This is a film I really remember enjoying as a child, and although I haven't seen it in more than 25 years this trailer brought back a lot of good memories. It is a 1976 Spanish made film titled
Viaje al Centro de la Terra, retitled
Where Time Began for the USA (which is the title I saw it under) directed by Juan Piquer Simón who also directed such films as
Pieces, and
Slugs. As you can probably figure it is based on the Jules Verne story
Journey To The Center Of The Earth. It was made during a time in the '70s when adventure movies like
The Land That Time Forgot,
The People That Time Forgot, and
At The Earth's Core were at their height in popularity.
This adaption has more in common with the aforementioned films than it does the 1959 version of
Journey To The Center Of The Earth with James Mason. There are plenty of puppet dinosaurs, carnivorous tortoises and an Ape man in place of the novel's giant Neaderthal. The sea reptile attack when they are sailing across the underground ocean is a scene that has stuck with me a long time. Where this film diverges from the novel is the inclusion of a female to the expedition, and the curious incusion of the character of Olsen a man they meet in the underworld who is very mysterious. His story is never answered satisfactory, but it is one of the things that make this film unique among Jules Verne adaptions giving it a more sci-fi flavor. This is by no means a "good" film, but the sets are particularly wonderful, and it is a lot of fun from what I remember. It has been released on DVD under the title
Jules Verne's The Fabulous Journey To The Center Of The Earth, so I plan on picking it up soon. I doubt it will live up to my memories of it, but I love these old movies anyways.
