Cesta Do Praveku
Karel Zeman, Fred Ladd
Through a school book, four boys go down the River of Time. The young explorers discover plants and animals from the Jurassic period, and have to deal with several prehistoric monsters.
With : Vladimír Bejval, Petr Herrman, Zdenek Husták, Jósef Lukáš
Screenplay : Josef Novotný, Karel Zeman (d'après Voyages extraordinaires de Jules Verne)
Image : Antonín Horák, Václav Pazdernik
Decors : Ivo Mrdzek, Zdenek Rozkopal, Karel Zeman
Effets spéciaux : Arnost Kupcik, Jindrich Liska, Karel Zeman
Editing : Zdenek Stehlík
Music : Emil František Burian, František Strangmüller
Screenplay : Josef Novotný, Karel Zeman (d'après Voyages extraordinaires de Jules Verne)
Image : Antonín Horák, Václav Pazdernik
Decors : Ivo Mrdzek, Zdenek Rozkopal, Karel Zeman
Effets spéciaux : Arnost Kupcik, Jindrich Liska, Karel Zeman
Editing : Zdenek Stehlík
Music : Emil František Burian, František Strangmüller
Production : Ceskoslovenský Státní Film, Filmové Studio Gottwaldov
Source copie : Narodni filmovy archiv
Source copie : Narodni filmovy archiv
With Cesta do praveku (Journey into Prehistory), Karel Zeman made his first film combining live action, animation and special effects, creating a minor revolution in the world of animation, long before digital technology. This poetic and educational adventure is inspired by Jules Verne's Voyages extraordinaires and Harry O. Hoyt's film The Lost World (1925). Long before the success of Jurassic Park, Karel Zeman reconstituted, with the help of Czech palaeontologist Josef Augusta, prehistoric animals using marionettes filmed in stop-motion, hand puppets, or puppets animated using simple mechanisms. Journey to Prehistory is packed full of visual innovations and earned Karel Zeman his reputation as the Czech Méliès. In 1966 a new version of the film was produced in the United States by William Cayton, entitled Journey to the Beginning of Time.