Original subtitles

Ladies and gentlemen, it's amazing how much we know about the surface of our

globe. In the last hundred years, men have progressively studied this.

Explorations have reached the North, the South Pole.

They're reading relatively only a few square miles left of the surface of our

globe that are not known.

During the same years, men have reached out into the stars.

Three times further in your lifetime and mine, three times further into space

than men have ever been able to go before.

Amazing knowledge we have of that and of this.

What's inside this globe?

What is there beneath our feet as we stand on the earth?

No one knows, of course, and science ponders about it and all men are

but no one knows.

Primitive man going into caves, reaching back and back and down and down,

wondered what lay beyond, and in terror he fled out.

and he remembered strange sighs and noises.

Now you go back to Mesopotamia, the beginning of Western civilization, and

have the great hero Gilgamesh going down into the underworld.

And so too were the Greeks.

All down through time, religions of the past have postulated the existence of

this inner, habitable world. All through the Middle Ages, people believed

that...

Something under the surface. Dante, the great Dante, saw a great cone -like

cavity stretching down to the very center of the Earth.

There's nothing new about this. It's as old as man, this belief that under the

surface there may be areas inhabitable by man.

And in our time, and in the last hundred years, there have been a number of

theories, very curious and strange theories, about what goes on in the

our planet.

This is a very famous and interesting and odd one.

A soldier...

rather a minor hero. The War of 1812 was a man named John Cleves Sims, and he

had a sudden idea that inside our world, like onion layers, there were globes

within globes, five of them, some of them inhabited, and that if you were to

travel up through the icy wastes of our world, the northwest edge of Siberia,

you could go down through a hole and go successively to these various spheres.

Unfortunately, he was thoroughly obsessed with this, went around

in fatigue, died before he could make this experiment.

Now, here's another theory much closer to us. This is 1870 about.

A young American physician named Cyrus Reed Teed had a revelation.

We are not living on the outside of the globe, said Teed, but on the inside.

That when we think we're looking out at the sun, we're really looking...

in at the sun.

Strange, strange, questing mind of man that tries to find answers to things

he can't understand.

This was a theory by Karl Newport in Germany in the 1920s. He again imagined

that we're living on the inside rather than the outside of the globe. And

a real sun and a real moon, and then a rather shadowy and formless mass of...

electric potentiality with little bright sparks in it, and they give us the

sense of our stars.

And so in this picture you're about to see, you'll see the culmination of a

series of such desires to look into the earth.

One might well believe philosophically that some ancient culture engulfed by a

great and tremendous upheaval of nature might linger on in some pocket of earth.

This is science fiction, of course. It's a fiction.

It's a fable beyond fiction.

For I think if you'll study this picture and think about it when it's over,

you'll realize that this is something more than just a story told.

It's a fable with a meaning and a significance for you and for me in the

century. Thank you and goodbye.

Eventually, Dr. Stewart.

Come quick.

Come on. Let's hide. Come on.

Some sort of stone tablet.

What's it doing in this stratum?

It's a cuneiform writing.

But is it not possible in this part?

You mean it's not probable, LaFarge?

In archaeology, all things are possible.

The fact is we found it below the great flood level, so it must be at least 5

,000 years old, which would make it one of the oldest human records.

What about the inscription?

Sumerian. It's the dedication of a temple or a public building.

Stuart, every time I think of how many civilizations have crumbled, fallen

apart, rotted from the inside or cracked from the outside, I shudder when I pick

up the front page of a newspaper.

The translation, Bentley.

Sure.

First part reads, I, Charu, king of kings, son of Charuad,

breaks off there.

Charu. Well, that's a new one on me.

Mean anything to you, Leparge?

Not to Bentley.

Do you remember the Gilgamesh tablets George Smith found?

Yeah, they told a legend about a dynasty that suddenly disappeared from the face

of the earth. Right. It also referred to a king of the dynasty, one called Charu

or Charu.

Well, what does the rest of us say?

He who with malice destroys their faces or removes from its place.

This my signed attestation.

May he be denounced by Ishtar.

May his name, his seed, and the land be destroyed.

We'll have to open new trenches tomorrow along the north line, Judd. Most of the

old ones caved in. That earthquake put us behind at least a month. Ah, you know

better, I mean. We shouldn't complain about the work. I think we were

The epicenter of the earthquake was only 25 miles from here.

You think the goddess of Ishtar is punishing us for removing the tablets to

fight? The inscription said, he who removes it with malice. But we aren't

malicious, are we?

We want to rescue the Sharu dynasty from oblivion. That's what archaeologists

are for, no?

Archaeologists are underpaid publicity agents for deceased royalty.

This shepherd boy found something.

What, another one? This boy came a long way, Dr. Bellarmine.

You buys your ticket and you takes your chance.

I believe in grabbing for the gold ring every time.

Hey, where'd you find this?

Kuitara. High, high.

Kuitara, the epicenter of the earthquake.

It's a kind of moss that is native to this region.

It grows only on the rocks of Cuitara, but not where the boy found it. Much,

much higher.

The earthquake must have dislodged it and rolled it down to the plateau.

But how did it get up on Cuitara to begin with?

Maybe Bentley has the answer. How's it coming, Raj?

It's an oil lamp, all right, shaped like a boat.

The engraved figures are of a man, a woman, different animals in pairs.

The Sumerian version of Noah's Ark? Exactly.

The flood's been proven to be a historical fact. Why not a Sumerian

According to the inscription, they got wet, too. Listen.

I, Sharu, king of kings, son of Sharuad, from water I emerged.

I caused to embark within the vessel all my family, my relations, my craftsmen

and my slaves and the beasts of the field.

Made my home in the Ark.

We floated on the waves until we found the land of the snow near the goddess of

Ishtar. The top of the mountain.

The Sharu dynasty was safe from the flood on Kuitara.

But was never heard of again. Of course not. No one would look for human beings

on top of Kuitara.

We're going to.

It's impossible.

The summit is less than 20 ,000 feet.

It's treacherous. Always wind and snow. Nothing's there. Nothing.

And we shouldn't be afraid of nothing.

Gentlemen, Kuitara is a treacherous mountain to climb. You think we can make

I think so.

We shall establish three camps.

The porters will carry enough supplies to establish a base camp here at the

of the snow level.

We will then climb to here, which is 2 ,000 feet from the plateau on Kuitara,

and establish a second camp.

The next day, we shall attempt the final climb.

All this risk and money because of a vague poetic inscription on an ancient

lamp.

Don't you trust poets, old man?

No, I don't. Schleman did.

He found the ruins of Troy by trusting Homer, the biggest blabbermouth of all.

When can we start, Nazar? My men are ready, sir.

More warning then.

Good dollar.

That's a lot of mountain.

We're only going to the plateau.

Is that it on the right face, Nazar?

No, Dr. Stewart.

Tomorrow we may be able to see it if we keep to our schedule.

Then let's keep to the schedule.

We'll make camp here.

Peaceful looking, isn't she?

The thing that impresses me the most is the complete and utter silence.

You can almost hear it.

Don't let her fool you, Mr. Bentley.

When she wants to, she can scream so loud as to make you deaf.

And you will hear her, and quite soon.

I think perhaps even tonight.

Run us invention gasoline.

Yeah, I'm well down in front. My back teeth are chattering.

Cheer up, Judd.

The storm clears. We'll be on the plateau of Cuitau by tomorrow night.

Tomorrow night is 24 hours and 3 ,000 feet of thin air away.

Avalanche.

This mountain's hundreds of square miles in area.

You're only occupying one square foot.

Sitting here is a lot safer than crossing Times Square.

Well, the goddess of Ishtar isn't smiling so sweetly this morning.

Look.

The avalanche must have brought it down from the plateau.

Can anyone be living up there now?

In this thin air, it's possible to imagine anything.

ruins of a Sumerian temple.

I don't understand.

They usually built their cities near their temples. Where are the rest of the

buildings?

5 ,000 years is a long time.

To make any sense out of all this is going to take a while.

I think we ought to send Nazar back for his men and set up permanent camp here.

Dr. Bentley!

Bellamy! Take a look at this.

The goddess of Ishtar?

Right. How did the inscription on the oil lamp go?

We floated on the waves till we found the land of the snow near the goddess of

Ishtar.

Wait till Stuart sees this.

I can't see the bottom.

We've got to get down.

Get your alternator.

It's getting warm.

We must have come down at least 100 feet.

You going to be all right?

Oh, sure. I'm fine.

We are trapped here.

Hey, this isn't a natural cavern.

It's been excavated.

You all right?

We are trapped here. No food, no water.

Seems to be a draft.

There must be another opening.

Come on, let's look for it.

Another tunnel.

You better take a look at the fires.

What's wrong?

It's the air.

It's hard to breathe.

Give me a hand with the jets.

The light.

What do you make of the light?

Probably some chemical in the rocks.

There must be some rational scientific explanation for this.

Look.

It's an exact duplicate of the head we found on the plateau.

Here, gentlemen, is your city.

It's fabulous.

The city must have been built on a thick crust of earth over a volcanic bubble.

Strong enough to support the city until an earthquake came along.

What we found on the plateau were the suburbs.

You're right. Look here.

The temple of Ishtar have I built with the stones of the mountain.

Sharu.

That's how the Sharu dynasty ended.

Iran. Away from a flood right into an earthquake.

Children of Noah survived.

The children of Ishtar died.

There's gonna be some history rewritten when we get out of here.

How do you know there's a way out?

There has to be.

We'll keep looking.

How long can we keep looking?

We've been on our feet now over 15 hours.

Yeah. We gotta get some rest.

Well, this is as good a place as any.

I think I'll sleep forever.

How is it?

It's as if the whole mountain were lying on my chest.

We're going to get out of here.

Don't worry.

Now get some sleep.

What was that?

I didn't hear anything.

Is anything alive in here?

Nothing dangerous. Dwarf lizards, small bats, things like that.

Go on to sleep.

Get out of there.

What were they? I couldn't see a thing.

I couldn't either.

Judd, come here.

Take a look at this.

Claw marks.

Maybe a hand. Four cuts.

Some hand.

Whoever it was needs a manicure. It can't be.

It can't be.

Now, save your battery, Rog.

There's no way out of here.

We were brought in. There has to be a way out.

What do you think, Judd?

I'm no anthropologist.

I wouldn't know whether they were Cro -Magnon or Neanderthal.

I don't think an anthropologist could classify this one either.

All we can say for sure is that they walk erect and

they have a skull large enough to house a brain with associative areas.

And this one died as a result of a blow from a heavy blunt instrument.

That's a sign of higher civilization.

What is it?

Look.

Don't move.

He wants us to go with him. No, don't.

Gentlemen, we're in 3000 BC.

In my hand I hold the magic eye of Ishtar, the sacred weapon of Ishtar,

the golden rod, the secret of death.

There, O king, are the evil ones who were captured by the beasts of the dark.

Bring them here.

Who are you?

We are friends.

We are different from you, but we are your friends.

He speaks our tongue.

We come from a world where your tongue can be studied on ancient tablets.

There is no world beyond ours.

There is only heaven, where we lived a long time ago, until we were expelled

our sins amidst thunder and fire.

This is the world, and we are its people.

You are not of us.

There is heaven, and only the gods live there.

Would you tell us that you are gods?

The greatest find of all time, and we're buried with it.

In the name of the king, I declare a sentence upon you.

If you are evil spirits, you must be destroyed.

If you are mortal, as you claim, our world cannot support you.

In either case... You must be destroyed.

You will die in the fire of Ishtar.

Accelerate the light.

Help him up, Judd.

We won the first round.

Look at it. No pigmentation.

Without sun or ultraviolet rays, they turn into albinos.

Pupils are enlarged to let in the maximum amount of low -intensity light.

Optical nerve must be hypersensitive.

That's why they couldn't stand the light.

And how have they survived here?

What do they eat?

What happened to the mind, the memories of the past, and the world alight?

So many questions.

So many questions.

And why is it necessary for them to kill us?

They have to kill us. Because we made them doubt their world is the only

Their answer is the only answers.

We must get away from them. We have to get out of here. If we go back to the

temple, we are lost.

All right, all right.

It's been going down all the time. It's getting hotter and hotter.

Yes, it's getting worse.

I cannot breathe.

I don't know.

I'm sorry. You wait here.

Come on, Chet.

Oh, my God.

Well, let's go.

Come on. Come on. They won't work. Forget it. Come on. I can't move.

Elise Lafarge is at rest where he always lives, in a world of the past.

Back where we started.

There's bound to be a way out of here. There's fresh air. It has to come from

somewhere. Why don't I go back to the river and try and swim out? You know as

well as I do that river runs underground for months.

In the king's name, do not use the burning light.

We come to you as friends.

You can count on that.

What do you want?

Since you have shown that you possess the divine fire of Ishtar, the king is

convinced that you are holy messengers.

Are you speaking only for your king?

The king's will is law for all.

He has ordered me to assure you of his friendship and to invite you to a royal

feast.

We're most grateful.

Where is the absent one?

He was called back to heaven by Ishtar.

Follow me.

And why did Ishtar send you to our kingdom?

To see how you live.

To learn of your needs so she can help you.

Does she not know us through our prayers?

Does she not reward us for our sacrifices?

Does she not see us with her all -pervading eyes?

We are her eyes.

Then you will see.

Our kingdom is your home.

Mushrooms.

Why not?

It's one of the few things that can grow without the sun.

The king's will is the law.

The fire of Ishtar is the law.

So be it.

You have fondness for her, have you not?

Yes. She belongs to you.

Go.

The gods do not favor trading human beings.

Human?

She is a marked one.

Are there many like her?

No.

Rarely is one born with the mark of darkness.

Any others, like yourselves?

How many are there? Twice and a half times sixty.

Well, that's not very many. It is a sacred number. The highest number that

sacred food can nourish. What do you do when your population exceeds that

number? We kill them. We sacrifice them in the fire of Ishtar.

The like of which you possess within that cylinder.

Speak.

The beasts of the dark have desecrated our dead.

They took the body of the guard that was slain by the intruders.

When they were finished with it, they left it in the tunnel.

All the flesh had been torn from the body. You have apprehended them?

I have, oh priest.

Kill them.

Let us now bless the spirit of the earth.

Ishtar has given us the food of the tunnels, the fish of the river, and the

sacred milk of the goat.

Above all, we glorify Ishtar for giving us power over the beasts of the dark,

that they may till the earth beneath us, so that Sharu, king of kings, his

children and his children's children, may live in strength and rule the world.

So be it.

Well, even if there is a way out, we'll never find it. Not without help.

You mean the albinos?

No.

Well, surely you don't expect the beasts of the tunnel to help us.

Why should they after what's been done to them?

5 ,000 years of slavery, a plan to generation has turned men into beasts.

There's no help there, Jack.

Thank you, Adele.

Bye, Dan, my lord.

Well, go right ahead, Raj. Don't mind me.

I will watch you while you're away.

Away? In your dream.

What about you?

When do you sleep, Adel?

Or do you?

I sleep when my sleeping time comes.

Your sleeping time?

But how are you able to tell?

Here, in my heartbeat.

One, two, three.

But you're not counting all the time, are you?

No. I just feel it all the time.

What happens when your heart beats faster?

It matters not.

It is my heart.

It is my time.

It's okay, Dad. You'd better go home.

This is my home.

The king has ordered it so.

Well, never mind the king.

You're free to go, understand?

Free?

What is free?

If you wish to go, you go. And if you wish to stay, you stay. That's being

Then I am free.

Because I wish to stay.

But you're in danger.

Danger? Why?

Because we're different than your people.

They fear us and may try to harm us. You're different, too.

And if you're with us, it may remind them.

What are you going to do?

Try to get back to our world.

There's nothing beyond darkness, my lord.

Are you sure of that?

Have you never in your life heard of a world of light above the darkness?

No, my lord.

Never.

Well, then let me tell you about it.

The world of light changes color with every heartbeat.

There are mighty rivers and places where the land is covered with living things.

And then there are the cities, beautiful cities, filled with many people like

you and me.

You're speaking of heaven, my lord.

Maybe I am.

Maybe I am.

Well, that's one way of doing it.

What is it?

Steam from an underground spring?

Something hotter than that.

Lava.

Figure this one out.

You tan eyes with tannic acid made from tree bark, right? What do they use?

Want me to ask them?

No, not now.

Let's go.

The Egyptians were able to weave very fine materials out of wool.

The stuff they're weaving here looks like burlap.

The finer cloth is loomed by the priests. One of their trade secrets.

I sure would like to get out of here.

And that is not all.

The king has shown weakness and poor judgment. He believes in the divinity of

these intruders.

Dealing with the divine is our office.

If we abandon the smallest particle of it to outsiders, our position will soon

come to naught.

But are these outsiders not divine?

No, they are mortal.

Do they not eat when they are hungry?

Do they not sleep when they are weary, when the gods attack them? Did not their

faces show the fears of mortal men?

But do they not possess the power of heaven?

The cylinder they carry possesses it.

If you had that cylinder, or you, or you, you could use it too.

And if it is the power of heaven, is it not we who should possess it? And use it

to control the beasts of the dark, the people, and... Yes, if need be.

Even a faltering king himself.

You will therefore follow these intruders wherever they may go.

And bring me that cylinder.

Here's something.

No, that's not it either.

That's hopeless, Roger.

Not as long as we're alive.

We just give up and apply for Sumerian citizenship.

I don't like mushrooms.

Oh, now, don't complain, Raj. Last night we had cave rat for dinner.

Now, why don't we settle down?

Especially you.

Why especially me?

Well, there's a doll.

Just imagine what some future archaeologists would think if they

rediscover this world.

And the wild theories they'd concoct in order to explain the presence of dozens

of little Bentleys speaking Sumerian with a Harvard accent.

And playing baseball in front of the Temple of Ishtar.

The Ishtar Nine champions of the little mushroom league.

Come on.

Look around some more.

In order, Captain.

Shall I feed them? They're getting weak.

You have your orders.

They're not to be fed until you're told otherwise.

Don't interfere. The beast has committed a crime. He was hungry.

My orders are to keep them hungry.

Captain, look.

If you realize you're bringing disaster on our heads, and yours too...

that song as a child?

I did not learn it. I found it.

It's beautiful.

As beautiful as you are.

No. I'm a marked one.

The priest said so.

They're so right.

It's not only the color of your eyes, your hair, your cheek that mark you, but

your heart also beats with tenderness.

The love of your ancestors is there.

Oh.

I do not understand.

Well, if somebody has hurt and his hurt gives you pain, or if somebody has joy

and his joy gives you pleasure, that's love.

Adele, do you believe as your king believes that I'm one of your gods?

No, my lord.

Our gods are always angry and give orders.

You smile.

If I ever get out of here, into my world, The world of light and flowers?

Will you come with me?

Yes, my lord.

My lord.

What is it? The king wishes to see you at once.

The

captain

of the guards has been found murdered.

The beasts of the dark have done it.

It is possible they intend to revolt.

What about your guards?

Cowards.

They tremble at the sight of their own shadows.

We do not want unnecessary bloodshed. We need the beasts.

But with your cylinder of fire, you could bring them under control.

We will not take part in any plan to punish your slaves.

They are against us.

They are evil.

Ishtar has sent them. I say to you that she has not.

Take their magic cylinder away from them, and you shall see then that they

powerless, and we will have their power.

No, Elinor.

We will not challenge Ishtar.

Have the guards arrest three of the beasts and beat them until they are

It's dead.

And so are we.

As long as they think we're armed, they'll stay away from us.

Come on, help me with these chains.

You gonna release them?

We can't leave them here.

Well, they attacked us the last time. The guards forced them to.

They're trying to say something.

They don't have the power of speech, but they can reason.

And all we can hope is they try to help us.

Ishtar has turned her face away from us because we have sinned. The intruders

are the sinners, and we are to starve because of them.

They are behind the rebellion.

It is they who encourage disobedience so that the beasts of the dark do not

produce enough to feed us all. If we cannot produce enough food, we must

our population as it is inscribed on the sacred stones.

We will offer them in sacrifice to our goddess so that the others can live.

In my hand I hold the golden rod, the secret of death.

For death shall appease Ishtar through the spirit bride of sacrifice.

Ishtar, who is married for life to the spirit of our world, to the glory of

death.

I have something to show you, priest.

Please come with me.

Wait.

The king must see for himself.

The divine messenger who has gone to heaven.

He was mortal, as we are mortal.

And he is dead, as we shall soon be dead if we do not deal with the intruders.

What do you advise?

Give me freedom to act. You have it.

Destroy them.

Did you ever hear of anyone smoking dried mushrooms?

What?

Oh, nothing. Skip it.

Oh! What a pleasant surprise.

Where'd all the food come from? Slaves back at work?

I don't know, my lord. The food keeper was very generous.

Delicious.

Sit down, Adele.

Why don't you eat?

Royal food is not for servants.

Haven't I told you before that you're not a servant?

Yes.

And what else have I told you?

Then I'm just like you.

Correct.

Now eat.

In your presence, my lord.

I cannot eat.

Tell her.

I want you to... My lord.

My lord!

calling.

Thank you.

We've nothing to fear. I have the burning light.

I love

you.

Your people, it was a burning death.

But to us, it's life.

You see, a long time ago, your people came from our world.

You're a living proof that that's true.

But they didn't understand.

That's why they called you the marked one.

It's warm. It's beautiful.

And deadly for our friends of the tunnel.

That's right.

I'm afraid the world of darkness is theirs forever.

The priest must have had this secret for thousands of years.

Then finally the sun became too strong even for them.

You won't take me with you.

Welcome to our world, Adele.

It's even more beautiful than I imagined.

Hey, Rog, look. There's our gear.