Legendary animator Jiří Trnka’s fourth feature, Old Czech Legends explores ancient Bohemian mythology in a patriotic paean to the land and human perseverance. 

The film is an adaptation of Alois Jirásek’s anthology, Legends of Old Bohemia, an edition of which Trnka himself illustrated. It is told through six vignettes of well-known Czechoslovak fables loosely sewn together, from a princess revolt (The Maidens’ War) to a man’s duel with a wild boar (The Tale of Bijov). Old Czech Legends stands as one of Trnka’s most visionary and technically complex works: an ambitious interpretation of familiar cultural history through the fantastical medium of puppet animation.

Digital restoration courtesy of the National Film Archive in Prague.

“Trnka succeeded with this puppet film in creating one of the most enchanting Czech films treating historical themes.” — Karlovy Vary IFF