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Journey to the Center of the Earth
Stars:
James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, and Diane Baker
Writers:
Walter Reisch and Charles Brackett
Based
On The Story By: Jules Verne
Director:
Henry Levin
Feature
length: 129 minutes
Extras:
Trailers and Restoration Comparison
Languages:
English Dolby Surround 3.1 Sound, French Language Stereo Sound, and Spanish
Language Monaural Sound,
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 40
Sound:
Dolby Surround Sound, Stereo Sound, and Monaural Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 1959/DVD Release: 2003
Theatrical
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Home
Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: G
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
James
Mason stars in this classic adaptation of Jules Verne’s story about a
geological expedition to the center of the Earth. As Professor Lindenbrook
(Mason) rushes to Iceland with his star student (Pat Boon) to find the secret
entrance at the mouth of a dead volcano that was discovered by another geologist
who lead a doomed expedition a century earlier. Two competing scientists race
there as well, but one snuffs out the other while spying on Lindenbrook’s
group from afar. He is the descendant of the first geologist who documented his
journey a century earlier and feels that anything found under the Earth is
justifiably his as a result. Accompanying Lindenbrook on his journey is a strong
Icelander and the widow of the murdered geologist (Arlene Dahl.) Through glowing
crystal caverns, giant mushroom forests, and escaping huge reptiles, our
travelers eventually find themselves at the center of the Earth where a great
magnetic storm leads them to the lost city of Atlantis.
Part
fantasy as well as sci-fi, this big screen adaptation of “Journey To The
Center Of The Earth” stands out as the best live action adaptation with a
greater emphasis on character and fantastic production design as well as an
excellent score by none other than Bernard Hermann. The giant lizards are
nothing more than processed shots of iguanas and such dressed to look like
dinosaurs, but instead of coming off cheesy, the effect seems charming at in a
nostalgic way. Another plus is that the reptiles are only seen in two short
sequences. In fact most of the movie focuses on the wonder of the journey and
they do not actually begin to travel underground until after the first hour or
so. Pat Boon’s singing is used here and there, but even it is used in a
practical manner more than an excuse to capitalize on his signing abilities. The
film runs just over 129 minutes, but I was surprised at how fast the time flew
while I was watching it. “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” is still an
entertaining film for the entire family.
Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment presents “Journey To The Center Of The Earth”
in a stunning anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) aspect ratio made from a new 35mm
negative and black and white YCM to produce a new 35mm interpositive. There are
several restoration comparisons (3:30) illustrated on the DVD with a look at the
vast improvements over the 1982, 1985, 1995, 1998, laserdisc releases and
comparisons between this new 2002 DVD transfer with the restored 2002 film
print. The packaging on the back of the DVD keep case has a strange misprint
because it clearly states the film’s anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio and
notes it preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio presentation and yet it
also states that the image has been modified from its original version and has
been formatted to fit your screen. The English soundtrack is stated as being a
Dolby Surround Soundtrack, but the actual English Soundtrack, at least as far as
my DVD player and home theater receiver decoded it is English Dolby Surround
3.1. A French Language Stereo Soundtrack and a Spanish Language Monaural
Soundtrack as well as English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing
impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles are encoded onto the dual
layered DVD as options.
The
theatrical trailer (3:20) presented in a (2.35:1) aspect ratio with two-channel
monaural sound along with bonus Fox Flix trailers that include (1.33:1) trailers
for “The Abyss” (2:53), “The Day The Earth Stood Still” (2:09),
“Planet Of The Apes (1968)” (1:00), and “Wing Commander” (1:02).
(1.85:1) trailers for “Planet Of The Apes (2001)” (: 54), “Zardoz”
(3:02), “Independence Day” (2:28), “One Million Years B.C.” (3:07), and
a (2.35:1) trailer for “Enemy Mine” (1.52) are also included.
The menus are standard interactive still frames that are easy to navigate. “Jules Verne’s Journey To The Center Of The Earth” is available DVD-Video now from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Now By Clicking On The Text Link Below!
Journey to the Center of the Earth