Voyage dans la préhistoire / Cesta do praveku

I saw the Americanized version of Cesta Do Praveku several times when I was a kid in the late 60's and early 70's. It was an important piece of my childhood in terms of a film which influenced my later tastes. I did not know until recently of the original Czech version. As usual, seeing a film in its original form and language is much more satisfying. This film is fascinating in terms of the characters, the subject matter, and the effects which are at once both primitive and magnificent. I highly recommend Cesta Do Pravenku to anyone who appreciates foreign films, (although this is certainly not a prerequisite for enjoyment), classic older films, science, science fiction with heart, and particularly films about the magic of youth on the verge of adulthood.

"Journey to the Beginning of Time" is the English title of this Czech film, which retains its original language audio track but has subtitles. This is a video enhanced version of a 1955 film that was an instructional filming any eastern European countries. Karel Zeman produced this charming tale of a group of schoolboys who take an imaginative journey through time, dealing with woolly mammoths, sabre toothcats, dinosaurs, other early life.
The video quality is excellent.
A note; you will need to have a "region-free" DVD player to play this video on your standard American TV set ... but it is worth it.