Rating: Summary: Pure Enjoyment Review: The special effects may be primitive by today's standards, but, if anything, they only add to the enjoyment of an adventure movie played with utter conviction by an excellent cast. If you're a James Mason fan, this movie is a special treat, and a wonderful companion for his "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." With its colorful locations, atmospheric music and romantic spirit, this is a great film for suspending your disbelief and enjoying the ride, whether its tumbling through caverns like sand in an hourglass, being swirled in a primitive boat, or shot upward through the shaft of a erupting volcano (which the characters seem to be enjoying very much).
Rating: Summary: Spelunkers Delight Review: The best cave exploring movie you will ever see not to mention a great and magical adaptation of a Jules Verne book. The 1999 remake of this was a joke by comparison. This is by far one of the greatest family movies ever. If you enjoy movies like Mysterious Island (1961), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), and Swiss Family Robinson (1960) you will absolutely love it. Even measured against todays effect wizards like Industrial Light & Magic's standards this is a great movie. See the crystal cave, dinosaurs, and giant mushrooms and see if you don't agree. Consider it was made almost 45 years ago and you will be truly amazed. The beautiful scenery and sets are just one facet. The acting and Bernard Herrmann score is superb. The story of a student buying his professor a gift that leads to a discovery of how to journey to the center of the earth is fantastic. A must see and own movie. I preordered my copy on DVD.
Rating: Summary: MY BEST MOVIE Review: This is the best or one of the best movies I ever watched . It happens in a cozy environment , the story is fantastic with a touch of innocence and beauty . The actors are fantastic and the thrilling story process amazes the audience like no other film .
Rating: Summary: JATA + TTM + MI + TDTESS + JTTCOTE = SCIFI HEAVEN Review: First Jason and the Argonauts, The Time Machine, Mysterious Island; and finally BOTH The Day the Earth Stood Still and Journey to the Centre of the Earth, released on the same day!! And all in glorious letterbox (except TDTESS; it's in a class of it's own). Journey to the Centre of the Earth is great fantasy movie for for the whole family with beautiful photography and a fantastic musical score provided by THE composer of all time, Bernard Herrmann. A perfect addition to any scifi collection.
Rating: Summary: COLLECTORS ITEM Review: this is a collector item!! no one can redo this film. this is a must have.
Rating: Summary: Forget any 80's adaptations! Review: Let's be honest. That Useless escuse for a film was a bunch of BS! If you never saw it, don't! It doesn't make sence. The later TV mimiseries? Never saw it. So I'll keep silence. But watching this film in 1998? was a terrific expierence. I'm really exceited for this for mostly one thing. Widescreen! The vhs I had took it off after the credits, and put it back after. But if you want a movie, this is the one to get. It proves that films were good in '59.
Rating: Summary: A Classic Example of 50's Sci-Fi! Review: This is one of the best films of the 50's Science Fiction genre. Having been based on the Jules Verne book by the same name, it's no wonder the film was so good. With actors like Pat Boone and James Mason, the film is top notch. I think James Mason captured the classic idea of the British scientist, always on the quest for knowledge at whatever personal cost.I think this film, even with it's very old special effects, is better than the newest retelling of the Verne story that was made in the late 1990's starring Treat Williams. One thing that bugs me though, is where is the DVD? I have a collection of classic 50's Sci-Fi, and there is an empty spot where this DVD should be sitting, right between 'The Time Machine' and 'Creature from the Black Lagoon'.
Rating: Summary: This movie has it all! Review: A great classic film that has it all--entertaining interpretation of a classic story, cheeky characters with quirky idiosyncrasies, great adventure, cheesy acting, and great special effects for its time. This is a film my brother and I grew up with, and of course, as cheesy as it is, we watch it repeatedly and bring a certain "MST" commentary to each sitting. A very young Pat Boone presents a whimsical, anachronistic portrayal of a young Scotsman with an eager albeit naïve loyalty to Professor Lindenbrook (James Mason). The fact that Pat Boone released his "In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy" album makes watching the film even more entertaining. I can only imagine young Alec playing his accordion to "Crazy Train" while descending to the center of the earth. Another Amazon.com reviewer said concerning this film "Warning. It can be addicting." This is VERY true. If boredom ever strikes me, for some reason, this film seems to fill the void. Overall, this is a great film. A classic sci-fi film that puts the 1999 version to shame. If you want a good old-fashioned sci-fi flick, this is the one to get. Watch it with your kids. Watch it with family. Convince your girlfriend that this is the most incredible movie in the world (she'll be swooned to the Robert Burns poetry). The next thing you know, your "heart will be in the Highlands" and you will watch it again, and again, and again (just like "Cats").
Rating: Summary: This Movie Must Come to DVD. Review: This classic Science Fiction movie from 1959 must come to DVD soon. It is intelligently written and acted and it had the best visual effects work done with dinosaurs , made about thrity five before Jurassic Park. And of course there is the deep atomosphere of adventure in this movie, which is set up by Bernard Herrman's music score. This movie must come to DVD, how about it 20th Century Fox?
Rating: Summary: This One Is Worth the Journey Review: There are movies that may have been designed for a young audience but sometimes the best of these have a way of growing on you so that the passing of the years adds to, rather than detracts from, the pleasurable frequency of viewing them. JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is just such a movie. Unlike its more modern update with Treat Williams as the lead, this journey manages to combine the thrill of youthful wonderment with engrossing characters. Jules Verne's novel of the same name posits a world within a world that allows for established science to mingle with science fiction. Director Henry Levin took Verne's book and faithfully recreated a superb version for the screen that earned three Oscar nominations for Best Art Direction, Set Direction, and Sound. Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) is a professor of geology who leads an expedition through a tunnel to retrace the steps of Arne Saknussen, who many years earlier hiked literally to the center of the earth. The film conveniently ignores the established laws that dictate an increasingly higher temperature as one travels downward through the mantle. Yet, even knowing this does not detract from the sheer spectacle of the trek. Accompanying Lindenbrook is Alec McEwan (Pat Boone), a guide Hans (Peter Ronson) and Mrs. Goetaborg (Arlene Dahl). Unknown to them, they are pursued by the villanous descendant of Arne Saknussen who wishes to claim the entire Center of the earth for his own. The thrust of the film is a combination of a cat-and-mouse game as Count Saknussen lays trap after trap for the Lindenbrook expedition with a growing sense of nonstop subterranean spectacles. The viewer sees, among other sights, an underground ocean, dinosaurs, gorgeous cavern rocks, and the lost city of Atlantis. James Mason, with his suave urbane sense of self and polished diction, is the perfect choice as Professor Lindenbrook. Pat Boone proves that his acting is not far behind his singing. And Arlene Dahl looks good in hiking clothes, even after many months underground. Behind the glittery surface level of spectacle and action, the film also has a subtext on the value of education. Time and again, the expedition avoids disaster only because one of them knew one tidbit or other about science. Seeing JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH not only entertains you about the wonder of science, it also suggests that science and education can pay off where it counts: in the purse and in the soul.
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