Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Krabat – The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Czech: Čarodějův učeň) is a 1978 Czechoslovak cutout animated dark fantasy film directed by Karel Zeman, based on the 1971 book Krabat by Otfried Preußler, and the Sorbian folk tale upon which the book is based. The name Krabat is derived from the word Croat.[2]

The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Czech DVD cover
Directed byKarel Zeman
Produced byKarel Hutěčka
Screenplay byKarel Zeman
Based onKrabat
by Otfried Preußler
StarringJaroslav Moučka
Narrated byLuděk Munzar
Music byFrantíšek Belfin
CinematographyBohuslav Pikhart
Zdeněk Krupa
Edited byIvan Matouš
Distributed byÚstřední půjčovna filmů[1]
Release date
  • 1 March 1978 (1978-03-01) (Czechoslovakia)
  • 24 March 1978 (1978-03-24) (West Germany)
  • 7 September 1979 (1979-09-07) (East Germany)
Running time
73 minutes
CountryCzechoslovakia
West Germany
East Germany
LanguageCzech

Plot

Krabat, a beggar boy in early 18th century Lusatia, is lured to become an apprentice to an evil, one-eyed sorcerer. Together with a number of other boys, he works at the sorcerer's mill under slave-like conditions while learning black magic, such as guising himself as a raven and other animals. Every Christmas one of the boys has to face the master in a magical duel of life and death, where the boy never stands a chance because the master is the only person who is allowed to use his secret grimoire: The Koraktor, or the Force of Hell.

One Easter while performing an annual ritual near a small village, Krabat meets a girl and falls in love, but has to keep the romance secret in order to protect her. After witnessing his friends one after one being helplessly slaughtered by the master every Christmas, Krabat starts to sneak up at night to study the forbidden book. On the last page of the book, Krabat finds a phrase saying: "Love is stronger than any spell." This is used when he ultimately has to defeat his master for the sake of love.

Voice cast
Role Czech version West German version East German version
Krabat / Narrator Luděk Munzar Christian Brückner Joachim Siebenschuh
Master Jaroslav Moučka Friedrich Schütter Horst Kempe

See also

References
  1. Opening credits of the original Czech version of the film in question.
  2. Entry on Česko-Slovenská filmová databáze (in Czech)


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.