Eine Million Jahre vor unserer Zeit

The director's conception of prehistory is irresistible in its naivety, but that was probably the intention. On the one hand, the filmmakers tried to achieve a degree of realism, for example by the fact that the prehistoric people don't speak English and the actors overact in an attempt to achieve the wildest possible expression; on the other hand, the prehistoric women are beautifully clean, with blow-dried hairstyles and a good layer of make-up, with decent bras hiding their silicone breasts. Truly a joy to behold, I totally regret not living in the stone age. Nothing against Raquel Welch and her racy leather bikini, but what makes this film really interesting is Harryhausen's visual effects. Some of them are weaker, like the incredibly awkward giant tarantula, but some are absolutely excellent, for instance the great duel between the prehistoric hunters and a lizard figure shot in stop-motion – its interaction with the living environment is absolutely amazing in this scene – and the lizard fight is also nice, it seems to have fallen out of Zeman's A Journey into the Primeval Times. Harryhausen's classic pain, the glaring rear projection, is reduced to a minimum in this case. The weak plot is completely covered by attractive form with shots of a beautiful volcanic landscape, excellent visual effects (for Harryhausen fans this is a must) and the first prehistoric top model Raquel Welch. This little film is worth watching. (14.02.2005)

A high-budget A-budget affair, which abounds with excellent sets, and impressive tricks by the magician Harryhausen, but also an inexcusably depressing story, coaxed from the director's chair by a chronic erotomaniac with a tendency toward fascism. The proportions of the silicone-sculpted beauty Raquel Welch are immediately striking, but much more attractive to the viewer (in terms of overall entertainment) is probably the perfect Aryan prehistoric society cultivating flower beds and flaunting a perfect look that even contemporary fashion magazines would not be ashamed of. All the effort is almost a waste for such an unambitious substance; otherwise, it would have been great. (04.03.2007)

Die Geschichte spielt zu einer Zeit, in der die Menschen entweder zum Stamm der Braunhaarigen (auch die Ungewaschenen genannt) oder zum Stamm der Blondhaarigen (Shampoo-Stamm) gehörten; in einer Welt, in der eine – wie ich insgeheim hoffe – absichtlich lächerliche Geschichte herrschte, die Ray Harryhausen mit seiner Genialität unterstützte. Die Männer in dieser Welt sahen wie Obdachlose vom Bahnhof aus und sprachen sogar dieselbe "Sprache". Die Frauen – wenn sie nicht gerade ein Fotoshooting für einen Bademodekatalog hatten oder in der Sonne lagen – gingen angeln und liefen vor riesigen Raubschildkröten weg. In dieser Welt war eine seltsame Musik zu hören. Dank der Kamera und der gut ausgewählten Drehorte ist es aber dennoch gelungen, eine solide Stimmung der (Pseudo)Steinzeit zu schaffen. Manche Momente (der Kampf der Jäger mit der Echse, der Vulkanausbruch) sind zu Recht in die Trickgeschichte eingegangen. Andere sind zu Recht in Vergessenheit geraten.__PS: Um Raquel Welch haben nicht nur die Steinzeitmenschen, sondern auch die Flugsaurier gekämpft! (26.05.2011)

A gem for the lovers of naive cinema. We have a dusty landscape with the first humans, who barely communicate, but have among them women that look like out of a Playboy centrefold, next to furry creatures humans are supposed to have evolved from and, naturally, dinosaurs that have surprisingly survived the asteroid hit, plus giant tarantulas and lizards like from sci-fi. And it’s actually thanks to this sincere naivete, and last but not least Harryhausen’s amazing effects, that this is a charming adventure that I would love to see some day in the big screen. And I’m not writing this only to hide my desire to see in the biggest possible size Raquel Welch’s perfect curves, something the average guy will fall in love with 159 times in 100 minutes. 60% (01.04.2020)

If all the animated sequences or even the trick sequences were cut out of this film, it would have turned out much better. It's nice to present Neanderthals in sexy underwear, but it's a bit simplistic. Those characters could have just spoken English right away. In this regard, the film is experimental, but on the other hand, it would be a terrible mess without Harryhausen. The story is truly terrible, which is a shame for Ray. His brilliant work simply deserves a better outcome. He does his job perfectly, but unfortunately, the others do not. (19.12.2013)