Often described as the Czech Méliès , visionary filmmaker Karel Zeman has been a profound influence on whole generations of film artists from Jan vankmajer to Tim Burton, the Quay Brothers to Terry Gilliam, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Wes Anderson. His ground-breaking innovations in the use of live-action and animation mark him as one of the great masters of 20th Century fantasy cinema, ranking alongside his more celebrated Western counterparts Willis O Brien and Ray Harryhausen. The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (Baron Prá il) is perhaps Zeman s most beloved achievement.Still regarded as the finest film adaptation of Gottfried August Bürger s outlandish tales of Baron Munchausen (made famous in his 1786 book), Zeman s wildly inventive and outrageously fun take on the incredible adventures of the bragging Baron come to life in a film celebrating the courage and imagination of dreamers and poets. With its mind-bending melding of live-action, animation and extraordinary matte work, Ze