One Million Years B.C.
As the Earth wrestles with its agonizing birth, the peoples of this barren and desolate world struggle to survive. Driven by animal instinct they compete against the harsh conditions, their giant predators, and warring tribes. When two people from opposing clans fall in love, existing conventions are shattered forever as each tribe struggles for supremacy and Man embarks on his tortuous voyage of civilization.
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- Cast:
- Raquel Welch , John Richardson , Percy Herbert , Robert Brown , Martine Beswick , Jean Wladon , Lisa Thomas
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Reviews
I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
best movie i've ever seen.
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
An epic adventure yarn from Hammer Studios, which as you would expect is a very visual movie in that it must tell a story through pictures rather than words. This is colourful, expensive-looking, action-packed film-making and a bit of a treat to watch, packed as it is with beautiful fur bikini-clad women and tons of monsters and dangers for our heroes to fight. ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. successfully depicts a savage and violent prehistoric world in which death is only a moment's notice away. Thanks to some good acting on the part of John Richardson, who plays the noble and heroic caveman Tumak, the human drama is always to the fore which keeps things interesting and not just another special effects extravaganza.The film is chiefly remembered today for the sight of Raquel Welch running around in a skimpy fur bikini, and that really is an iconic image, summing up the spirit of fun which surrounds the movie. The plot basically moves from one fight/monster/adventure scene to the next and packs so much action in that you'll never become bored during the hundred minutes. Dangers include attacks from decapitating ape men; bloodthirsty dinosaurs, and giant creatures, all achieved through some top-notch (for the time) effects work, which incorporates back and forward projection; blown-up lizards (like in JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH) and spiders; men in ape suits; and, best of all, some fine stop-motion work from Ray Harryhausen. Here, the SFX maestro offers up such treats as a Triceratops fighting an Allosaurus, a Brontosaurus, an attack from a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Pterodactyl. All are staged lavishly and are a lot of fun.More threats come from a giant stop-motion turtle which crawls across the sand to eat Raquel, and a vengeful turn from jealous caveman Percy Herbert. Then there's a cat fight between Welch and a rival cave girl (as played by Martine Beswick) and a tremendous climax involving an erupting volcano in which dozens of extras go tumbling into collapsing chasms. Richardson is heroic, Welch is stunning, the action is exciting and the pacing is spot-on - therefore I think I'm right in saying that this is one of the best cave man epics out there.
I expected to like the film but not to the extent that I did. I think that this is the only sound film that I've ever seen in which there is practically no dialogue in a real language. (I'm fairly sure that the only proper word used in the film is "Archelon," which is the actual scientific name of the giant turtle which attacks the Shell tribe.) To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about watching the film for that reason as I thought that it would slow the film down significantly but it didn't at all really, surprisingly enough. The excellent musical score certainly adds to the atmosphere.The film is beautifully shot. Don Chaffey, an underrated director, utilises the exotic locations of Lanzarote and Tenerife to wonderful effect, giving it a much different look and feel to most other Hammer films. It has a slightly otherworldly feel which is appropriate in the circumstances. Ray Harryhausen's special effects are absolutely (and typically) brilliant for the time and hold up remarkably well. With one small exception, the dinosaurs even look realistic when they appear in the same shot as people. I don't think that the dinosaur effects were surpassed until "Jurassic Park". Even the pterodactyl flying effects look great. The film is visually striking in other ways too, such as Tumak discovering the ape men's skulls and the severely injured Akhoba's face when he returns to the Rock tribe's cave.I was enjoying the film so much that it was a full hour before I realised that it didn't have a plot per se. It's more of a collection of excellent set pieces loosely held together by Tumak's growing relationship with Loana and his periodic power struggles with his father Akhoba, his brother Sakana and Ahot. However, I can't say that that effected my enjoyment of the film! Due to the lack of any true dialogue, the actors rely on their eyes and facial expressions (as well as frequent acts of violence!) to communicate their emotions and most of them do a very good job of it, particularly Robert Brown (who is far more authoritative as Akhoba than he was as M!) and Martine Beswick, while Raquel Welch and John Richardson make for very appealing and likable leads.
"One Million Years B.C." is actually a serious 1966 attempt to depict life in prehistory for cavemen and women. Many reviewers complain that human beings and dinosaurs NEVER occupied the same period in prehistory, but this is merely our best present-day educated guess. Who knows? Twenty years from now we may discover evidence that people existed at the same time as dinosaurs. The fact is that we DON'T KNOW precisely what it was like for people in prehistory and never truly will; all we can do is guess based on the evidence at hand. This movie is simply a serious attempt to show what it may have been like for people IF they lived at the same time as dinosaurs. Capeesh?I said this was a serious depiction, but there are admittedly some humorous aspects. For instance, the mullet-headed blond men of the Shell Tribe and the indoor cave sets straight out of the original Star Trek TV series.Other than that, I can't think of anything bad to say. The location photography from the Canary Islands is awe-inspiring and Ray Harryhausen's dinosaur animation is excellent, holding up very well even to this day; take, for instance, the way the allosaur and, later, t-rex are shown breathing in their dying moments. Needless to say, great attention to detail. The movie even throws in a couple of superimposed iguanas and a tarantula.Oh yeah, most guys understandably rave about Raquel Welch as Loana and her infamous cavegirl bikini, and she is indeed stunning, but -- believe it or not -- there are a few other female castmembers that are more beautiful due to better womanly curves, like Lisa Thomas as the blonde Sura, essentially Loana's sidekick in the Shell Tribe, and Yvonne Horner as the dark-haired Ullah of the Rock Tribe. The statuesque Martine Beswick is also on hand as Nupondi of the Rock Tribe. I must not forget to mention the outstanding musical score; it's very fitting, very primal.Lastly, there's no talking as we understand it; only grunting and primitive lingo. Bottom line: "One Million Years B.C." is enjoyable and highly recommended unless, of course, you have pompous hangups about (supposed) historical chronology.The film runs 100 minutes.GRADE: A-
The best thing about this movie is Raquel Welch in a Stone Age bikini. The next best thing about this movie is Ray Harryhausen's special effects work, which is impressive while still containing the charm of stop-motion animation.Pressed to name a third thing, I'd probably say veteran Bond girl Martine Beswick in a Stone Age bikini.Those are the only things.This is a pretty silly caveman flick, which contrasts the lifestyles of the savage brown-haired cavepeople with the peaceful, harmonious blond-haired cavepeople. All the while the cavemen and cavewomen are subjected to unprovoked attacks by dinosaurs and other giant reptiles.Aside from some opening narration, the only dialogue is in caveman-speak, but the story is not difficult to follow. There's not a lot of depth here. Just hairy men, sexy women, and some dinosaurs.Harryhausen's work effectively blends stop-motion creatures with live-action footage to bring the impossible battles of man vs. dinosaur to life on-screen. The impressive parts are when the people interact with the creatures (throwing spears at them or hitting them with rocks). Blurring the lines of what was live action and what was animation was what Harryhausen did best.Raquel Welch is the homecoming queen of the blonde cavepeople, with Martine Beswick as the sexiest member of the vicious brunette tribe. Yes, there's a cat fight. Welch and her bronzed bod steal the show, cementing her legacy as a sex symbol in this iconic role. For a cavewoman, she sure had a good makeup team.