The Island at the Top of the World

Rating:
Summary: Disney Fantasy in Widescreen!!!!
Review: An enjoyable offering from Disney creating mysterious enchantment of magic and mystery of an H.G. Wells/Jules Verne story. And hopefully being on the right track, Disney has released this flick in it's Original Aspect Ratio of 1.85:1 plus lots of bonus extras. Please keep them coming.

Rating:
Summary: Talk about a Bad Movie
Review: Hammy acting, bad special effects, and a low budget are the name of this Disney film based on one of Jules Verne's lesser known books about a lost Viking civilization at the North Pole. But then again, it was made by Disney, so why should you expect anything more then that.

Rating:
Summary: Astragard returns to DVD
Review: I missed getting the disc of this in 99 by a nose. I'm glad Disney re-released it for its 30th Anniversary. It was always one of my favorites as a kid. Starring Donald Sinden as a British businessman looking for his lost son in the Arctic, and one of my earliest childhood heroes David Hartman as an American archaeology professor looking for his own place in history. Together with a kooky French inventor (Jacques Marin, later the cop/bad guy in Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo), a pre Hindenburg zeppelin and an eskimo (very different role for Mako) they find Sinden's son and quite a bit more. Tyical Disney fare yes, but who cares. I'm glad I have this preserved for all time on disc. Hartman's dialogue throughout the film, let alone in the last segment is worth the price of admission. Enjoy.:-)

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Summary: I want this soundtrack!
Review: I've always loved this movie. Now...I wish I could find the soundtrack, or at least the main title track for download!

Rating:
Summary: I want this soundtrack!
Review: I've always loved this movie. Now...I wish I could find the soundtrack, or at least the main title track for download!

Rating:
Summary: Viking Paradise
Review: In 1954 Disney made 20,000 leagues under the sea and the films popularity created a classis sci-fi phase that led to many different companies trying to adapt Jules Verne and H.G. Wells' books to film over the next seven or eight years. This film came out years after that phas was over, but it is easily as good as many of those films. The plot concerns a rich man who hires a French captain and his zeppelin and an American explorer to help him find his missing son. They set off for an uncharted area way out in the North Atlantic and find a tribe of Vikings who have established their own colony. This is a kid's film, fairly fast moving, but very little violence. The cast is overall good except for David Hartman who always seemed like Fred Gwynn, only without any personality. Director Robert Stevenson was a veteren by this time, having done such Disney greats as Old Yeller and Mary Poppins and his skills shine through in this film. This film is sharp and the visuals are very good for the time, although I admit I tend to really like films with airships. My only regret is that I did not see this one as a child because I really would have loved it then.

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF DISNEYs LAST GREAT ADVENTURES
Review: Sir Anthony Ross (Donald Sinden) goes on a quest for his missing son (David Gwillim) that leads him to the ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD via airship with the aid of Professor Ivarsson (David Hartman), Captain Brieux (Jacques Marin) and Oomiak (Mako). Director Robert Stevenson directed this film based on a novel by Ian Cameron, which treads on Jules Verne territory. Director Stevenson here makes one last attempt at the grandeur of the genre emulating earlier Disney productions such as 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) and IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS (1962). Thanks to this DVD on Anchor Bay Entertainment this film looks even better than it did in the theatre and on earlier VHS editions. The esoteric and enigmatic images are sharp, crisp, and richly colorful and lushly textured giving this film a new dimension. Maurice Jarre composed an adventurous and melodic score giving this underrated film the prestige it deserved. I really enjoy this film and have watched it many times over.

Rating:
Summary: What a surprise...I still like it
Review: There has been a number of movies that, after loving them as a young kid in Scotland, I have picked up years later only to be disappointed (I am thinking 'Warlords of Atlantis' and 'People that time forgot'). I was wary about picking up 'The Island at the Top of the World' because I had fond memories of seeing it one Christmas years ago on British television.
Imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch this Walt Disney movie again last night when it actually surpassed my fond memories of the movie.
The story follows the adventure of an eccentric Englishman, an American professor and a zany French aviator as they search for the Englishmans son who went missing in the arctic circle years earlier.
What they discover is an ancient Viking culture on a volcanic island which legends holds is "Where whales go to die.". The green fields and tranquil landscape is a striking contrast to the bleak vistas of the ice fields surrounding it, and the xenophobic Vikings are understandably wary of these strangers. This long lost Viking colony apprently never ventured from their island believing the rest of the world to be covered by inhospitable ice shelves.
The movie, which was nominated for an Oscar in the production design dept. really is a fun ride with the same flavor of a number of the fantasy adventures that were released by Mickey Mouse's company in the early 1970s.
This DVD is a bare bones release but for the cheap price it is easy to recommend it for pick up.

Rating:
Summary: A Darn Good Movie
Review: This film was somewhat savaged by film critics when first released to theatres. That was a shame. It's a good movie, despite a few minor script problems. The 1970s was a transition period for the Disney Studios. Walt Disney had died in 1966, but the studio continued trying to shape their films for an audience that was also in transition. This resulted in the first ever decision by the studio to bring on board other production companies to make more adult fare.

ISLAND doesn't come close to the majesty of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, with it's adult, non-pandering script and suburb acting. I heard somewhere (possibly while I was working at the Disney studios; I came there the year after ISLAND was released) that a Disney movie is defined as something children can take their family to and not be embarassed.

ISLAND (not a Verne tale but from a contemporary writer) is a good adventure story, and the visual effects are outstanding. It sort of reminded me of IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS (yet another Verne story). It was a rip-roaring story that ended with a bit of a letdown. It seems that after surviving many life-threatening situations, the explorers discover that they have been searching in the wrong part of the world, and have to start over again. It's almost two movies in one, although the first one dosn't end with a proper resolution.

The only nit-picking I could engage in is with the character of Profession Iverson (played by David Hartman). It seems that the Professor is around only to be a translator of old Norse into English so that we can follow the plot. In fact, when they find the Vikings on the island, Iverson says that he will try to talk to them but he only reads old Norse, he doesn't speak it. Actually, he speaks it beautifully! The audience I saw this with in the theatre howled at this.

Unfortunately, whenever the plot/action needs a boost, Iverson pops up to explain how the Vikings think and what they're likely to do next. The other characters fare a little better, although the story seems about 15 minutes too short. We'd like to have a little more character development rather than jumping right to the final chase (although the final airship sequence is well done). A book editor I know says that, in this kind of story, you need not just to talk about what you've found; you need to show it as part of plot development. But I think the Studio didn't want the film to be too long.

Anyway, what is the theatre's loss is home video's gain. Like THE BLACK HOLE, which faired badly at the theatares, and then became one of the best video sales and rental items, ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD should do quite the same.

As more and more of the classic Disney features (both animated and live-action) emerge on DVD, collectors should scoop them up, in case they're withdrawn as is Diney's habit.

Rating:
Summary: Great family movie!
Review: This is a great movie for the whole family to enjoy. Its an old Disney movie that will let young childrens sense of adventure go wild.