Treasure at the Castle

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production year

1989

Premiere

1 November 1990

Runtime

81 min

Category

film

Genre

children, adventure

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

Poklad rytíře Miloty

Czech title

Poklad rytíře Miloty

English title

Treasure at the Castle

Working title

Poklad na hradě

Summary

In between making the Slunce, seno… (Sun, Straw...) trilogy, director Zdeněk Troška found time to bring to the big screen a historical drama very different in tone from his zany provincial comedies. Adapted from a 1930 novel by Alois Jirásek, Poklad hraběte Chamaré (The Treasure of Count Chamaré) is a stylised drama, set at the end of the 18th century, which tells the story of a conflict between conservative ideology and an emerging more progressive view of the world. New doctor Kamenický arrives at the manor house of invalid Countess Chamaré and immediately becomes entangled in a series of local problems. The countess’s husband is obsessed with tracking down some missing treasure, while a fanatical Jesuit hunts for the secret members of the “United Czech Brotherhood”. This successfully mounted production sees Blanka Bohdanová in the role of the countess, Eduard Cupák as the abbé, and Petr Svoboda as Kamenický. Countrywoman Fantina is played by a soon-to-be beloved star of Zdeněk Troška, namely Michaela Kuklová.

Synopsis

On April 25, 1605, a knight called Milota was assassinated by royal armigers while trying to escape from the castle Těmice. The armigers, however, did not find any stolen treasure on him. Almost four hundred years later, siblings Jindra, Tomᚠand the eighteen-year old Alena spend their holidays at the castle with their grandfather who works there as the castle warden. The castle needs lots of repairs, but there is no money to finance them. Tomᚠand Jindra decide to find Milota's treasure which could help the castle. The visitors are guided by Alena and two holiday workers, Roman and Petr. The boys' attention is attracted by one of the tourists, professor Horák, who is suspiciously curious about the castle collections. The boys look for the treasure in various places: in the crypt in the old chapel, in the place called At the Killed, and at the castle. One day, they spot an unknown thief replacing a precious vase with a fake and hiding the original under the bed. They tell some Young Pioneers from a nearby camp about it. One of them draws a portrait of the suspicious man in whom the children recognize engineer Šebesta, called Antiquary - the frequent target of dodgy pranks of the little Kubík. The Young Pioneers start guarding around the castle and Jindra calls the police. The children find out that Horák is beyond suspicion and they discover the real thiefs. They are engineer Šebesta and the guide Petr. Šebesta takes the vase from under the bed and he and Petr escape in a car. They have no idea that Tomᚠin the meantime had returned the original vase to the display case and put the fake under the bed. The two thiefs are caught after a dramatic pursuit. The tireless Tomᚠeventually discovers a weatherworn chest of the knight Milota. The golden treasure, however, is not inside

Cast

Jaroslav Tomaňa

Jindra, Tomášův starší bratr

Kristina Maděričová

Alena, sestra Tomáše a Jindry

Lubor Tokoš

děda Janoušek

Karel Augusta

inženýr Šebesta zvaný Starožitník

Josef Bláha

profesor Horák

Kamil Koula

vedoucí pionýrů Borek

Tomáš Čisárik

průvodce Roman

Michal Suchánek

průvodce Petr Ryšánek

Bronislav Poloczek

vrchní Mireček

Ján Sedal

lesník Šimek

Romana Šerá

Jana

Tomáš Turek

nadstrážmistr VB

Luděk Randár

nadstrážmistr VB

Oldřich Slavík

kapitán VB

Libor Olšan

rytíř Milota z Těmic

Miroslava Součková

Milotova dívka

skupina historického šermu L. A. G.

vojáci a Milotova družina

Mojmír Maděrič

tatínek-turista

Jaroslava Tihelková

maminka Boženka

Ladislav Šamlot

turista s batohem

Tomáš Klícha

Kubík

Božidara Richterová

dívka

Igor Bareš

majitel dvojkola

Jiří Patočka

vousáč na slavnosti

Josef Vrtal

Radka Dokulilová

Ladislav Kucharski

Ladislav Suchánek

Crew and creators

Second Unit Director

Marie Barušová

Assistant Director

Roman Lauterkranc

Continuity

Hana Daňková

Screenstory

Jiří Jilík

Screenplay

Jiří Jilík

Dramaturg

Milan Šimek

Director of Photography

Juraj Fándli

Second Unit Photography

Ladislav Kolář

Camera Operator

Dalibor Michalčík

Production Designer

Luděk Kouřil

Set Designer

Vladislav Adam, Bohuslav Peloušek, Josef Šťovíček

Film Editor

Jiří Krška

Sound Designer

Radomír Koutek, Jitka Zvirocká (zvukové efekty)

Assistant Sound Designer

Ladislav Procházka

Production Manager

Vojtěch Kunčík

Unit Production Manager

Alena Pekařová, Věra Kopecká

Cooperation

Eva Jordánová (klapka), Petra Vyoralová (klapka), Otto Kamenský (fotograf), Památková správa Buchlovice, Otakar Cholasta, Z. K. Navrátil, Bronislav Sukup

Music

Music Composed by

Petr Skoumal

Music Performed by

Petr Skoumal

Choreographer

Marie Turková

Songs

Mnoho je cest do života

Song Composer Petr Skoumal
Writer of Lyrics Jiří Jilík
Singer sbor

Na hradě Okoři

Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

Poklad rytíře Miloty

Czech Title

Poklad rytíře Miloty

English Title

Treasure at the Castle

Working Title

Poklad na hradě

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

children, adventure

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1989

Production Year

1989

Production specifications

start of filming 24 April 1989
end of filming 7 September 1989
the first film copy approved 17 December 1989
projection approval 21 December 1989
withdrawal from distribution 31 March 1994

Premiere

premiere 1 November 1990 /suitable for youths/

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

81 min

Original length in metres

2 308 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

Exhibition: 22. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1990
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia

Vítěz

Exhibition: 22. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1990
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Lubor Tokoš