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Invention for Destruction

Original title: Vynález zkázy
  • 1958
  • Unrated
  • 1h 23m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
3.2K
YOUR RATING
Invention for Destruction (1958)
Costume DramaHand-Drawn AnimationPeriod DramaSteampunkStop Motion AnimationAdventureAnimationFantasySci-Fi

An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.An evil millionaire named Artigas plans to use a super-explosive device to conquer the world from his headquarters inside an enormous volcano.

  • Director
    • Karel Zeman
  • Writers
    • František Hrubín
    • Milan Vácha
    • Jules Verne
  • Stars
    • Lubor Tokoš
    • Arnost Navrátil
    • Miroslav Holub
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    3.2K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Karel Zeman
    • Writers
      • František Hrubín
      • Milan Vácha
      • Jules Verne
    • Stars
      • Lubor Tokoš
      • Arnost Navrátil
      • Miroslav Holub
    • 30User reviews
    • 41Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos85

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    + 78
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    Top Cast10

    Lubor Tokoš
    Lubor Tokoš
    • Simon Hart
    • (as Lubor Tokos)
    Arnost Navrátil
    • Prof. Roch
    Miroslav Holub
    Miroslav Holub
    • Artigas
    • (as Miloslav Holub)
    František Šlégr
    František Šlégr
    • Kapitán pirátu
    Václav Kyzlink
    • Ing. Serke
    Jana Zatloukalová
    • Jana
    Hugh Downs
    Hugh Downs
    • Self - Announcer
    • (voice: English version)
    František Černý
    František Černý
    • Capt. Spade
    • (uncredited)
    Otto Šimánek
    Otto Šimánek
    • Muz ve vlaku
    • (uncredited)
    Václav Trégl
    Václav Trégl
      • Director
        • Karel Zeman
      • Writers
        • František Hrubín
        • Milan Vácha
        • Jules Verne
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews30

      7.53.2K
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      Summary

      Reviewers say 'Invention for Destruction' Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Curabitur pretium tincidunt lacus.

      Nulla facilisi etiam dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque
      Lorem ipsum dolorSit amet consecteturAdipiscing elitSed do eiusmodTempor incididuntUt labore et doloreMagna aliquaUt enim ad minimVeniam quisNostrud exercitation
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      Related interests

      Mia Goth and Anya Taylor-Joy in Emma. (2020)
      Costume Drama
      Jodi Benson, Jason Marin, and Samuel E. Wright in The Little Mermaid (1989)
      Hand-Drawn Animation
      Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women (2019)
      Period Drama
      Alfred Abel, Brigitte Helm, and Rudolf Klein-Rogge in Metropolis (1927)
      Steampunk
      Dakota Fanning in Coraline (2009)
      Stop Motion Animation
      Still frame
      Adventure
      Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)
      Animation
      Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
      Fantasy
      James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
      Sci-Fi

      Storyline

      Did you know

      • Trivia
        The animation and production design are intended to evoke the woodcut illustrations of the original Jules Verne novels.
      • Goofs
        There are a few single frames in the original release that have Karel Zeman posing his work. Several are during the small sub rescue in the underwater cave. The original American release still has these mistakes. The remastered versions have these taken out. These can still be seen in the bonus featurette that is included with the remastered Blu-ray Disc release.
      • Quotes
        • Himself - Announcer: [This first part is live and only in the original English release version that is sometimes cut out of television viewings] Hello! I'm Hugh Downs! This is a model of one of our newest submarines! A submarine similar to this recently sailed around the world without refueling and without once coming to the surface! Amazing isn't it! And this... a new jet passenger plane! Los Angeles to New York in less than five hours! Flies from New York to Paris in seven! It took Lindberg thirty-three hours to make that same trip! In the last hundred years the world has come astounding! The miracles of yesterday are now common everyday occurrences, and our frontiers, underwater, outer space are limitless! But of all the genius that walked this earth in the last hundred years, none is more remarkable then one man, with a magic pen! Of the many story tellers who have thrilled young and old a special ora will always surround the name Jules Verne! Verne's imagination has captured the minds and hearts of all of us! With him we have adventured to the center of the Earth! We have traveled twenty-thousand leagues under the sea! And we have soured in a balloon around the world in eighty days!
        • [from this point the following is Hugh Downs voice only, translating what was said in the original version]
        • Himself - Announcer: A hundred years ago in the confines of this small room, the unconfined imagination of Jules Verne created the fabulous shape of things to come! In these century old books lies the prophecy of our own era of atomic energy of the guided missile! The fantastic accuracy of Verne's predictions is demonstrated in the story you will now see on this screen! A story Verne wrote when the newest creations of science were the steamship and the primitive balloon! Our story is told in the words of his hero, Simon Hart! Just as Verne wrote it! Simon Hart was a man of the nineteen century! But these illustrations from the original book indicate that he saw the twentieth century sharp and clear! Now the droll delightful fabulous world of Jules Verne! Brought to life from these hundred year old illustrations by the miracle of "Misti-Mation"!
      • Crazy credits
        "In the new motion picture technique Mysti-Mation" [US dubbed release]
      • Alternate versions
        Some of the 16mm U.S. television syndication prints have Joseph E. Levine's opening credit, and the end title, replaced with a title card that reads "An Illusion Maker's Presentation."
      • Connections
        Edited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)

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      Details

      • Release date
        • August 1958 (Czechoslovakia)
      • Country of origin
        • Czechoslovakia
      • Language
        • Czech
      • Also known as
        • Una invención diabólica
      • Production companies
        • Ceskoslovenský Státní Film
        • Filmové Studio Gottwaldov
        • Muzeum Karla Zemana
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Tech specs

      • Runtime
        • 1h 23m(83 min)
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

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