Le Château des Carpathes

A love from my early childhood, in which I am only now beginning to appreciate the graceful shapes of gags and the sprightly curves of exaggeration. An acting trip of Mr. Hrušínský and Mr. Kopecký. Beautiful Brdečkov walk-on parts, which, with their stylization clearly refer to the lemonade specter of Czech cinema. The parodies of opera pathos, cheerful folk archetypes (oh, you brave mountaineers!) and the clichés of film adventures are fantastic. It is also excellent that The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians has a bit of a Verne atmosphere (as if filtered by childish enthusiasm, which we know from Zeman's films). An example of a film that does not get old with age, but rather improves. So up to the Devil's Castle, where horrible deeds happened! (03/10/2006)

Funny basically from beginning to end, but with very few memorable jokes that would make you laugh out loud. Pleasant, fun. (18/05/2010)

For many years, this film didn't quite resonate with me, even though I acknowledged its kinship with Adela Has Not Had Her Supper Yet. But while some types of films lose their charm over the years, the opposite was true for this one. Unlike Karel Zeman, Jiří Brdečka and Oldřich Lipský mock the poor classic as much as they can, as well as the proud legacy of the 19th century as a victory of reason and technology. My view of the film was significantly influenced by its artistic side, for which Jan Švankmajer meant just as much, if not more, than Giger did for Alien. Many amusing lines from Brdečka and the splendid overacting of Miloš Kopecký and Rudolf Hrušínský. Overall impression: 90%. (26/08/2007)

The actors are excellent as always, but there’s not enough imaginative and effective humour by Lipski's standards. Definitely a big disappointment for me. (09/07/2012)

I came across the movie "The Mystery of the Carpathian Castle" thanks to the comic book "The Mysterious Castle in the Carpathians" by Petr Kopl. I had never had the honor of the original source by Jules Verne, but I must say that both Czech adaptations made an impression on me, although each in its own way. Petr Kopl won me over with his interconnection of various stories from world-renowned literary works into one and his ability to work with humor. The movie won me over because it is incredibly entertaining and showed how clever comedies Czechs were able to make in the past. Funny, amusing, absurd, and beautifully insane, yet still clever from start to finish. And especially the language humor, which is absolutely unbeatable. Only Zdeněk Svěrák knows how to play with the Czech language like this today. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2013/07/tajemstvi-hradu-v-karpatech-1981-90.html (17/07/2013)