Enchanted Heritage
Country
Czechoslovakia, German Democratic RepublicCopyright
1985Production year
1984—1985Premiere
1 October 1986Runtime
77 minDirector
Zdeněk ZelenkaCategory
filmGenre
fairytaleTypology
featuretheatrical distributionlongOriginal title
Čarovné dědictvíCzech title
Čarovné dědictvíEnglish title
Enchanted HeritageCo-production title
Eine zauberhafte ErbschaftSummary
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.
Photos
Cast
Martin Peřt
Vítek
Rudolf Štědrý
Hynek
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
František Husák
rejtar
Jan Kraus
rejtar
Ladislav Gerendáš
žalářník Tintítko
Miloslav Štibich
cukrář na trhu
Jarmila Renčová
hraběnka
Dagmar Neumannová
hraběnka
Miroslav Grác
soukeník
Stanislav Stolbenko
podlejzálek
Petr Šporcl
podlejzálek
Hana Bauerová
tlustá hraběnka
Zdeněk Srstka
sedlák s krávou
Ladislav Krečmer
medvědář, vyhlašovatel mobilizace
Jiří Krytinář
trpaslík
Martina Richterová
holčička
Lucie Vojtěchová
holka
Karel Smrž
mužík
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
Irena Novotná
hudebnice
Drahomíra Ptáková
hudebnice
Eva Slavíčková
hudebnice
František Švamberk
hudebník
Rostislav Tarasuk
hudebník
Otakar Veselý
hudebník
Jiří Kuba
dubl za Lubu Skořepovou
Karel Vávrovec
dubl za Václava Helšuse
Commentary
Dubbing
Antonín Jedlička
hlasy zvířat
Crew and creators
Director
Second Unit Director
Stanislava Hutková, Michael Kann
Assistant Director
Continuity
Based on
Václav Řezáč (Čarovné dědictví – kniha)
Screenplay
Shooting Script
Dramaturg
Jiří Švejda (Filmové studio Barrandov), Carmen Blazejewski (DEFA)
Director of Photography
Second Unit Photography
Camera Operator
Production Designer
Assistent Production Designer
Set Designer
Ladislav Balous, Günther Pullmann, Josef Pavlík, Josef Večerek, Miloslav Dvořák
Costume Designer
Costumes
Jaroslava Adámková, Uwe Bornemann, Eva Staňková, Renata Ryšavá
Make-Up Artist
František Příhoda, Heinz Kosse, Božena Došlá, Christa Eifler, Zdeněk Klika
Film Editor
Assistant Film Editor
Sound Designer
Special Effects
Jiří Milfait, Boris Masník, Jaroslav Čermák, Michael Poledník
Production Manager
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
Music Performed by
FISYO (Music Conducted by Štěpán KoníčekMario Klemens)
Songs
Šly panenky silnicí /parafráze Rejtary jsme vypekli/
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/
Copyright Holders
Distribution
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: 26. festival filmů pro děti Gottwaldov
1986
Zlín / Czechoslovakia
Vítěz
Festival: 20. filmový festival mladých Trutnov
1986
Trutnov / Czechoslovakia
Zdeněk Zelenka
