Zdeněk Forejt

The joyful celebrations at the royal festivities are suddenly interrupted by a juggler's attempt to kill King Gregory. The astronomer Petr, who saves the king, is accepted into service for his deed. He teaches the beautiful princess Korunka to read the stars, but the monarch is not particularly fond of their budding love due to the young man's lowly origins. Three musicians try to help the two lovers with magic, and when Petr manages to save the king from death a second time, it seems that the astrologer's dream will come true and he will finally win the princess's hand. Instead of the expected reward, however, he is banished...

This feature film based on the events of 1938 is a chronicle of the futile efforts of the Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes (Jirí Pleskot), politicians and ordinary citizens, to save the independence and the territorial integrity of the state from the advance of Hitler's Germany. On the 29th of March 1938 the leader of the Sudeten Germans Henlein (Werner Ehrlicher) has a meeting with Hitler (Gunnar Möller). Hitler orders him to intensify pressure on the Czechoslovak government. On the 24th of April in Carlsbad, the Sudetendeutsche Partei (Sudeten German Party) decides upon eight demands that are unacceptable to the Czechoslovak President, since they would ultimately lead to the break-up of the Republic. Benes still shows a certain willingness to negotiate, and Henlein resents this. The Germans are determined to make further negotiations impossible through incidents and violence.

Thirty Cases of Major Zeman is a Czechoslovak action-drama television show intended as a political propaganda to support the official attitude of the communist party. The series were filmed in the 1970s. Each episode encompasses one year, and investigations are stylized to that year. Most are inspired by real cases. The series follows the life of police investigator Jan Zeman during his career from 1945 to 1975.