Journey To The Beginning Of Time: Journey Of The U.S. Version

Derrick details how he helped save the U.S. English Dub version of ‘Journey To The Beginning Of Time’ from extinction & his home media release involvement.

AN IMMERSIVE PREHISTORIC FILM

Created by the innovative Czechoslovakian filmmaker Karel Zeman, ‘Cesta Do Pravkeu’, also known as ‘Journey To The Beginning Of Time,’ was made during the era of the 1950s when dinosaurs were used as monster-movie gimmicks. However, Zeman’s film showcased dinosaurs, and many other prehistoric creatures, living in their natural habitats, as we simply view their drama play before us. We are largely just along for the ride, in what could be considered one of the greatest films about prehistory ever made.

The film’s adventure takes four boys along a river that mysteriously takes them back into time. The further down the river they go, the further back in time they are. The simple premise of the film allows it to become a showcase of environments, creatures, and dilemmas of the past in a way that was incredibly accurate for the time it was made. Zeman used a variety of different special effects in unique combinations, including stop-motion animation, puppets, miniatures, matte-paintings, and even superimposed traditional animation. In an era before any computers were used for films, he used all the tricks of the trade to sell the ultimate illusion: that we were being transported back to an era long before any of us.

‘Cesta do pravěku’, in its original Czechoslovakian version of the film, became a classic in its native country. While it had success outside of it, the film only became known in the United States during the 1960s, an entire decade later. It was during this time that the film was dubbed in English and re-edited by an American company. Additionally, the film had new footage shot to bookend this version, featuring actors that had similar likenesses to the boys at The Museum Of Natural History in New York. Apart from its theatrical run, the film was also cut up into a serialized form on the popular children’s program of the time: ‘Garfield Goose And Friends.’ Known in this edited form as ‘Journey To The Beginning Of Time,’ it is still essentially the same adventure. The English dubbing is much more animate in comparison to the subdued nature of the original voices. However, this version has since become nostalgic and a historic piece of the film’s history.

VHS TO THE RESCUE

I (Derrick Davis) initially worked on Second Run‘s reconstruction of the English dub for their Blu-Ray & DVD releases in 2019. At that time, I used an old 1990s VHS cassette transfer as the source for the unique opening & closing footage and the entire audio, cleaning them both. The VHS release (from an extinct company) had been the only way anyone had seen the film in decades, and was never released in any other format.

The rest of my meticulous edit used the 4K-sourced restoration of the original Czech cut where I matched the U.S. version with it almost frame by frame. This was the only way to make it an accurate recreation with the best quality. It became a difficult edit due to numerous micro-cuts within this 1960 version that made it impossible to simply just switch out the language audio. It truly is a different assembly of the film.

On the VHS, the sound would often lose sync and not match up with scenes for extended periods of time. It was clearly an unintended result of a bad film print transfer. I corrected this issue, and many others, using editing tricks. The entire edit took many hours and long nights due to how challenging it was, but my restoration became its best release.

UNEARTHING THE FILM PRINT

Miraculously, right before Second Run released their disc, I discovered what I thought was the location of the long-lost U.S. film print that nobody had found: The Library Of Congress. It had been screened at its Washington, D.C. theater (once known as the ‘Mary Pickford Theater’) in May 2001. I couldn’t believe that after all the work I had done it had been potentially located! But it was too late. The discs had already been processed, and ironically Second Run doesn’t do “second runs,” so that ruled out the chance of a re-release with better sources.

The Library Of Congress would also have been challenging to access and obtain the print for a small company. There was also no guarantee it would have been the U.S. cut at all, as it could have been the original Czech version. I still thought my hunch was right, however. Given those odds, and the discs already being printed, the inquiry was dropped. And I totally understand it.

Not long after Second Run’s release, I heard the world-famous Criterion Collection was doing a Blu-Ray & DVD release of the film themselves, in the form of a Karel Zeman boxed set (which also included his ‘Invention For Destruction‘ and ‘The Fabulous Baron Munchausen‘ films)! I immediately reached out to Criterion and asked if they had found the U.S. cut and if it would be included. They also had never found it, but were interested in my restoration edit after having a look. When I also told them about my hunch of the film print’s location, they revealed Criterion had the means to finally investigate the Library Of Congress themselves. After I waited with bated breath, I was finally told they had located a 16mm film print of the U.S. cut!

Criterion performed a scan of the print themselves, then used my restoration edit as a guide. They replicated exactly what I had done with the VHS but replaced it with the 16mm print.

The U.S. cut’s opening/closing scenes were now sourced from the print and in better quality, except for being a bit darker than whatever source the VHS once had. The entire English dubbed audio track was now also sourced from the print, then used the original Czech cut’s visual remaster for the rest like I had. Most of the issues that plagued the VHS were no longer present, and the film print was monumental for having additional dialogue that was somehow cut from the VHS source. This included several minor shots as well. By 2020, the new and improved version was finally released!

A JOURNEY FULFILLED

It’s certainly odd how everything played out, but in the end we all got the best results. It’s a shame I wasn’t able to discover the film print during my work on the edit for Second Run, since Criterion’s version is now the superior release of the U.S. cut. However, for those who have the Second Run disc, hold onto it. It has some special features related to the film that Criterion’s doesn’t, and some may actually prefer the VHS source’s brighter look for the opening/closing scenes (despite losing some dialogue). Their version is also Region-Free, which may be the only option for those who can’t play Criterion’s North American-centric discs. Also, defending my own efforts, my original edit is still a good experience given what was available at the time. It’s just shocking such an improvement came so quickly!

It should be noted that Criterion has both versions of the film available to stream on their Criterion Channel, while Second Run features only the original Czech cut to rent on demand.

I’d like to thank Chris Barwick from Second Run and Curtis Tsui from Criterion for their immense support in letting me help bring the U.S. cut of ‘Journey To The Beginning Of Time’ to countless people around the world. Finally, everyone can properly experience both versions of one of the greatest films about prehistory ever made, and embark on a classic adventure through time… the ever-flowing river…

Select narration from my video about these releases was included in this article. Footage & additional information make it worth watching as a companion.

This article was written & assembled by Derrick Davis on April 7th, 2024 exclusively for Derrick Davis Media. Includes materials adapted from a Blu-Ray.com forum post (November, 2019) & select video narration (October, 2022) by their creator, Derrick Davis.