• Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop Rated MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
      What's on TV & StreamingWhat's on TV & StreamingTop Rated ShowsMost Popular ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
      What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb TVIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
      OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersGolden GlobesEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
      Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
      Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
    For Industry Professionals
      AllTitlesTV EpisodesCelebsCompaniesKeywords
    • Advanced Search
    Watchlist
    Sign In
    Welcome to the new version of this page.
    Learn more
    Report an issue

    Invention for Destruction

    Original title: Vynález zkázy
    • 19581958
    • UnratedUnrated
    • 1h 23min
    IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    2.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Vynález zkázy (1958)
    AnimationAdventureFantasy

    An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.
    An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.
    An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.
    An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.
    An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.

    • Director
      • Karel Zeman
    • Writers
      • Frantisek Hrubín(scenario)
      • Jules Verne(novel "Face au Drapeau/A Deadly Invention")
      • Milan Vácha(dialogue)
    • Stars
      • Lubor Tokos
      • Arnost Navrátil
      • Miroslav Holub
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Karel Zeman
    • Writers
      • Frantisek Hrubín(scenario)
      • Jules Verne(novel "Face au Drapeau/A Deadly Invention")
      • Milan Vácha(dialogue)
    • Stars
      • Lubor Tokos
      • Arnost Navrátil
      • Miroslav Holub
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 20User reviews
    • 37Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos56

    Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Arnost Navrátil and Lubor Tokos in Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Václav Kyzlink and Lubor Tokos in Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Miroslav Holub and Arnost Navrátil in Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Lubor Tokos in Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Hugh Downs in Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Hugh Downs in Vynález zkázy (1958)
    Hugh Downs in Vynález zkázy (1958)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Lubor Tokos
    Lubor Tokos
    • Simon Hartas Simon Hart
    Arnost Navrátil
    • Profesor Rochas Profesor Roch
    Miroslav Holub
    Miroslav Holub
    • Artigasas Artigas
    Frantisek Slégr
    • Kapitán pirátuas Kapitán pirátu
    Václav Kyzlink
    • Ing. Serkeas Ing. Serke
    Jana Zatloukalová
    • Janaas Jana
    Hugh Downs
    Hugh Downs
    • Self - Announceras Self - Announcer
    • (English version)
    • (voice)
    Frantisek Cerný
    Frantisek Cerný
    • Capt. Spadeas Capt. Spade
    • (uncredited)
    Otto Simánek
    Otto Simánek
    • Muz ve vlakuas Muz ve vlaku
    • (uncredited)
    Václav Trégl
    Václav Trégl
      • Director
        • Karel Zeman
      • Writers
        • Frantisek Hrubín(scenario)
        • Jules Verne(novel "Face au Drapeau/A Deadly Invention")
        • Milan Vácha(dialogue)
      • All cast & crew
      See production, box office, & company info

      Storyline

      Edit
      An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.
      based on novelczech science fictionscientific discovery1950smillionaire78 more
      • Plot summary
      • Add synopsis
      • Taglines
        • Never before seen! Like nothing on this planet! Like no other screen adventure ever seen in America!
      • Genres
        • Animation
        • Adventure
        • Fantasy
        • Sci-Fi
      • Certificate
        • Unrated
      • Parents guide
        • Add content advisory

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        The animation and production design of the film is intended to evoke the woodcut illustrations of the original Jules Verne novels.
      • Goofs
        This movie is obviously set in the late 19th century - the 1890s. The steamship Savannah in the opening of the film crossed the Atlantic in 1819 - a good 70 years before the story takes place.
      • Quotes

        Himself - Announcer: [This first part is live and only in the original English release version that is sometimes cut out of television viewings] Hello! I'm Hugh Downs! This is a model of one of our newest submarines! A submarine similar to this recently sailed around the world without refueling and without once coming to the surface! Amazing isn't it! And this... a new jet passenger plane! Los Angeles to New York in less than five hours! Flies from New York to Paris in seven! It took Lindberg thirty-three hours to make that same trip! In the last hundred years the world has come astounding! The miracles of yesterday are now common everyday occurrences, and our frontiers, underwater, outer space are limitless! But of all the genius that walked this earth in the last hundred years, none is more remarkable then one man, with a magic pen! Of the many story tellers who have thrilled young and old a special ora will always surround the name Jules Verne! Verne's imagination has captured the minds and hearts of all of us! With him we have adventured to the center of the Earth! We have traveled twenty-thousand leagues under the sea! And we have soured in a balloon around the world in eighty days!

        [from this point the following is Hugh Downs voice only, translating what was said in the original version]

        Himself - Announcer: A hundred years ago in the confines of this small room, the unconfined imagination of Jules Verne created the fabulous shape of things to come! In these century old books lies the prophecy of our own era of atomic energy of the guided missile! The fantastic accuracy of Verne's predictions is demonstrated in the story you will now see on this screen! A story Verne wrote when the newest creations of science were the steamship and the primitive balloon! Our story is told in the words of his hero, Simon Hart! Just as Verne wrote it! Simon Hart was a man of the nineteen century! But these illustrations from the original book indicate that he saw the twentieth century sharp and clear! Now the droll delightful fabulous world of Jules Verne! Brought to life from these hundred year old illustrations by the miracle of "Misti-Mation"!

      • Crazy credits
        "In the new motion picture technique Mysti-Mation" [US dubbed release]
      • Alternate versions
        Some of the 16mm U.S. television syndication prints have Joseph E. Levine's opening credit, and the end title, replaced with a title card that reads "An Illusion Maker's Presentation."
      • Connections
        Edited into Spisok korabley (2008)

      User reviews20

      Review
      Top review
      10/10
      A Masterpiece
      Truly unique and stunning film of Jules Verne's "For The Flag" by the Czech master director Karel Zeman.Although the story is enacted in a rather understated late Victorian style, the visuals are a knockout. Zeman uses animation, graphics, painted sets, model animation combined with live action to create the atmosphere of Verne that the reader associates in his mind. The style resembles the steel engravings of Dore and Bennet and Riou that illustrated these stories with a healthy dose of Georges Melies added.Photographed in beautiful black and white the animation is of the highest order and not of a Saturday morning variety. There are underwater sequences where the fishes swimming about are so accurately drawn they can be used in a field guide.There are images of ships ,submarines, flying craft, castles,and machinery that are drawn in such accurate detail that one must have a freeze frame on his VCR or DVD to pause the scene and study the remarkable detail that went into this production.The late Victorian atmosphere is designed to look like this world that never was and delight us in the magic of science that made Verne the great father of the genre. If this is not enough, there also is the film score that probably is one of the best ever created for a fantasy or sci-fi film.Truly a forgotten classic, this one is worth hunting down and buying. Always one of my favorite films of all times, it is sure to be one of yours too. And remember- this was done decades before CGI or computer animation. Kudos to the great artists who obviously put their heart into it. It shows. Jules Verne himself would be proud of this movie.A film that deserves to be better known, but those who have seen it love it-and treasure it. An outstanding achievement , this remarkable film just gets better every time you watch it. A true cinematic work of art from a visionary director.
      helpful•31
      2
      • loufalce
      • Feb 3, 2007

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • August 1958 (Czechoslovakia)
      • Country of origin
        • Czechoslovakia
      • Language
        • Czech
      • Also known as
        • The Fabulous World of Jules Verne
      • Production companies
        • Ceskoslovenský Státní Film
        • Filmové Studio Gottwaldov
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        • 1h 23min
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

      Related news

      Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman
      Feb 8Trailers from Hell
      Locarno 2015. Lineup
      Jul 20MUBI

      Contribute to this page

      Edit page
      • Getting started
      • Contributor Zone

      More to explore

      View list
      List
      IMDb's Summer Movie Preview
      See the full list
      View list
      List
      What TV Shows Are Renewed or Canceled?
      See the list

      Recently viewed

      You have no recently viewed pages
      Get the IMDb App
      • Get the IMDb App
      • Help
      • Site Index
      • IMDbPro
      • IMDb TV
      • Box Office Mojo
      • IMDb Developer
      • Press Room
      • Advertising
      • Jobs
      • Conditions of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interest-Based Ads

      © 1990-2021 by IMDb.com, Inc.