Summary
With his fairy tale How to Wake a Princess (1977), director Václav Vorlíček followed up on his popular Three Nuts for Cinderella (1973). The film version of Sleeping Beauty differs in several key ways from Božena Němcová’s literary original: instead of the Fates, the princess‘s evil fate is predicted by her envious aunt, whose curse is mitigated by an old servant. The conceited Prince Jiří courts Princess Růženka, but she falls in love with his younger brother Jaroslav. When the curse comes true and the princess pricks her finger on a rose thorn, Jaroslav must face a series of challenges to awaken his beloved and the entire kingdom. Vorlíček cast the future theater director Marie Horáková in the lead role, Jiří Sovák and Milena Dvorská played the royal couple, and Jan Hrušínský portrayed Prince Jaroslav. The musical accompaniment to this epic fairy tale was once again composed by Karel Svoboda, and the central hit song Go In Search Of Happiness (Jdi za štěstím) was sung by Karel Gott.
