At the beginning was the Slovak television series Lekár umierajúceho czasu (Doctor of Dying Time), dedicated to the Rudolphine-era scientist Jan Jesenius. He ended up on the scaffold along with other gentlemen after losing the anti-Habsburg uprising. When director Miloslav Luther conceived the idea of making an abridged version of the footage for cinema, he had to not only rebuild the storyline but also dub it into Czech. However, the result was only an illustrative puzzle, describing the various stages of the hero's turbulent life.
Cast
Petr Čepek
Jan Jesenius
Emma Černá
Maria
Rudolf Hrušínský
Rudolf II.
Miloš Nedbal
Fels
Martin Huba
Johannes Kepler
Milan Kňažko
Jan Mydlář
Leoš Suchařípa
Pavel Michna z Vacínova
Táňa Fischerová
Floro
Jan Kačer
Jáchym Ondřej Šlik
Stano Dančiak
Kryštof Harant z Polžic a Bezdružic
Mikuláš Huba
Bohuslav z Michalovic
Ota Sklenčka
Václav Budovec z Budova
Lubomír Kostelka
Jindřich Matyáš Thurn
Václav Knop
Ferdinand II.
Andrej Hryc
Franz Melchiar
Jan Kanyza
Zdeněk Vojtěch Popel z Lobkovic
Jiří Bartoška
Fridrich Falcký
Vít Olmer
Vilém Slavata z Chlumu a Košumberka
Karel Augusta
Jaroslav Bořita z Martinic
Bohuslav Čáp
Filip Fabricius
Václav Vydra
Albrecht Jan Smiřický
Zuzana Kronerová
Beata
Jiří Kostka
Kašpar Kaplíř ze Sulevic
Dana Hlaváčová
Elfrieda
Vlastimil Venclík
Jacob Hoefnagel
Bára Štěpánová
Pia
Bronislav Poloczek
Jakub
Jan Kuželka
Gregorius
Rostislav Kuba
Ambrosius
František Husák
Ostrštok
Jan Teplý
Přibík Jeníšek z Újezda
Marta Richterová
Unknown
Vladimír Hrubý
Priest
Oldřich Velen
Unknown
Rudolf Hrušínský
Unknown
Milan Riehs
Unknown
Josef Karlík
Tycho de Brahe
František Řehák
Vavřinec Benedikt z Nudožer
Pavol Mikulík
don Baltasar de Zúñiga
Karel Brožek
David Lippach
Milan Klacek
Filip Lang z Langenfelsu
Yvetta Kornová
Dorotka
Věra Tichánková
Unknown
Ladislav Křiváček
Seppl
Zdeněk Srstka
Unknown
Václav Kaňkovský
Unknown
Zita Furková
Unknown
Stanislav Hájek
Unknown
Josef Žluťák Hrubý
Unknown
Václav Kotva
Unknown
Vlado Černý
Unknown
Kateřina Urbancová
Unknown
Stanislava Bartošová
Unknown
Miloš Pietor
Unknown
František Kovár
Unknown
Peter Debnár
Matouš Děpolt Popel z Lobkovic
Jiří Prýmek
Jan Daniel Kapr z Kaprštejna
Karel Fořt
Announcer
Miloš Vavruška
Kristián I. Anhaltský
Anna Maľová
Bohunka
Bohuslav Ličman
Sabinus
František Kubíček
Old Fisher
Jožka Stoklasa
Tobias
Peter Bzdúch
Zoltán
Petr Drozda
Unknown
Jiří Adamíra
Narrator (voice)
Gustav Opočenský
Fels (voice)
Ladislav Frej
Johannes Kepler (voice)
Vladimír Ráž
Bohuslav z Michalovic (voice)
Daniela Bartáková
Beata (voice)
Steva Maršálek
Kašpar Kaplíř ze Sulevic (voice)
Vladimír Salač
Priest (voice)
Radan Rusev
Seppl (voice)
Jiří Zavřel
Matouš Děpolt Popel z Lobkovic (voice)
Jiří Havel
Jan Daniel Kapr z Kaprštejna (voice)
Ladislav Krečmer
Announcer (voice)
Mirko Musil
Old Fisher (voice)
Crew
Miroslav Vaic
Dramaturgy
Marian Puobiš
Dramaturgy, First Assistant Director
Miloslav Luther
Director
Vladimír Körner
Screenplay, Story
Jiří Brožek
Editor
Eva Horázná
Assistant Editor
Ivan Šlapeta
Director of Photography
Jan Křížek
First Assistant Director
Eliška Moulisová
Second Assistant Director
Jiří Ulrich
Executive Producer
Jiří Hlupý
Production Design
Ladislav Chroust
Assistant Camera
Jiří Maxa
Assistant Camera
Jan Kropáček
Costume Design
Věnceslava Vrtišková
Costumer
Naděžda Jirásková
Costumer
Eva Vlková
Costumer
Jiří Šimon
Makeup & Hair
Bobo Sobotka
Makeup & Hair
Jiří Farkaš
Makeup & Hair
Vlasta Brijarová
Makeup & Hair
Adolf Werner
Sound Assistant
Jiří Kříž
Sound
Ladislav Vobecký
Special Effects
Jiří Bulis
Original Music Composer
Jan Petrů
Set Decoration
Dana Smržová
Set Decoration
Ivan Ernyei
Set Decoration
Pavel Svoboda
Set Decoration
Jaroslav Trousil
Still Photographer
František Michálek
Technical Advisor
Dagmar Zelenková
Script Supervisor
Zdeněk Srstka
Stunts
Jaroslav Tomsa
Stunts
Karel Engel
Stunts
Helena Friedlová
Clapper Loader
Václav Hlávka
Assistant Production Design
Otta Pšenička
Gaffer
Karel Kochman
Production Manager
Petr Prejda
Unit Production Manager
Věra Lukášová
Unit Production Manager
Eliška Sekavová
Unit Production Manager
Jiří Blažek
Creative Producer
Jana Příkaská
Assistant Production Manager
Aleš Týbl
Assistant Production Manager
Michal Caban
Assistant Production Manager
Mario Klemens
Conductor
František Pok
Conductor
Recommendations
view all
Teacher's Pet
White Girl
Coffee and Cigarettes
The World of Apu
The Woman in the Window
Life Is Sweet
To Have and Have Not
Manon of the Spring
Dead Presidents
Down by Law
Mindhunters
My Fair Lady
The Hunting Ground
The Greatest
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Shotgun Stories
Ballet Mécanique
Love and Death
Starbuck
Tetro