Digging into the pile of Czech flicks waiting to be viewed,I decided to look for a title with a short and sweet run time. Recently viewing his The Deadly Invention (1958-also reviewed) I was pleased to find another Karel Zeman title,which led to me travelling to the beginning of time.
View on the film:
Flickering illustrations of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth over the opening,co-writer(with William Cayton and J.A. Novotný)/directing auteur Karel Zeman continues the distinctive blending of live action with animation,in this case well designed,detailed stop-motion animation of dinosaurs. Whilst the animation is smoothly done, the blending of live action/animation never fully clicks,partly due to the camera being angled to place the dinosaurs on the corner of the screen to the cast, and also Zeman giving the live action elements a flatness,highlighting the interest solely being in the stop-motion. Leaving Jules Verne from the opening to go for a Boys Own Adventure, the writers disappointingly give little to make each boy stand out,or to spend time building the relationships, instead going for dry read-outs of facts relating to dinosaurs encountered on this uneventful journey to the beginning of time.
View on the film:
Flickering illustrations of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth over the opening,co-writer(with William Cayton and J.A. Novotný)/directing auteur Karel Zeman continues the distinctive blending of live action with animation,in this case well designed,detailed stop-motion animation of dinosaurs. Whilst the animation is smoothly done, the blending of live action/animation never fully clicks,partly due to the camera being angled to place the dinosaurs on the corner of the screen to the cast, and also Zeman giving the live action elements a flatness,highlighting the interest solely being in the stop-motion. Leaving Jules Verne from the opening to go for a Boys Own Adventure, the writers disappointingly give little to make each boy stand out,or to spend time building the relationships, instead going for dry read-outs of facts relating to dinosaurs encountered on this uneventful journey to the beginning of time.