The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians (1981)

In 1897, in a castle near the town of Werewolfville in the Carpathians, 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 lesniho adjunkta
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:

campy | prosthetic hand | projection | projector | rescue attempt | 

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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:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Mystery | 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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ludek Sobota, Oldrich Kaiser and Milan Lasica were considered for the part of count Teleke, eventually played by Michal Docolomanský.

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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

Version of Castelul din Carpati (1975)

User Reviews

Surreal and silly but brilliant

Oldrich Lipsky made comedies the way comedies should be made - by a manic genius with a unique and recognisable but still quirky and unpredictable imagination, a director's eye for visual humour and bizarre images, a writer's love of language and of plot twists that are either so unlikely or so obvious that either way you'd never expect them. Clever and unashamedly silly, with a great feeling for both surrealism and slapstick, colourful and in spite of everything very slick, with acting and dialogue deadpan and hilariously serious one minute, totally over the top the next. Very Czech, or rather very Czechoslovakian since he made his films between the 60s and the 80s in that now long gone totalitarian police state, but generally set in another time, even when set (as in this case) in the same place. This isn't even his best film, but it's well worth tracking down.