Rating: 
Summary: Cold War Science Fiction and Technology
Review: If you grew up during the early '60's and were fascinated by the real-life adventure and technology of the time you will find this film interesting. Most remarkable is the focus on both the use of the new atomic submarine and the newly discovered Van Allen radiation belt. Most modern viewers don't seem to know that the press of the time was abuzz with articles about the Van Allen belt of radiation, the high altitude nuclear testing we were conducting, known as shots Teak and Orange (to find a way to impede a Soviet missile attack) and the effect of this naturally occuring band of radioactivity on the man in space. There were unjustified and now disproved fears that a nuclear shot might affect the belt, hence the plot line about it "catching fire" and hurting the earth. These were real news items of the time and I have heard tapes of Kennedy discussing such with scientists at the White House. The Navy declined to help or make comment about the design of the Seaview for national security reasons, which means they took it seriously. It is unique as a commissioned research vessel (the glass nose) and a missle platform (SSBN). Of course the interiors could have been more realistic and we all know the deficiencies there, but if you've ever seen inside a real sub you will understand why Seaview was made to look so big! The cast was of the best, though Lorre looked ill. The movie was no doubt created with a view toward becoming a commercially feasible TV series, which explains many of the deficiencies fans nit-pick. The design of this Seaview always pleases me more than the later TV version (the design is more balanced). Sub officers tell me that they can make the boat pop up out of the water like it does in the opening credits, but they catch hell if they do because everything goes flying off the tables etc..Remember too, that the Nautilus had only just sailed across the top of the world under the ice, which was a remarkable feat of which we were all very proud. It was only fitting, and very realistic, that Seaview do the same thing! Voyage and it's Seaview help us all remember the courage and dedication of the men who patrol the seas in boats as incredible as the ficticious one. Veterans tell me that it was our nuclear missile boats (not unlike Seaview), undetectable and vigilant, which contributed MOST to the collapse of Communist Russia, not the Star-Wars program. In the film, Seaview carries the (then) new Polaris missile which you will see a real launch of. I would not, however want to be next to the hatch when it is shot. They are fired by steam catapult and the rocket does not ignite until it clears the surface, so you might become an instant boiled lobster if you tried to do what Captain Crane did! Fantastic Voyage offers us an equally pleasing vessel, very realistic and sadly destroyed by future owners in making it into a different prop. I'm sure you will enjoy both of these films and encourage you to explore the science which they focused on in those years.
I am both a film maker and a volunteer First Responder for Nuclear Civil Defense, allowing my viewpoint to cover both areas in the film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
Rating:
Summary: WELL WORTH THE PRICE
Review: if you love movies that entertain you.The double feature is worth the money..fantastic voyage is in surround and is not bad but could have been better..the video colors are slightly faded but okay. widescreen gives you the full look..most times i've seen this movie on t.v. or video,in normal screen you miss a lot but this dvd gives you the full scope... voyage to the bottom of the sea is 4.0 surround and is pretty good,or 2 channel surround works good too. video is very good and the surround works when it needs to..it's been a long time till i've seen this movie in widescreen and it's well worth it...this is irwin allen at his best. if you love classic scifi, you'll love these 2 classics...
Rating: 
Summary: Two Voyages to the Top of Cheap, Fun Entertainment!
Review: If you love sci-fi even a little bit, and especially if you came of age in the 60's and 70's, how could you possibly go wrong getting both of these movies in widescreen format for the price of a few espresso beverages? Sure, the science is nutty, and the effects are dated, but it's about being entertained! The effects are enjoyable and pleasing in their own retro kind of way. My one complaint regarding "Voyage..." is that there is no ambient "ship noise", like the deep, barely perceptable humming of engines. That would have made it seem much more like a submarine than a bunch of sets. To me, the greating single reason to watch "Voyage.." is to see Walter Pidgeon play a character so very similar to the mad scientist he played on Forbidden Planet. This time he's a "mad admiral", and he drives most everyone else mad too. And that's only half the DVD! You also get Fantastic Voyage. I remember when this movie was first released. It made quite an impact, and it spawned a Saturday morning animated series of the same name that was one of my favorite morning cartoons. This DVD has more "bang for the buck" than most any other single DVD I know of.
Rating:
Summary: 2 Voyages! 2 Submarines! 2 Babes!
Review: Irwin Allen (Poseiden Adventure / Towering Inferno) was definitely one of the most over-the-top directors ever. His ability to turn horrible disasters into movie gold was unrivaled. VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA is his most exhaustive effort. Admiral Nelson (Walter Pidgeon) and the rest of the crew of the ultra-mod submarine "Seaview", are called upon to save the world after the "Van Alan" radiation belt catches fire. On their way to launch a missile into the flaming belt, they must battle the UN, sabotage, a religious nut, underwater mines, an enemy sub, a giant squid, a giant octopus, and the clock. All this and we get to see Barbara Eden dance too! Throw in Peter Lorre and Franky Avalon, and you've got quite a popcorn fiesta! FANTASTIC VOYAGE is about a tiny submarine and it's crew of scientists who are miniaturized to the size of microbes, in order to perform a delicate brain operation. There's lots of cold war paranoia to go around too. The man they're trying to save is a famous scientist whose secrets (about the very miniaturization process itself) could either help us, or the "other side". After a rather long shrinking sequence, our team of aquanauts are finally injected into the man's bloodstream and the fun begins! They are immediately introduced to glowing, bubbly blood cells that make it look like they've accidently wandered into a lava lamp. Our heroes must race against time and navigate the labyrinth within their host. Can they save his life? Or will time run out, causing them to grow back to normal size? Donald Pleasance is excellent as the claustrophobic head of the mission. Racquel Welch is not in it enough in my opinion, as she would be the only reason I'd get in the sub in the first place! Great double feature...
Rating:
Summary: I think its a movie that gets me Interested in submarines.
Review: Its about a submarine crew that encounters a storm that called the van allen belt. the storm is fire that comes down to Earth. So Admiral Nelson Invents a missal that destroys the Van allen belt.
Rating: 
Summary: Asimov's book was a novelization
Review: Just a correction to a common misconception repeated in the review by orionca-- Isaac Asimov's book version of FANTASTIC VOYAGE was based on the movie screenplay, not vice versa.
Rating:
Summary: Come with me, on a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea~
Review: Let's give this movie the props it deserves. Considering the fact that the SPFX were done over 40 years ago, they are still very impressive. No CGI back then- 4 different sized Seaview models had to be used! L.B. Abbott did wonders with them, and they still look cool! The plot- ok, Irwin Allen always stretched scientific credibility, and characterization was never his strongpoint. But Allen delivers an action packed adventure that never lets up once things get rolling. The TV series used the sets from this movie, and Pigeon and Sterling were replaced by Basehart and Hedison. The first two seasons of VTTBOS are actually solid sci-fi fare- the "monster of the week" episodes came later. VTTBOS the TV series is slated for DVD release- start your collection with the movie that started it all! "Bon Voyage, Seaview!".
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly, "Fantastic Voyage" still packs quite a punch
Review: Many people will vigorously disagree with this review. For one thing, the special effects ARE dated. There are some places where it is painfully obvious that the "Proteus" is on a set rather than in a human body. Stephen Boyd (who made such a dynamic villain in "Ben Hur") is extremely bland and Raquel Welch's acting leaves much to be desired. (She is supposed to be a laser expert, but on screen it seems the only reason that she is on the sub at all is to be a "damsel in distress".) Furthermore, there are plot holes bigger than the "Proteus" if you actually think hard enough. Even if a spoiler development (which I will not reveal) does not take place at the very end, the reader may wonder what happens to the huge amount of water that is miniaturized and injected into the comotose Jan Benes' body. The fact that the story in this film has become a cliché and repeated in many different versions (most notably on the Simpsons) hasn't helped. I can't blame anybody for rating this film 3 stars or lower.
And yet....and yet...this film still works. It's a terrific story idea, and director Richard Fleischer does a very good job of maintaining the tension. Even if Welch and Boyd leave much to be desired as actors, Donald Pleasance does a terrific job as the blood expert who acts as navigator. Edmund O'Brien (best known as the doomed protagonist of the original "D.O.A.") is very good as the general in charge of the operation. And while the special effects in some places look cheesy, in others it is still breathtakingly gorgeous. (The credit to this has much to do with the terrific matte paintings used as backgrounds.) I would recommend watching the movie before reading Isaac Asimov's famous novelization of the script. Asimov's book (which I have also reviewed) takes liberties with the screenplay, and makes a more exciting story than the film. I hope that one day somebody at 20th Century Fox decides to remake this film and use Asimov's book as the starting point for a much smarter movie. But for anybody else who still can remember seeing this film on TV as a young kid and being amazed, this DVD is more than worth the price at Amazon.com
Incidentally, I did not buy this film for "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea" and have not watched that at all. If you want to see what type of movie that is, please read the other reviews.
Rating:
Summary: It still manages to stay afloat after all these years
Review: One of Irwin Allen's earliest cinematic works. Good entertainment for a sci-fi flick even though the plot involves a global disaster that is totally improbable. Also, this movie has something that for some reason was missing from the TV series, female characters!
Rating:
Summary: Lucky Anti-Bodies get the ultimate body
Review: Raquel Welch unfortunately stays dressed for the most part of this well crafted sojourn into inner space. Shrunk down to microscopic size, a scientific crew aboard a mini-sub must navigate the body of a famous scientist to remove a blood clot. Wild effects for the time see the red and white blood cells whipping past, brain activity, wind produced by breathing in the lungs, and good old Donald Pleasance munched on by soldier cells. A sci-fi classic.
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