Reise in die Urwelt (1955)

Reise in die Urwelt: Directed by Karel Zeman. With Vladimír Bejval, Petr Herrman, Zdenek Hustak, Josef Lukás. One day a young boy finds a fossil of trilobite. Together with his three friends they set off on an adventurous journey through prehistory, up to the beginning of time.

“If you loved prehistoric life as a child, this film is perfect. The plot concerns four boys who travel down an otherworldly river and encounter the various stages of prehistoric life along the way. The stop-motion dinosaurs and numerous other prehistoric animals not usually seen on film (as far as I know, this is the only film that ever recreated the Carboniferous Age), as well as the painted backdrops, are imaginatively conceived and executed. The characters of the four boys are also humanely and realistically developed (a rarity for childrenu0026#39;s characters in films), so that _Cesta do praveku_ is equally enjoyable for adults. Unfortunately, the American version is horribly dubbed and has a ludicrous prologue to explain how the boys got to the river tacked on by the distributor; but the originality of the film still comes through, so itu0026#39;s worth watching if the original Czech version is unavailable (as it mostly is).”