Where Time Began (1977)

Also known as 'The Fabulous Journey to the Centre of the Earth'. Partially dubbed to english, but good cinematography.

Director:

Juan Piquer Simón (as J. Piquer Simon)

Writers:

Carlos Puerto (screenplay), Juan Piquer Simón (screenplay) (as Juan Piquer)

Stars:

Kenneth More, Pep Munné, Ivonne Sentis

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kenneth More	...	Prof. Otto Lindenbrock
Pep Munné	...	Axel (as Pep Munne)
Ivonne Sentis	...	Glauben
Frank Braña	...	Hans Belker
Jack Taylor	...	Olsen
José María Caffarel	...	Professor Fridleson (as Jose Mª Caffarel)
Emiliano Redondo	...	Prof. Kristoff
Lone Fleming	...	Martha
Ricardo Palacios	...	Train ticket collector
George Rigaud	...	Professor (as Jorge Rigaud)
Fabián Conde	...	(as Fabian Cone)
Ana del Arco
Manuel Pereiro
Barta Barri	...	Professor
Ángel Álvarez	...	Professor (as Angel Alvarez)

Storyline

Like in the novel of Jules Verne four persons try to get to the centre of the world by entering into a world of caves by a volcano. On their way they discover among other things also prehistoric animals like some dinosaurs.

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Plot Keywords:

volcano | dinosaur | cave | quicksand | prehistoric times | 

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Taglines:

Incredible adventures in a fantastic world!

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

November 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Where Time Began

Filming Locations:

Cueva de Valporquero, León, Castilla y León, Spain

Company Credits

Production Co:

Almena Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Never shown in British cinemas, this was first shown on ITV at Christmas 1978.

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Goofs

At around 00:04:56 in the dubbed English version Professor Kristoff uses different measurement units in three consecutive sentences: "Because the distance between the Earth's crust and it's core is over 6500 KILOMETRES. And no man has ever descended to a depth of more than 3 MILES. So it's obvious we'll never have a glimmer of true knowledge until we are able to reach a depth of at least a 100 LEAGUES."

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Quotes

Axel: Yesterday you had a deep gash on your forehead. Wounds apparently heal must faster here.
Axel: Ah, then what a fine battleground it would make!

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Connections

Version of Journey to the Center of the Earth (1988)

User Reviews

Great opening credits!

Essentially a recasting of the 1959 version as opposed to a remake (think a traveling version of your favorite Broadway play and you get the picture). Now that video allows us to experience the original over and over again, this film becomes less unique. The overall film is not so bad (considering the genre) if it weren't for the fact that this film was done so much better twenty years earlier. As far as casting Kenneth More in the James Mason role...what can I say? More is Less. This film was made during the time when films such as THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT, and AT THE EARTH'S CORE were successful, and this version shares much with those films regarding style. I think if I were a kid in 1977 watching this in a theater and never seeing the original I would have thought it would be great. If only the director would have introduced new themes or viewpoints to the familiar story it could be enjoyed today. The film can be recommended however for a great gimmick for it's opening credits...a montage of the original Georges Melies silent films of Jules Verne's works set to the film's theme song. I've never seen them used in any other adaptation and it was a nice tribute.