Woodyanders Review of Film Adventurer Karel Zeman

Film Adventurer Karel Zeman (2015)

A loving portrait of a revolutionary cinematic artist

[8/10 · 13 June 2022]

Karel Zeman was a Czech filmmaker, animator, and special effects artist who made short and feature length fantasy movies that were done in a highly distinctive style and often boasted highly charming hand-crafted special effects. This documentary on Zeman does a fine job of capturing the boundless creativity, ingenuity, and imagination that were huge parts of Zeman's personality and filmography along with his overall optimistic nature. Zeman's daughter Ludmila provides plenty of useful insights and information on her father while directors Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton cite Zeman as major influences on their work. Moreover, the various techniques Zeman used to realize the special effects in his motion pictures are covered in fascinatingly thorough detail. It's also nice to see three of the boys from Zeman's first feature length movie "Journey to the Beginning of Time" reunited as older men. Highly recommended viewing to both Zeman fans and film buffs alike.