"Jiri Trnka's Studio Prague" "Central Film Distribution presents" "THE CASTLE OF OTRANTO" "Animators" "Producer" "Music" "Editor" "Artistic Studio Director" "Camera" "Scriptwriter, designer, director" "According to an old prophecy, the Otranto estate and castle will cease to belong to the present noble family as soon as the original owner becomes too big to inhabit it." "Doctor, could you explain to us the connection between this quote from an old novel set in Italy and the ruins of this typically Czech castle?" "As a young child I came across the first Czech edition of a gothic novel called The Castle of Otranto written by Horace Walpole." "The book's knowledgeable introduction says," "'I cannot but believe that this story is founded on truth." "The scene is undoubtedly set in a real castle.'" "The author later expresses his belief that certain curious people may attempt, and I quote, 'to uncover the foundation on which our author has built.'" "That sentence took my breath away." "I set out to uncover exactly that." "After all today we know that Don Juan really existed." "So did the Montagues and the Capulets but I would be interested to hear about your sources and your progress." "I took the most tangible part of the text, the description of the castle." "I noted everything about the edifice." "For example, the large hall at the end of the corridor on the right, or Matilda's chamber up in the tower, etc." "Then came the second phase of my research." "Its aim was to locate a castle that corresponded to the castle's image." "But Otranto, unless I am mistaken, is a small town in southern Italy." "Yes, it is a small town in the south of Italy but firstly," "Otranto Castle does not match the description in the novel." "It is a somewhat improved garrison." "Secondly, the real Otranto estate was always owned by the King." "That rules out inheritance feuds between aristocratic families." "Subsequently, I examined all the ruined castles and manor houses in southern Italy, including Sicily, but to no avail." "When my hopes ran aground, as it happens, luck came to my rescue." "A friend sent a postcard from his holiday." "It showed typical Czech countryside with a romantic and beautiful ruin." "But what a ruin!" "It matched the description in the novel." "It was incredible." "The postcard was sent from Náchod." "I went to Náchod to see my friend and to inquire further." "Do you know what he told me?" "It is Otrhany Castle near Náchod." "The village is called Otrhany." "I was struck by the resemblance of the descriptive forms." "Otrhansky" " Otrantsky, the letter 'h' is muted in all Romance languages." "So many linguistic congruencies can't be accidental, I thought." "There had to be a link." "I opened a surgery in Náchod and started archaeological digs here at the castle." "The wedding date was set for the birthday of young prince Conrad, son of Manfred." "Oh, the helmet!" "Conrad!" "My only son, my only heir." "Dry your tears." "Conrad is not worthy of your love." "Oh, my lord?" "Instead of a feeble boy, you will get a mature man who will appreciate your charms." "Woe is me!" "I am too unhappy to think of wedlock again." "Isabella, unable to give you my son, I offer you myself." "You?" "My father-in-law?" "Conrad's father?" "Yes!" "I need a new heir, come what may." "No!" "Never!" "I would sooner die" "After her!" "She must not escape." "Magnanimous young man, how can I ever repay you?" "Where is Isabella?" "Speak, stranger." "I will force the truth out of you." "The most astonishing moment in my research." "Was the discovery of this underground passage." "By then I was fully convinced the plot had taken place right here." "But a handful of unresolved problems remained, such as how the Otrhany Castle was transferred to Italy." "When I looked into this issue, I soon realised it posed no real problem." "There have been close ties between our country and Italy since 868 when Cyril and Methodius received a ceremonious welcome in Rome." "Then there was Petrarch's visit to Prague, the Czech army's campaign alongside Heinrich IV in 1194 to Apulia and directly to Otranto, etc." "Yet the most persuasive is the following possibility." "During the reign of Premysl II a certain Henricus Apolus, a royal notary, was living in Prague." "He came to Bohemia and started teaching humanities." "Later he moved back to Italy and then Bohemia again." "And here I see a concrete possibility as to how the story found its way as a literary topic into the novel the author incorrectly placed it in." "And thus, in the tender heart of Matilda, love for the miserable Theodore started to blossom." "Open the gates for the Knight of the Big Sword!" "Give Isabella to me!" "I must find her and protect her." "He is in love with her." "This here was quite likely the cavern where Isabella sought refuge from Manfred." "Isabella..." "Isabella..." "Isabella, Isabella..." "Isabella..." "Give Isabella to me!" "Never!" "Isabella, my child." "Dear me!" "My father." "Save him!" "He is dying." "Our viewers, as well as myself, would like to know your opinion on the numerous supernatural occurrences in the novel." "You will surely agree they are a product of the human imagination that has left its trace on the true story over the years?" "I was of the same opinion at the outset of my research." "But evidence from the excavation..." "Digging." "...and the findings I made posed a question to which I have to date no satisfactory answer." "Reason suggests one answer, the digs another." "Come and have a look." "Excavated t his one n 1938" "The chemical analysis irrefutably confirmed it was horn tissue." "Its chemical composition was very similar to that of an ostrich feather which is, as you know, a typical adornment of the medieval armoury helmet." "And I found this in 1934." "Look, this is a rivet from real armour and this is my own finding." "Can you imagine how large the armour would actually have had to be?" "I owe my life to you only." "Theodore hides in the woods, living off animals." "I am indebted only to Matilda's devoted care." "I know, you fancy my daughter." "She is a true ángel." "Take the hand of Matilda in return for Isabella." "Thus they linked the blood of two old families." "When Isabella's father asked Matilda for her hand, then suddenly..." "My careful scrutiny of the door aperture, the side walls and the stones around produced a microscopic metal fragment, as if some huge body was trying to push its way out." "After this warning Isabella's father cancels his engagement to Matilda and, equally, refuses to give Isabella to Manfred." "When Manfred sees his plans fail, he decides in a fit of rage to kill Isabella but by mistake kills his daughter Matilda." "This, however, is not elementary to our investigation." "We are more concerned with the prophecy being thus fulfilled." "Note, please, the disgorged stones." "As if some gigantic force lifted the castle walls and threw them down into the valley." "Manfred!" "Your deed is done." "Oh, that ancient prophecy." "Your hypothesis about Otranto Castle being identical to Otrhany Castle near Náchod sounds very convincing." "But allow me to undermine the validity of your evidence regarding paranormal activities." "As a born realist, I find them difficult to accept." "Could it be that the horn tissue you have dug out actually came from a cow's horn?" "Or, could the large rivet be a badly cast part of a water hydrant?" "And as for the microscopic metal fragments on the walls and the bursting castle ruins, could they be explained by the fact that the castle was bought by an enterprising local yeoman?" "This film is dedicated to researchers whose activities are founded on bafflement."