Year: 1958
Director: Karel Zeman
Country: Czecheslovakia
Language: Czech
Karel Zeman was an ecentric Czecheslovakian film-maker who believed in the power of fantasy in cinema. Like the grandfather of film, Georges Melies (A Trip to the Moon) he innovated by using astonishing practical effects to turn his childhood stories into vivid daydreams onscreen. Upon witnessing Invention for Destruction (1958) on the Criterion Channel I was blown away by how unique his vision was. There is truley nothing like a Zeman picture.
In Invention for Destruction, an evil millionaire named Artigas (Miroslav Holub) plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.
Basecd on Jules Verne's eerie and foreboding Facing the Flag, Invention for Destruction is both 2D and 3D, using forced perspectives and impressive effects to a most artistic execution. Combining live action with various forms of animation, such as stop-motion, cut-outs and traditional hand-drawn, Zeman gives us a world of endless imagination. I was thoroughly impressed by the splendid visuals; they don't make cinema like this anymore!
Invention for Destruction brings your childhood stories to life, adapted to the screen in a way that adults would also find enthralling. Zeman's picture is an adventure film with all the fixings: mad scientists, evil lairs, deadly sharks, creeping octopus, a protagonist who must save the world and a damsel in distress. Every image created onscreen feels both modern & futureistic. Some images fall on borderline steampunk.
After watching countless films, this reviewer can become accustomed to the norm and forget about how magical cinema is/can be. Zeman's Invention for Destruction brought back my sense of awe and wonder. I am inspired and I would love to see more films like this.
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