Na komete (1970)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Karel Zeman

Writers:

Jan Procházka (writer)
Jules Verne (novel)

Release Date:

9 October 1970 (Czechoslovakia)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

When a comet passes the earth very closely, it pulls a small part of North Africa with it. Carried along is a bunch of people...

Plot Keywords:

Satire | Based On Novel

Cast

Emil Horváth	...	Porucík Servadac
Magda Vásáryová	...	Angelika
Frantisek Filipovský	...	plukovník Picard
Cestmír Randa	...	Spanelský konzul
Josef Hlinomaz	...	kapitán Lacoste
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hanus Bor	...	Luigi (as Jan Bor)
Zdenek Braunschläger	...	Koloniální voják
Zdena Bronislavská	...	Tanecnice v kavárne
Ivan Chrz	...	Unesený námorník
Jana Drbohlavová	...	Angelika (voice)
Karel Effa	...	Kaprál Ben
Ladislav Gzela	...	Námorník
Miroslav Holub	...	Hikmet
Vladimír Hrubý	...	Turecký voják
Jirina Jirásková	...	Ester
Pavel Jiras	...	Velitel dela
Václav Kankovský	...	Kormidelník
Jaroslav Klouda	...	Pepino
Eduard Kohout	...	Murphy
Bohumil Koska	...	Dustojník na koni
Blazena Kramesová	...	Orientální tanecnice
Willy Kuk-Znamínko	...	Arabský císník
Pavel Libovický	...	Antonio
Jirí Lír	...	Delostrelec Ali
Jaroslav Mares	...	Kaprál Lafitte
Steva Marsálek	...	Muhdí
Vladimír Mensík	...	Silberman
Milos Nesvadba	...	Husejn
Karel Pavlík	...	Oliphant
Marta Richterová	...	Orientální tanecnice
Eva Rubínová	...	Orientální tanecnice
Iva Sasková	...	Krásná Arabka
Antonín Soukup	...	Voják na strázi
Lolka Soupalová	...	Orientální tanecnice
Jaroslav Stercl	...	Námorník s klíci
Jaroslav Tomsa	...	Kaskadér
Jan Triska	...	Porucík Servadac (voice)
Oldrich Velen	...	Majitel harému
Josef Vetrovec	...	Sejk
Milos Vosmansky	...	Námorník
Jaroslava Vosmiková	...	Dívka

Also Known As:

Archa pana Servadaca (Czechoslovakia) (working title)
Hector Servadac's Ark
Na kometě (Czechoslovakia: Czech title)
On the Comet

Runtime:

USA:74 min

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:11

Company:

Filmové Studio Barrandov

Movie Connections:

Version of Valley of the Dragons (1961)

Pretty good Zeman film but not his best work

I'm a huge fan of Karel Zeman's films so it's hard for me to say which one I think is best, although I have a real weakness for BARON PRASIL and JOURNEY TO THE BEGINNING OF TIME. I finally got to see this and it has good characters and it seems to anticipate the kind of comedy that Monte Python would later end up doing. Based on Verne's story, it involves factions fighting one another who end up on a comet joining forces to survive. As someone else said, the comet looks enough like Earth that if they didn't tell you they were on a comet and the comet didn't have dinosaurs, you'd think they were still back on Earth. When the dinosaurs finally show up, they come in herds and they look pretty good. It's some fine stop-motion animation but it seems kind of tacked on. Photography and music score as usual are top drawer and even the characters are likable if somewhat silly. Overall, there is just no tension or suspense. It's a comedy pretty much so you never really believe anyone is in danger. The animation is excellent as it always is in Zeman's films but this is definitely not his best work. I still think his best work is BARON PRASIL.