Journey to the Beginning of Time. Adventurous Science

This collective monograph, coming out as the second volume of the České kino (Czech Cinema) series, offers a comprehensive and manifold reflection on one of the most famous works of Czech cinematography. Divided into four sections, the texts cover the areas of film history, literature, and cultural and political history. The authors present the film Cesta do pravěku (Journey to the Beginning of Time) in relation to the domestic and foreign tradition of science fiction and to director Karel Zeman's adaptations of Jules Verne. They focus in detail on the production and international distribution of the film and discuss its position in the context of the children's film genre, contemporary pedagogy, and communist propaganda. The book is accompanied by rich visual content, including materials that have not been published so far.