The Fabulous World of Jules Verne: Czechoslovakia, Steampunk and Zeman in 1958

If you would like to support the podcast and get ad free versions you can subscribe for $3 or £3 a month at https://www.patreon.com/everyscififilm You can follow the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. Although science fiction cinema did not begin in the USA it seems that by the 1950s Hollywood had tapped into the ravenous appetite the public had for the genre. The period is now known as the Golden Age of Science Fiction with an array of films ranging in style, topic and quality. Themes of space travel, alien invasion, nuclear fears and cold war paranoia are strewn across the decade. Meanwhile in Czechoslovakia Karel Zeman was working on making some cinematic masterpieces made for children based on the works of Jules Verne and other late 19th century authors. In 1958 he made the film Invention for Destruction based on Verne’s novel Facing the Flag. In 1961 this was dubbed in English and retitled The Fabulous World of Jules Verne and distributed by Warner Bros. The visual style is based on late 19th century etchings and illustrations of Verne’s novels which you can take a look at on this Instagram post. The film went on not only to inspire many prominent filmmakers like Hayao Miyazaki, Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam but also a cohort of writers who cite his film as being the origin for the style of steampunk science fiction. I spoke to two wonderful guests to understand the historical context and ongoing influence of the film. Thomas Lamarre is a Professor of Film, Media, and East Asian Languages and Civilisations at the University of Chicago. He is also the author of the Steam Punk cinema chapter in the Oxford Handbook of New Science Fiction Cinemas. Mary Heimann is Professor of Modern History at Cardiff University. She is also the author of the book Czechoslovakia: The State that Failed. Chapters00:00 Introduction to the show and Karel Zeman03:51 Post War Czechoslovakia06:52 A Christmas Dream and Hermina Týrlová07:25 Global animation after World War 210:48 Journey to the Beginning of Time12:47 Why haven’t I heard of this film*?15:37 Science Fiction in Czechoslovakia18:27 Steampunk!23:08 Thomas’ experience of the film24:58 The Czech perspective26:12 The Czech New Wave and the Prague Spring30:58 Milos Forman and filmmakers in exile32:19 The messaging and nature of the film35:56 Legacy41:41 Recommendations for the listener44:44 Ads and subscription details  NEXT EPISODE!Next episode we will be speaking about another lesser known science fiction film: The World, the Flesh and the Devil from 1959. You can find out where the film is streaming in your region on the Just Watch website and an internet search brings a few leads for the full film online. *Possibly because I am stupid. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.