The Forgetful Warlock

Country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1990

Production year

1990

Premiere

5 September 1991

Runtime

93 min

Director

Hynek Bočan

Category

film

Genre

comedy

Typology

featuretheatrical distributionlong

Original title

O zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi

Czech title

O zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi

English title

The Forgetful Warlock

Working title

O Marušce a zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi

Summary

In 1990, director Hynek Bočan returned to feature films with O zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi (The Forgetful Warlock), co-written with Jiří Just. After the comedy S čerty nejsou žerty (Don’t Play Around with Devils, 1984) this director, primarily involved in TV productions, once again offered up a fairytale adventure. This film, however, is far more complex than his previous frolicsome devil-inspired story, adapted from a work by 19th century Czech writer Božena Němcová. The main heroine of this film – little Maruška – joins her friends and teacher on a school trip to Barrandov film studios, where her older brother Jaromil works as an assistant director. But a real-life sorcerer – albeit a thoroughly confused one – gets mixed up in the filming. Not even a magic sphere worn around the sorcerer’s neck, which reminds him of magic spells, is able to help this hapless wizard... Maruška is played by young non-professional actress Klára Jandová, but the true star of this whimsical tale is Karel Heřmánek in the main role.

Synopsis

Little Maruška reads out to her class an essay about his brother Jaromil, a film director who has reportedly just filmed the fairy tale The Tall, the Fat and the Keen-Sighted. This results in the idea that the class might undertake an educational excursion to the Barrandov Studios. But Jaromil is in fact only an assistant director and, moreover, is extremely clumsy. The children, headed by their teacher Vyčichlová, wander through the studios where there is enough chaos anyway. Some commercials are being filmed and knights, girls in bikini, Hussites as well as Pioneers are acting in them. The mischievous pupils Hnidák and Hlobil switch on a propeller which disperses the money prepared by the cashier. The director is casting an actor for the role of a warlock and selects his costume. At that moment, the real and terribly forgetful warlock wakes up at his castle in Maruška's storytelling. He sees the director tearing an inappropriate costume through his magic telescope and decides to interfere. He magically transfers himself to the Barrandov reception area. He always wears a magic ball on his neck which reminds him of the right magic formulas so that he does not make mistakes in his sorcery. Maruška, reading, starts to quarrel with the teacher who has no understanding for the kid's imagination. But she keeps on reading. The director first throws the warlock out but then he realizes how perfect he is for the role and starts searching for him. But the warlock in the meantime reads the script, feels ridiculed and decides to mess up the filming. He burns the inflatable costume of the Fat Guy with the lens of his telescope and also lets off the prepared pyrotechnics. Jaromil shows the children around the backdrops. The warlock eventually takes the role. When his mask is cast, he puts his magic ball away and the infamous rascals Hnidák and Hlobil steal it. The teacher confiscates it from them and sends Maruška to return it to the "master actor". Maruška and her friend Honzík are hungry and observe the warlock practice his witchcraft, getting a feast with the help of the ball. While eating, he is disturbed by a telephone call and Honzík gets hold of the ball. From now on, the warlock can only randomly try various formulas. He turns into a cow and then into a one-eyed monster chasing the children. Honzík hides the ball among the backdrops. The warlock transforms several more times and finally ends up bewitched and locked in a cage. As soon as Honzík returns the ball to him, Maruška's story ends. The teacher, however, does not like her boundless imagination. At that moment, the classroom is entered by a teacher who is the warlock's spitting image and is moreover equally forgetful. He takes the pen which he forgot in the room and leaves a cage with a black hen on the table.

Note

Demanding sceneries were built in studio No. 6 for a Canadian customer who wanted to make a movie about a king from an undersea empire in the Barrandov Studios. The filming, however, eventually did not occur. In order to at least partially utilize the constructions, the Studio´s director Karel Vejřík asked the dramaturgy to prepare a script for a Czech children´s movie in three weeks.

Film online

Cast

Karel Heřmánek

černokněžník

Klára Jandová

Maruška Pechfóglová

Jakub Marek

Honzík Pomajzl

Jaroslav Šmíd

asistent režie Jaromil, Maruščin bratr

Uršula Kluková

učitelka Vyčichlová

Roman Skamene

kameraman

Ivana Vavrová

asistentka produkce

Tomáš Juřička

rekvizitář

Marta Krásová

klapka/plačící dáma v kleci

Josef Dvořák

filmový herec mistr Dvořák

František Husák

režisér reklamy

Eugen Jegorov

pyrotechnik Saša

Zdeněk Srstka

kaskadér Zdeněk

Josef Kubík (2)

asistent

Oskar Hák

malý člen štábu

Zdeněk Žák

nadporučík VB

Bohumila Dolejšová

herečka v masce čarodějnice

Milan Charvát

pracovník stavby

Václav Luks

šermíř

Jaroslav Luks

šermíř

Karel Bělohradský

obsluha stroje na vítr

Ivan Martin

choreograf

Jiří Schmiedt

P. Charouz

Pavel Kolban

fotograf

K. Clarová

žákyně

L. Eisenhamerová

žákyně

K. Forejtová

žákyně

K. Hodoušková

žákyně

G. Novotná

žákyně

G. Přibylová

žákyně

L. Růžičková

žákyně

K. Součková

žákyně

V. Kvasnička

žák

O. Rukavička

žák

V. Válek

žák

M. Valtr

žák

Vít Vejtasa

žák

L. Vinický

žák

L. Valtrová

žákyně

skupina Regius

historičtí šermíři

skupina Burdýři

historičtí šermíři

Crew and creators

Director

Hynek Bočan

Second Unit Director

Petr Hartl, Magdalena Mikešová

Assistant Director

Jarmila Čajová

Director of Photography

Martin Benoni

Second Unit Photography

Pavel Nečesal

Camera Operator

Ivan Jiránek

Production Designer

František Vokřál

Art Director

Ivo Houf, Radek Houf

Set Designer

Ivan Břešťák, Jaroslav Česal, Petr Průša, Marek Šíma

Costume Designer

Jarmila Konečná

Film Editor

Dalibor Lipský

Sound Designer

Karel Jaroš

Assistant Sound Designer

Jiří Bělík

Special Effects

Petr Rychetský (pyrotechnik)

Production Manager

Václav Eisenhamer

Unit Production Manager

Hana Štefanová, Ladislava Kašáková

Unit Production Manager

Martin Kuk

Cooperation

Alice Šafránková (klapka), Josef Řezáč (fotograf), Václav Tomšovský (práce se zvířaty)

Music

Music Composed by

Jaroslav Uhlíř

Music Performed by

FISYO (Music Conducted by Mario Klemens)

Music Supervisor

Juraj Ďurovič

Songs

O Péťovi

Song Composer Dmitrij Borisovič Kabalevskij
Writer of Lyrics Ludvík Kubišta
Singer sbor

Production info

Original Title

O zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi

Czech Title

O zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi

English Title

The Forgetful Warlock

Working Title

O Marušce a zapomnětlivém černokněžníkovi

Category

film

Typology

featuretheatrical distribution

Genre

comedy

Origin country

Czechoslovakia

Copyright

1990

Production Year

1990

Production specifications

start of filming 06/1990

Premiere

premiere 5 September 1991 /suitable for youths/

Studio

Barrandov

Creative Group

Tvůrčí skupina Rarášek, Dušan Kukal (vedoucí tvůrčí skupiny Rarášek), Jan Janda (vedoucí produkce tvůrčí skupiny Rarášek)

Technical info

Duration typology

feature film

Duration in minutes

93 min

Distribution carrier

35mm

Aspect ratio

1:1,37

Colour

colour

Sound

sound

Sound system/format

mono

Versions

Czech

Dialogue languages

Czech

Subtitles languages

without subtitles

Opening/End credits languages

Czech

Awards

Vítěz

Exhibition: 23. národní přehlídka filmů pro děti Ostrov

1991
Ostrov nad Ohří / Czechoslovakia
Karel Heřmánek

Vítěz

Festival: 31. festival filmů pro děti Zlín

1991
Zlín / Czechoslovakia