Invention for Destruction

Invention for Destruction
Czech theatrical release poster
Directed byKarel Zeman
Written by
Based onFacing the Flag
by Jules Verne
Produced byZdeněk Novák
Starring
Cinematography
  • Jiří Tarantík
  • Bohuslav Pikhart
  • Antonín Horák
Edited byZdeněk Stehlík
Music byZdeněk Liška
Distributed byČeskoslovenský Státní Film
Release date
  • 1958 (1958)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryCzechoslovakia
LanguageCzech

Invention for Destruction (Czech: Vynález zkázy) is a 1958 Czechoslovak black-and-white science fiction adventure film, directed by Karel Zeman, produced by Zdeněk Novák, and starring Lubor Tokoš, Arnošt Navrátil, and Miloslav Holub. Based on several works by Jules Verne, primarily his 1896 novel Facing the Flag (with which the film shares its Czech title), the film evokes the original illustrations for Verne's works by combining live actors with various forms of animation.

The film was distributed in North America by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1961 and was dubbed into English and retitled The Fabulous World of Jules Verne. It was distributed in 72 countries around the world, where it received widespread attention. It is considered the most successful Czech film ever made.[1]

During the 2000s, a 35 mm print of the original film, with English subtitles, was shown internationally at film festivals with the on-screen English title A Deadly Invention.[2][3] In 2014 to 2015,[4] a digital restoration was made which includes the reinsertion of a cut scene not included since the film's original 1958 previews.[5] Now both the original Czech version, with English subtitles, and the English-dubbed version are internationally available, restored in high-definition video under the title Invention for Destruction.[6]

  1. ^ "Vynález zkázy je nejúspěšnější český film všech dob. V New Yorku ho promítalo 96 kin současně". Aktuálně.cz (in Czech). 19 April 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  2. ^ "A Deadly Invention". Trieste Science+Fiction Festival. 2005. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  3. ^ 24th Leeds International Film Festival Free Guide. Leeds, United Kingdom: Leeds Film. 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2019. Though the LIFF Free Guide and Catalogue use the title Invention for Destruction, I was at the screening and the English title on-screen on the print was A Deadly Invention, as also seen on the website page for the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival's screening.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Radio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Invention for Destruction". Karel Zeman Museum.
  6. ^ "Invention for Destruction". Second Run. 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.