Episode 824: Invention for Destruction (1958)
Shownotes
A world drawn in cross-hatched lines: water, ships and faces all look like Victorian engravings come to life. Czechtember 2026 opens with Karel Zeman's Invention for Destruction (1958), released in America as The Fabulous World of Jules Verne, as Mike welcomes back Jonathan Owen and Professor Earl Jackson.
Freely adapted from Verne's Facing the Fat, the film follows young engineer Simon Hart and Professor Roch, whose world-changing explosive lures the genteel pirate Count Artigas to a hollow volcano. Mike, Jonathan and Earl unpack Zeman's trickery: matte paintings, forced perspective, puppets, glass rippled frame by frame. They trace how Zeman strips out Verne's colonialism, the Cold War hunt for scientists humming underneath, and the real inventor who sued Verne. Along the way: Méliès, Guy Maddin and Hundreds of Beavers (2022).
Can spectacle this dense leave room for criticism, or is “wow” the most honest response?
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support.
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth
The Projection Booth is part of the Weirding Way Media podcast network. Explore more of our shows at http://weirdingwaymedia.com.
Freely adapted from Verne's Facing the Fat, the film follows young engineer Simon Hart and Professor Roch, whose world-changing explosive lures the genteel pirate Count Artigas to a hollow volcano. Mike, Jonathan and Earl unpack Zeman's trickery: matte paintings, forced perspective, puppets, glass rippled frame by frame. They trace how Zeman strips out Verne's colonialism, the Cold War hunt for scientists humming underneath, and the real inventor who sued Verne. Along the way: Méliès, Guy Maddin and Hundreds of Beavers (2022).
Can spectacle this dense leave room for criticism, or is “wow” the most honest response?
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support.
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth
The Projection Booth is part of the Weirding Way Media podcast network. Explore more of our shows at http://weirdingwaymedia.com.