Mahuliena, zlatá panna (1986)

Aurus, the lord of gold, forces people to hand over all the gold they have earned through their work over the course of the year on the day of the solstice. Otherwise, people must be sacrificed to him. One day, when Aurus has the gold collected again, a young prince refuses to pay the tribute. His father, the king, is devastated and dies shortly afterward as a result of a fall. On his deathbed, he entrusts his loyal and devoted servant Johannes with looking after his son. He also gives Johannes an iron crown that is always passed down from one ruler to the next. Johannes is to give it to the prince later and tell him that he must never speak about the crown’s secret magical power; otherwise, he will be turned to stone. This spell can only be reversed through a great sacrifice. The king cannot tell Johannes what the power is, for that reason. One day, the heir to the throne catches sight of a figurine of the legendary golden maiden Mahalena and wants to win her for himself. He sets out with Johannes and six other servants, but after a while continues on with Johannes alone. The loyal servant secretly carries the crown with him. Along the way, they also pass through a land where the inhabitants hand people over to Aurus because gold is more valuable. The young Deva is enraged by the lord of gold, however, since her little sister had to be sacrificed the last time. The prince is now all the more determined to defeat Aurus. During the journey, Johannes discovers the crown’s secret: it allows whoever wears it to foresee impending danger. This enables them to escape danger several times and also to rescue Mahalena from Aurus’s realm. But since the servant is never allowed to speak about it, the prince grows increasingly suspicious of him, and after Mahalena’s rescue, jealous as well. Finally, he tries to drown Johannes in a river. Johannes then reveals the crown’s secret, but, as warned, turns into a stone statue and sinks into the water. The prince is able to return to his realm with Mahalena, but is distraught over Johannes’s fate. To reverse the spell through a great sacrifice, he unsuccessfully tries to drown himself in the river. Deva asks Mahalena to stop him. But the prince and Mahalena come to realize that only their joint deaths can save Johannes, and they go into the water together. This breaks the spell, and all three return to life.