Císařův pekař a pekařův císař
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| Císařův pekař a pekařův císař | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Martin Frič, Jiří Krejčík |
| Written by | Jan Werich Jiří Brdečka |
| Starring | Jan Werich, Jiří Plachý, Zdeněk Štěpánek, Bohuš Záhorský, František Filipovský, Marie Vášová, Nataša Gollová, František Černý |
| Music by | Julius Kalaš |
| Release date(s) |  1951 1955 |
| Running time | 86 + 69 min or 112 min |
| Language | Czech |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Císařův pekař a pekařův císař (U.S. title The Emperor and the Golem) is a Czech two parted historical comedy, produced in 1951. Film was directed by Jiří Krejčík, but after disputes with Jan Werich Jiří Krejčík was replaced by Martin Frič. In adittion of two part version one part international version (112 min long) was produced, while propaganda scenes were cut off. Movie was filmed in color (not common for czechoslovak movies in that period) because of international release.
Movie is set in the reign of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor. It is one of the best known movies with Jan Werich (performing dual role of Emperor and baker).
[edit] Plot
It first follows the aging and eccentric Rudolf II, refusing to hear out ambassadors and falling into fits, destroying vases and dishes. The conflict between him and his brother Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor is demonstrated here. He welcomes Magister Kelly in his palace and shows him around.
He keeps an alchemist laboratory in his palace, where generally either swindlers or fools work (one desires to materialize dark, another beats with a hammer on a piece of metal and immediately begins to examine it, wishing so to change it into gold). There is also a character, who, when the Emperor asks him of his doings, he always begins to babble in a senseless language (In the end, it is revealed that he has been making "slivovice", a well known Moravian alcoholic drink from plums).
One character appears repeatedly, his name being Alessandro Scotta (called Honza Skoták), who instead of experiments cooks sausages and approaches the emperor with a cleaning product, with which he immediately cleans the floor,making it slippery, which causes another person to slip and the emperor to laugh. Rudolf is obsessed by finding the Golem. He and Scotta later accidentally stumble on him, while performing a magic ritual (not as its result). But he does not have the Shem and cannot awaken him.
The movie then follows a baker, Matěj (also played by Werich, but as a younger man than Rudolf) who is confronted with the angry people, who want bakery, but can not receive it, because it went to the palace. He is later imprisoned in the dungeons. Later on Kelly reveals his homunculus, whom the Emperor wishes to teach everything of our world (not knowing that she is a plain girl, forced by Kelly to act as such). She and Matěj communicate through vents between Kelly's room and the dungeons.
Later the Emperor takes part in what is supposed to make him young again. Then he and another ride on a carriage to remind themselves of the sins of their misspent youth.
Meanwhile Matěj escapes the dungeons. Unknowing subjects of the Emperor find the fugitive (who bears a supreme likeness to the Emperor in his young days) in a bath and, believing the rejuvination to have worked out hold him for the emperor. Matěj gets into an embarrassed scene with the emperor's "consort" (something like a guest, only longer staying and generally arguing with Rudolf). He believes he killed her and puts her on top of a two-story bed.
A sphere of intrigue (shown rather humorously) between the emperor's councillors is shown and all basically want the shem, which a hound is spotted to have. Matěj (as the emperor) sits as a table with Galileo and talks about planets and as the astronomer demonstrates the moving of planets with the wine cups, he mixes a wine cup with poison, arranged by the councilors. They stunned, unknowing which cup is the poisoned one, take theirs on Matěj's demands.
The situation escalates, as the Golem is awakened and destroys the general, who wanted to use him to conquer the whole world. The Emperor returns and chaos is large. The Matěj manages to reason Golem into stopping and then uses his power to bake for the poor.
