Jiri Trnka: Puppet Master
(Second Run Blu Ray) 2 disc set
This handsome box set contains two Jiri Jrnka features The Czech Year (1947) and Old Czech Legends. Both are puppet animated films that reveal the mastery of Jrnka’s art though they are very different. The folk tale imbued The Czech Year was made during a short-lived liberal period after WW2 – one year before strict communist rule came to Czechoslovakia. Old Czech Legends was made under communism and had to please the authorities who instructed Jrnka to create a work of nationalism and patriotism. The charms and dangers of the seasons is the dramatic framework for The Czech Year: whilst Old Czech Legends had to conform to a plodding socialist realism that unfortunately hampered my dramatic interest.
In both features the puppets are marvellous creations. Their faces have a set and deliberately undefined expression that’s skilfully employed to give character to their wooden bodies through stop-motion (This 4k set includes an excellent documentary all about this).
“By merely turning their heads, or by a change in lighting, they gained smiling or unhappy or dreamy expressions.”
That’s Bretislav Pojar who was one of Trnka’s animators. Within that ‘rigidity’ the puppets prove captivatingly alive but more so when the storyline isn’t a government prescription: like the 80 minute delightful The Czech Year. This brings a adroit light touch to its depiction of the seasons. It’s comprised of six short films, originally filmed and screened separately. The Czech native title is Spallicek and this aptly translates as bundle.
My favourite of the bundle is Pout (or Fair) set in summertime. One of the entertainments of the fair is a puppet theatre depicting the story of a girl who’s betrothed, against her will, to a Turkish prince. At one point the puppets strings vanish and they continue to act as if real. The idea of a marionette play within a film is remarkable. It’s both a celebration of the art of animation stepping out of its artifice. And a witty philosophical warning about how the inanimate object can become as real as us humans in the wrong, or in Trnka’s case, right magical hands.
Old Czech Legends isn’t as daring as The Czech Year. The remit for that was determined by the government. For this is propaganda animation intended to give an account of the birth of a nation – the land of Bohemia. However in spite of its initial slowness, some ponderous declarations concerning the struggle of the people, the need for a strong heroic leader and seeking a promised land Old Czech Legends is remarkably beautiful to look at and an artistic advance on Legends. The opening shots have a sombre power where the natural world is presented as a dangerous challenge for people on the move to their “paradise on earth.” The visuals and some arresting camera movements with splendid lighting almost convinced me to want to journey with them. However its dated intentions (The grand influence of Eisenstein’s Alexander Newsy shadows the feature with a touch of Ivan the Terrible tagging behind) make the storyline subservient to the message of founding a new State. This sucks the drama out of the project. If the epic message stumbles then the technicalities of Old Czech Legends keep you watching as they consistently startle and amaze you about the possibilities of animation.
The Hand (1965) is a brilliant Trnka short about political oppression. It proved to be Trnka’s last film and is generously included (re-mastered) in this set. All animators will want to acquire a copy of this 2 disc set. And everyone who was enchanted by his puppet world when it was introduced to us by the BBC in the 60’s and was part of the Czech animation screenings from the early days of Channel 4. Can we now have a blu ray follow up of more Trnka especially his exquisite version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
Alan Price©2026.
Jiri Trnka: Puppet Master
(Second Run Blu Ray) 2 disc set
This handsome box set contains two Jiri Jrnka features The Czech Year (1947) and Old Czech Legends. Both are puppet animated films that reveal the mastery of Jrnka’s art though they are very different. The folk tale imbued The Czech Year was made during a short-lived liberal period after WW2 – one year before strict communist rule came to Czechoslovakia. Old Czech Legends was made under communism and had to please the authorities who instructed Jrnka to create a work of nationalism and patriotism. The charms and dangers of the seasons is the dramatic framework for The Czech Year: whilst Old Czech Legends had to conform to a plodding socialist realism that unfortunately hampered my dramatic interest.
In both features the puppets are marvellous creations. Their faces have a set and deliberately undefined expression that’s skilfully employed to give character to their wooden bodies through stop-motion (This 4k set includes an excellent documentary all about this).
“By merely turning their heads, or by a change in lighting, they gained smiling or unhappy or dreamy expressions.”
That’s Bretislav Pojar who was one of Trnka’s animators. Within that ‘rigidity’ the puppets prove captivatingly alive but more so when the storyline isn’t a government prescription: like the 80 minute delightful The Czech Year. This brings a adroit light touch to its depiction of the seasons. It’s comprised of six short films, originally filmed and screened separately. The Czech native title is Spallicek and this aptly translates as bundle.
My favourite of the bundle is Pout (or Fair) set in summertime. One of the entertainments of the fair is a puppet theatre depicting the story of a girl who’s betrothed, against her will, to a Turkish prince. At one point the puppets strings vanish and they continue to act as if real. The idea of a marionette play within a film is remarkable. It’s both a celebration of the art of animation stepping out of its artifice. And a witty philosophical warning about how the inanimate object can become as real as us humans in the wrong, or in Trnka’s case, right magical hands.
Old Czech Legends isn’t as daring as The Czech Year. The remit for that was determined by the government. For this is propaganda animation intended to give an account of the birth of a nation – the land of Bohemia. However in spite of its initial slowness, some ponderous declarations concerning the struggle of the people, the need for a strong heroic leader and seeking a promised land Old Czech Legends is remarkably beautiful to look at and an artistic advance on Legends. The opening shots have a sombre power where the natural world is presented as a dangerous challenge for people on the move to their “paradise on earth.” The visuals and some arresting camera movements with splendid lighting almost convinced me to want to journey with them. However its dated intentions (The grand influence of Eisenstein’s Alexander Newsy shadows the feature with a touch of Ivan the Terrible tagging behind) make the storyline subservient to the message of founding a new State. This sucks the drama out of the project. If the epic message stumbles then the technicalities of Old Czech Legends keep you watching as they consistently startle and amaze you about the possibilities of animation.
The Hand (1965) is a brilliant Trnka short about political oppression. It proved to be Trnka’s last film and is generously included (re-mastered) in this set. All animators will want to acquire a copy of this 2 disc set. And everyone who was enchanted by his puppet world when it was introduced to us by the BBC in the 60’s and was part of the Czech animation screenings from the early days of Channel 4. Can we now have a blu ray follow up of more Trnka especially his exquisite version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream?
Alan Price©2026.
By Alan Price • added recently on London Grip, film, film archive • Tags: Alan Price, film