one-nine-eighty Peter Cushing and Doug Mclure, Victorian scientists, piloting an Iron Mole into the Earth's core, what an adventure! This film from the 70's is undoubtedly dated by today's standards but this film was made at a time when cinema was finding itself, and new techniques were being used to bring strange new worlds to it's audiences. That is exactly what you get in this film, new sights and sounds brought to audiences in a new way. That being said, Star Wars was only released a year away from this film but even low budget films and techniques need to find themselves and explore capabilities.Finding themselves in a labyrinth of tunnels where psychic bird creatures rule over their slaves of prehistoric man and woman, the scientists have to save the day, stop the oppression, and find a way back to their own part of the world. OK, so the acting is tongue in cheek ham, the creatures are as rubber as the boulders and walls, and it's pretty inaccurate the majority of the time...what it is is harmless and it's fun. This is exactly the kind of film you can put on any Sunday and just relax without having to engage your brain. Enjoy.

AaronCapenBanner Peter Cushing stars as Dr. Abner Perry, a Victorian era scientist who has invented a giant mole-drilling machine, which he plans to use in exploring the core of the Earth. With him is his assistant David(played by Doug McClure), and with much public fanfare, they do indeed reach the core, only to find it a prehistoric world ruled over by giant telepathic birds(!) who have enslaved the local population of primitive humans. They befriend a beautiful woman named Dia(played by Caroline Munro) and vow to free her people from this tyranny, since they also have other monsters to contend with...Based on the Edgar Rice Burrough's story, film is pretty clichéd and far-fetched stuff, though has a good cast who give it their all. Still, this is mostly for kids, though has a strange aura of melancholy about it.

Neil Welch A scientist and a macho hero type burrow into the Earth in a mechanical mole, and find a hidden world where stone age humans are subjugated by hypnotic pterodactyls (yes, really).At The Earth's Core sneaked in about half an hour before Star Wars rewrote the manual for fantasy cinema. So we don't have motion control, high quality travelling mattes, fantastic model work, state of the art make up, seamless interaction between real and fabricated backgrounds - no, what we have are blokes in rubber costumes, lurid set lighting, and unconvincing miniatures.Thing is, it captures Edgar Rice Burroughs Pellucidar quite well. Oh, it's all terribly unconvincing (especially the pterodactyls, even more so when they indulge in wobbly flying on all-too-visible wires), but the original books are written in prose which is even more purple than some of the set lighting.Peter Cushing and Doug Maclure play the two protagonists efficiently enough, and Caroline Munroe is beguiling. But then, she always was.

MartinHafer The film begins with a goofy scientist (Peter Cushing) and his assistant (Doug McClure) embarking in their new giant drilling machine. It is far better than they'd anticipated and soon they've tunneled near the Earth's core. There they find exactly what you'd expect--giant rubber-suited dinosaurs, nasty dwarfs wearing really stupid 1/2 masks and a hot lady (Caroline Munro) who you figure will most likely eventually fall in love with McClure. It's all very brightly colored and very silly and looks quite a bit like the crappy old TV shows "Lost in Space" and "Land of the Lost" rolled into one! Acting-wise, I'd say it's no better than either show--even if it did star Peter Cushing.So is the film worth seeing? Well, yes AND no. No if you happen to want to watch a good film! But yes if you could use a good laugh and can turn off your brain and enjoy all the silliness--and there is plenty to go round in this one! By the way, this is the last film of Amicus Productions--and considering the quality of "At the Earth's Core", I can see why.