The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1983)
"Tajemství hradu v Karpatech" (original title)

In 1897, in a castle near the town of Werewolfville in the Carpithians, a slightly deranged Professor Orfanik experiments with his new inventions which include, even at this early date, television and a film camera.

Director:

Oldrich Lipský

Writers:

Oldrich Lipský (screenplay), Jirí Brdecka,

Stars:

Michal Docolomanský, Evelyna Steimarová, Vlastimil Brodský

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michal Docolomanský	...	Count Teleke of Tölökö
Evelyna Steimarová	...	Salsa Verde
Vlastimil Brodský	...	Komornik hrabéte ignác
Milos Kopecký	...	Baron Gorc z Gorcu
Rudolf Hrusínský	...	Vynálezce orfanik
Augustín Kubán	...	Tomá Hluchonémec-Zutro
Jan Hartl	...	Lesni adjunkt vilja dézi
Jaroslava Kretschmerová	...	Snoubenka lesnihoadjunkta
Oldrich Velen	...	Krcmár
Míla Myslíková	...	Krcmárka
Samuel Adamcík	...	Kmet
Jan Skopecek	...	Sedlák v kozichu
Václav Kotva	...	Kantor
Jirí Lír	...	Prefekt
Helena Ruzicková	...	Zpévacka

Storyline

In the 1800s, a baron, who is the owner of a castle known as The Devil's Castle and who is also an obsessed opera fan, keeps the body of his favorite diva preserved in a crypt in the castle. In order to keep away potentially nosy visitors, the baron's mad-scientist assistant, invents all sorts of spooky phenomena in order to give the castle a creepy reputation.

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Plot Keywords:

castle | television | mountain | film projector | surrealism | 

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Taglines:

Hair-raising comedy about an old castle and its new specters, based on a novel by Jules Verne.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Czechoslovakia

Language:

Czech

Release Date:

October 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians

Filming Locations:

Cachtice, Slovakia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmové studio Barrandov

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second and lesser known of the two 1980s Communist state's film adaptations of the 19th-century Jules Verne novel "The Carpathian Castle". The first was made two years earlier in Romania and was directed by Stere Gulea with the title Castle in the Carpathians.

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Quotes

Baron Gorc z Gorcu: You surely know that my financial support is unlimited.
Vynálezce orfanik: Yes. Long live your false cheque factories!

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Connections

Edited into Ten Minutes Older: The Cello (2002)

User Reviews

Congratulate yourself. You've heard of this movie.

Nobody but nobody has heard of this movie. I just can't understand it because it's such a great little flick; if nothing else it deserves its own underground cult following. I've been trying to start one for ages, but it seems in order to drum up a cult you need people. Drat.

Anyway, this film is like a yummy stew of Terry Gilliam (Monty Python), Mel Brooks (Young Frankenstein), Rob Reiner (The Princess Bride), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children) and who knows, maybe some Fellini thrown in for taste. It's surreal, bizarre, funny artistic, classy and has a great underlying story by Jules Verne to feed your brain.

It's one of those films with lots of antique sets and cool retro-scifi gadgets which put you into a timeless state of mind--not exactly the past nor the future, but definitely not the present. Think of the movies Brazil or HG Wells' The Time Machine, then throw in some absolutely crazy characters: a villain who is obsessed with beards, a hero whose super power is his bellowing opera voice (if not his hyper-inflated ego), a mad scientist who sends rockets to the moon in his spare time, and a gorgeous damsel in distress who has a rather curious affliction (I won't ruin it)...

If you're into bizarre Czechoslovakian nightmares* then this is the film for you. Some of the gags are corny, but they're so corny they're classic. If nothing else, it'll be a memorable experience for you, and you can boast about being the only person in your town (in your hemisphere?) who's seen this flick.

*speaking of bizarre Czechs, you might also want to look for the films of Jan Svankmajer (Alice, Faust, Little Otik), definitely worth czeching out. Har.