdý (spojka)

Consultant

František Michálek (jezdectví)

Cooperation

Barbora Bílková (klapka), Dana Šomková (klapka), Jaromír Komárek (fotograf), R. Pfeifenberger, Helmut Jurytko, Roman Gegenbauer, Siegfried Stallner, W. Grossmann, Hans-Jürgen Deponte, Th. Zienicke

Music

Music Composed by

Jiří F. Svoboda

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán KoníčekMario Klemens)

Songs

Šly panenky silnicí /parafráze Rejtary jsme vypekli/

Singer Martin PeřtRudolf ŠtědrýTereza Chudobová

Na tom pražským mostě

Song Composer lidová píseň

Production info

Original Title

Čarovné dědictví

Czech Title

Čarovné dědictví

English Title

Enchanted Heritage

Co-production Title

Eine zauberhafte Erbschaft

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

fairytale

Origin country

Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic

Copyright

1985

Production Year

1984—1985

Production specifications

literary Screenplay approved 04/1984
start of filming 29 October 1984
technical Screenplay approved 26 November 1984
end of filming 9 September 1985
projection approval 20 December 1985
withdrawal from distribution 30 June 1995

Premiere

premiere 1 October 1986 /suitable for youths/

Creative Group

6. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupina Tvůrčí mládí, Jan Vild (vedoucí 6. dramaturgicko-výrobní skupiny Tvůrčí mládí), Roter Kreis (DEFA), Thea Richter (vedoucí skupiny Roter Kreis DEFA)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

77 min

Original length in metres

2 211 meters

Distribution carrier

16mm, 35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Event: Komise pro posuzování a hodnocení technické kvality filmů

1987
Praha / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Festival: 20. filmový festival mladých Trutnov

1986
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia
Zdeněk Zelenka

Vítěz

Festival: 26. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov

1986
Zlín / Czechoslovakia