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Composer:
Václav TrojanPlots(1)
One of Trnka's full-length pictures, it is based upon Hans Christian Andersen's fairy-tale. It is a story of a Chinese emperor that, because of a beautiful toy-nightingale, forgets about the song of a real, live nightingale that comforted him in his solitude. Trnka unconditionally backs the live art's side. The picture has strong ethical components, and it has been admired by many. It is also famous for the extraordinary music composed by Vaclav Trojan. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
Amazing, great, wonderful. I marvel at the colorful acting sequence with the children and the whole story about the Mandarin baby who loved his nightingale. The version with Boris Karloff's commentary is strange, though. Why comment on what has already been imparted in pictures?
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The overarching scripted plot didn't quite fit here for me, and it felt like it was just stretching the story to a certain length. But the animated storyline is something else entirely because Trnka, with his characters, managed to express the time, the place, and above all, the poetry of this beautiful story wonderfully. The silent sequences are again breathtaking, and the music doesn't spoil it either.
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