Proud Princess

Bořivoj Zeman, 1952

Film at Filmový přehled

Summary

During the 1950s, director Bořivoj Zeman added two fairytale films to the Czechoslovak treasure chest: the romantic Pyšná princezna (The Proud Princess, 1952), and the fairytale comedy Byl jednou jeden král... (Once Upon a Time, There Was a King, 1954). The Proud Princess, inspired by a story from author Božena Němcová, represents one of the most well-known film fairytales. Capricious and conceited Krasomila (Alena Vránová) spurns a marriage offer from the wise King Miroslav (Vladimír Ráž). He decides to punish the prideful beauty from a neighbouring land, while a new royal gardener becomes entangled in Krasomila’s orbit, providing her with a lecture in humility with the aid of a magical, singing plant. Zeman’s film represents not only an excellent example of the meticulous and imaginative bringing-to-life of a Czech fairytale adventure, but also an instance of a carefully and persuasively-crafted piece of ideological propaganda, in which Miroslav’s flourishing communist-like kingdom fulfils the ideal of a loving “big brother” that serves as a contrast to Krasomila’s decaying feudal land.
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Film data

About a film

Production year 1952
Countries Czechoslovakia
Categories film
Genres fairytale
Form feature
Duration 91 min
Director Bořivoj Zeman
Cast Alena Vránová, Vladimír Ráž, Stanislav Neumann, Mária Sýkorová, Jaroslav Seník, Miloš Kopecký
Director of photography Jan Roth
Screenplay Henryk Bloch, Oldřich Kautský, Bořivoj Zeman
Editor Josef Dobřichovský
Production designer Jan Pacák
Music Dalibor C. Vačkář
Sound designer Milan R. Novotný