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Journey to the Beginning of Time is a tchecoslovaque film of genre Science fiction directed by Karel Zeman released in USA on 11 february 1967
Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)
Cesta do pravěku
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Add to a movie listReleased in USA 11 february 1967
Length 1h33
OriginTchecoslovaquie
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, La préhistoire, Time travel films, Animaux préhistoriques
Rating70%
Journey to the Beginning of Time (Czech: Cesta do pravěku, literally "Trip into prehistory") is a 1955 Czechoslovak children's science fiction feature film directed by Karel Zeman. Produced using a combination of 2-D and 3-D models, it was the first of Zeman's productions to include actors in conjunction with stop-motion and special effects, and won awards at the International Film Festivals of Venice and Mannheim. The documentary-type nature of the film showing extinct animal species behaving naturally in their own environments was most unusual for its era and foreshadowed many later TV productions that would depict prehistoric life for educational rather than purely entertainment purposes. Cesta do pravěku should not be confused with a dubbed and partly re-filmed US version of the film that was released in 1966 under the title Journey to the Beginning of Time.
Synopsis
The story involves four teenage comrades who take a rowboat along a "river of time" that flows into a mysterious cave and emerges on the other side onto a strange, primeval landscape. The boy actors were Josef Lukáš (Petr, the main narrator), Petr Herrmann (Toník, who also narrates in part), Zdeněk Husták (Jenda), and Vladimír Bejval (Jirka). As they make their way upstream, they realise that they are travelling progressively farther back in time, and facing various perils as they do so (but learning much about prehistoric life in the process). The animals depicted in Cesta do pravěku were never shown interacting with animals of other periods and it is assumed that different parts of the river represented distinct time periods. The plot is somewhat similar to that of the novel Plutonia (1915) by the Russian palaeontologist Vladimir Obruchev, in which a team of Russian explorers enter the Earth's crust via an Arctic portal (a huge depression in the Earth surface created many millions of years previously by the impact of a giant asteroid, into which prehistoric animals had entered), and follow a river that leads them through a sequence of past geological eras and associated animal life. Some scenes in Cesta do pravěku recall Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel The Lost World, with four male protagonists exploring a prehistoric world where they find evidence of native human habitation, are attacked by a group of enraged pterodactyls, witness a twilight fight between a carnivorous dinosaur and a herbivorous one, encounter a Stegosaurus up-close, and see one of their members (Petr) pursued by a Phorusrhacos.Comments
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Suggestions of similar film to Journey to the Beginning of Time
There are 11 films with the same director, 19984 with the same cinematographic genres (including 209 with exactly the same 4 genres than Journey to the Beginning of Time), 3939 films with the same themes (including 8 films with the same 5 themes than Journey to the Beginning of Time), to have finally 70 suggestions of similar films.If you liked Journey to the Beginning of Time, you will probably like those similar films :
On the Comet (1970)
, 1h14Directed by Karel Zeman
Origin Tchecoslovaquie
Genres Science fiction, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, La préhistoire, Comedy science fiction films, Animaux préhistoriques
Actors Karel Effa, Vladimír Menšík, František Filipovský, Čestmír Řanda, Josef Hlinomaz, Jiřina Jirásková
Rating67%
Au Maghreb, les colons français se préparent à entrer en guerre contre les troupes du roi déchu et ses alliés européens, ennemis de la France. Mais cette guerre sera perturbée par l'apparition d'une mystérieuse planète, dont l'attraction va attirer à elle cette partie de l'Afrique du Nord, ainsi que la Gibraltar britannique. Les deux camps belligérants vont donc se retrouver sur cette planète itinérante, peuplée de créatures préhistoriques. Dans le même temps, le lieutenant Servadac, un français, va tomber amoureux d'Angelik, belle espagnole ayant fui des trafiquants forcément mal intentionnés, et va tenter de la protéger à la fois de ses oppresseurs, de la guerre, des dangers de la planète, tout en essayant d'éviter qu'elle ne soit reprise par ses frères, partis à sa rescousse pour la ramener en Espagne.
, 1h23Directed by Karel Zeman
Origin Tchecoslovaquie
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Pirate films, Steampunk films, Arme nucléaire
Actors Miloslav Holub, Otto Šimánek, Václav Trégl, Hugh Downs
Rating74%
Le comte d'Artigas a mis sur pied une bande de pirates qui écume les épaves voire coule intentionnellement les navires marchands à l'aide d'un sous-marin ultramoderne, lui-même dérobé. Son ambition le pousse ensuite à enlever le professeur Roch et son assistant, Simon Hart, afin de les mettre à son service. Le professeur, tenu dans l'ignorance des projets maléfiques du comte, met au point un explosif très dangereux et révolutionnaire par sa puissance destructrice. Son assistant, lui, a décelé les projets du comte et est gardé prisonnier.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
, 1h24Directed by Jun Fukuda
Origin Japon
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Action, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, La fin du monde, Kaiju films, Films about magic and magicians, Seafaring films, La préhistoire, Transport films, Films set in the future, Animaux préhistoriques, Natural horror films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Giant monster films, Godzilla films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Alien invasions in films, Robot films, Disaster films
Actors Akihiko Hirata, Kenji Sahara, Hiroshi Koizumi, Kin'ichi Kusumi, Robert Dunham
Rating62%
Strange events are taking place in Okinawa. An Azumi priestess has a terrifying vision of a city being destroyed by a giant monster. A type of metal not found on earth is discovered in a cave by a spelunker, Masahiko Shimizu, who takes it to Professor Miyajima for examination. An excavation led by Masahiko's brother Keisuke accidentally uncovers a chamber filled with ancient artifacts and a mural bearing an ominous prophecy: "When a black mountain appears above the clouds, a huge monster will arise and try to destroy the world; but then, when the red moon sets and the sun rises in the west, two more shall appear to save humanity." Keisuke is joined by archaeologist Saeko Kaneshiro, who translates the prophecy and takes one of the artefacts, bearing the likeness of the legendary monster King Caesar, to study. Two men stalk them, one who speaks to them and claims to be a reporter interested in the story, the other of whom attempts to steal the statue from them but fails and flees.
, 1h15Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Films about extraterrestrial life, Films about volcanoes, Children's films, Films about extraterrestrial life, Disaster films
Actors Thomas Dekker, Anndi McAfee, Julien Bouanich, Kelly Marot, Aria Curzon, Jeff Bennett
Rating60%
One evening, Petrie arrogantly begins telling a tale of the best creatures of the world: the Flyers. Cera disagrees and the tale isn't true. Petrie then spots a herd of dinosaurs visiting the Great Valley, but apparently they don't matter. The youngsters later went to bed after their parents called them in for the night. Later that night, Littlefoot sees a strangely blue colored meteor falling from the sky and colliding into Threehorn Peak, a volcano in the Smoking Mountain range. When Littlefoot describes it the next morning, most of the adult dinosaurs in the Great Valley disbelieve Littlefoot's story since he is a known liar. However, two newcomers, the mysterious and racially-insensitively named "Rainbow Faces", speak eloquently of possibilities of wonders beyond what they know. The Rainbow Faces suggest (i.e., lie) that the rock may be a "Stone of Cold Fire", a stone possessing magical properties. Pterano, the devious, sinister and outcast uncle of Littlefoot's friend Petrie, somehow overhears the conversation and conspires to use the rock to take control of the Great Valley Ganon-style. Pterano asks Petrie, who idolizes him for some reason, for the location of the rock and is told it has landed on Threehorn Peak. Littlefoot's friend Ducky overhears Pterano's plan because dinosaurs apparently aren't good at whispering, but Pterano and his cronies, Sierra and Rinkus, abduct her before she can warn the others. They take her along as they set out to find the Stone of Cold Fire before an Amber Alert is filed. The other dinosaurs discover Ducky's kidnapping. The adults tell the young ones that Pterano had been made an outcast due to his carelessness after self-appointing himself leader of a group of dinosaurs; while searching for the Great Valley, Pterano was overconfident and led his followers directly into a pack of small, albino Sharpteeth. Pterano, a Pteranodon like Petrie (that makes sense; they are uncle and nephew), was able to fly away, although the event left him heart-broken. He ended up expelled from the herd as punishment for abandoning his followers, yet he continues to hang around undeterred.
The Land Before Time (1988)
, 1h9Directed by Don Bluth
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Transport films, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Road movies, Buddy films, Children's films
Actors Gabriel Damon, Candace Hutson, Judith Barsi, Will Ryan, Helen Shaver, Burke Byrnes
Rating73%
Near the end of the Cretaceous, a series of catastrophic events are causing intense drought, and several herds of dinosaurs seek one of the last livable places, a paradise known as the "Great Valley." Among these, a diminished "Longneck" herd gives birth to a single baby, named Littlefoot (Gabriel Damon). Years later, Littlefoot plays with Cera (Candace Hutson), a "Three-horn," who was trying to smash a beetle until her father (Burke Bynes) intervenes; whereupon Littlefoot's mother (Helen Shaver) names the different kinds of dinosaurs: "Three-horns," "Spiketails," "Swimmers," and "Flyers," and states that each has historically remained apart. That night, as Littlefoot follows a "hopper," he encounters Cera again, and they play together briefly until a "Sharptooth" appears. He attacks them, before Littlefoot's mother comes to their rescue. During the fight, she suffers severe back and neck injuries from the Sharptooth's teeth and claws. At that same time, an "earthshake" opens a deep ravine that swallows up the Sharptooth and divides Littlefoot and Cera from their herds. Littlefoot finds his dying mother, and receives her final words of advice in favor of his intuition.
, 1h21Directed by Mel Smith
Origin USA
Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, Films about children, La préhistoire, Animaux préhistoriques, Film d'animation mettant en scène un animal, Children's films
Actors Anndi McAfee, Aria Curzon, Stéphanie Lafforgue, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Marot, Roger Carel
Rating57%
Every year, as the warm season approaches, a certain tree in Great Valley blooms with pink flowers. Because of the tastiness of these "treesweets", every dinosaur in the valley wants his/her fair share of it. However, because of this tastiness (and the fact that there seems to be only one such tree in the whole valley), there is hardly enough for everyone. Because of this, none may eat any of the treesweets until the day they "reach the peak of their tastiness".
Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur (2006)
, 1h47Genres Science fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Films about animals, Dinosaur films, La préhistoire, Time travel films, Films about cats, Children's films
Actors Yumi Kakazu, Tomokazu Seki, Ryūnosuke Kamiki, Subaru Kimura, Yasunori Matsumoto, Kenji Utsumi
Rating71%
Suneo shows everyone a fossilized claw of a Tyrannosaurus rex and Nobita is angry that he doesn't get a look. Nobita claims that he will be able to find a living dinosaur. Panicking, Nobita researches on dinosaurs and starts digging in a hill. But then, a landlord shouts at him and makes him dig a hole in the ground to dispose of some egg shells. Nobita unearths a rock shaped like an egg. Using the time-wrap, he returns the rock into its former form and plans to hatch the egg. He spends a day and night wrapped tightly in a blanket with it on his futon, despite it being the peak of summer. A "Futabasaurus" comes out, and Nobita decides to name the plesiosaur Piisuke. Suneo and Gian come looking for Nobita but because Piisuke is still too small, Nobita doesn't show them the plesiosaur and instead makes a deal with them. If he cannot show them a real dinosaur, he would have to eat spaghetti through his nose. Meanwhile, Nobita and Piisuke form a strong bond between them with Nobita working very hard to make sure the baby plesiosaur is well looked after, feeding it his own dinner of sashimi and playing with it. He grows very attached to Piisuke.
The Stolen Airship (1967)
, 1h30Directed by Karel Zeman
Origin Italie
Genres Science fiction, Fantastic, Fantasy, Adventure
Themes Transport films, Aviation films
Actors Josef Hlinomaz, Čestmír Řanda, František Filipovský, Zdeněk Dítě, Miloslav Holub, Václav Trégl
Rating72%
Cinq garçons s'envolent à bord d'un dirigeable et finissent par s'échouer sur une île déserte. La police, les services secrets de l'armée et la presse partent à leur recherche par la mer et dans les airs. Les cinq enfants trouvent refuge dans le repaire du capitaine Némo, qui occupe l'île avec eux, et seront confrontés au débarquement de pirates.
A Thousand and One Nights (1974)
, 1h32Directed by Karel Zeman
Genres Fantasy, Adventure, Animation
Themes Children's films
Actors Jan Tříska
Rating72%
Originally released as the short Dobrodružství námořníka Sindibáda (literally "Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor," 14 minutes, 1971).
, 1h23Directed by Karel Zeman
Origin Tchecoslovaquie
Genres Fantastic, Comedy, Fantasy, Adventure, Animation, Romance
Themes Space adventure films, Sur la Lune, Space opera, Sur la Lune, Films about extraterrestrial life
Actors Miloš Kopecký, Jana Brejchová, Karel Höger, Eduard Kohout, Karel Effa, Josef Hlinomaz
Rating76%
The film begins with footsteps leading to a pond. The camera continually moves upwards to show the flight of butterflies, birds, and a progression of historical aircraft ending with a rocketship travelling through space and landing on the moon.