Annotation
This non-fiction film from 1955 tells the story of four boys who set sail on a wooden boat up the river of time on a fantastic journey to the prehistoric Earth. One by one they explore the Quaternary, – including the Ice Age – the Tertiary, the Mesozoic and the Paleozoic Eras up to the Silurian sea, where they find a living trilobite. Thanks to this film, a whole generation of children were first introduced to the history of our planet, with its ancient plants and animals, brought to life on the big screen by the creativity and artistry of Karel Zeman‘s special effects. Rated one of the best children‘s adventure films of all
time, it is also a pioneering work of world cinema. Its popularity was testified to by its being put on distribution in America in 1960 w ith a newly extended introduction. The film was made in the Kudlov Studios in Zlín and in the film studios in Hostivař. Exteriors were shot on the Slovak river Vah, on the Souš at Tanvald, in Strmilov, in Jindřichov Hradec, and at the Zlín dam. The final scene was filmed on the sea coast on the island of Rügen in German y.
Synopsis
The decision to go back in time by the four boys is inspired by their finding a fossilized trilobite and the desire of little Jirka to see alive the exhibits that fascinate him in the museum. The narrator Petr, the leader of the expedition Jenda, the photographer Tony and the youngest, Jirka, decide to sail their small boat through the caves in which Jirka first discovered the ancient fossil trilobite. Thus they start their journey back to prehistoric times, during which they see a lot more than just Jirka‘s beloved mammoth. The enterprising boys sail upriver against the flow of time as the landscape around them gradually changes. Their exciting encounters with prehistoric fauna and flora are carefully recorded in their expeditionary log. They visit caves with wall paintings painted by early man and, in one of the key episodes, witness a battle between mesozoic dinosaurs. Passing through a jungle of club mosses and horsetails, they finally reach the sea in the Paleozoic. There they find a living trilobite, whose modern-day fossil provided
Digital restoration
Journey to the Beginning of Time has been digitally restored as part of Čistíme svět fantazie / Restoring the World of Fantasy, a joint project of the Karel Zeman Museum, the Czech Film Foundation and Czech Television. The aim of the project is to digitally restore selected films by Karel Zeman at the highest possible quality over a period of three years, bringing them back to cinema screens and rejuvenating interest in them. The project also aims to raise awareness of the importance of digital restoration. The “Godfather” of the digitally restored Journey to the Beginning of Time is the director of Kung Fu Panda and Karel Zeman fan – John Stevenson: “Journey to the Beginning of Time has been restored. It´s absolutely beautiful. Now you can see it in the cinemas. You can get a Blu-ray or a DVD of it and see it. It hasn´t looked as good since it first came out. So you should absolutely do that. It´s a wonderful movie.” The restoration was under the direction of head restorer Ivo Marak at Universal Production Partners (UPP), with audio restoration of the film provided by Soundsquare, led by Pavel Rejholec.
Awards
- Edinburgh IFF (1955), „Honorable Mention“
- Honor for Emerging Work (1955)
- 5th Mannheim Cultural and Documentary Film Week (1956), „Critics Prize
of the Mannheim Press for the Best Scientific Film“ - The Gelsenkirchen Conference for Educational Film (1956), „The Award
for the Ideal Youth Movie“ - Film Festival at the World Youth Festival and Students of Moscow (1957),t
„Special Gold Medal“ - State Prize First Rank to the Director (1957)
