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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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The Island of Gigantic Creatures
Jules Verne is one of my favorite classic science fiction writers so Verne based movies are on my must-see list. In Japan Mysterious Island is not that well-known Verne stories just as Around The World In Eighty Days, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea or Adrift In The Pacific. So this 1961 movie gives me a great clue because I haven't yet read the original novel.
The story in this movie seems to blend elements of various classic adventure stories such as Defoe's "Robinson Cruisoe", Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", as well as Verne novels such as "Around The World...", "20,000 leauges..." and "Adrift In The Pacific". Special effects in this movie reminds me of "Boy I Shrank The Kids". It seems not like that the creature got bigger but humans shrank before the creatures. Special effects seems outdated viewing from CG-accustommed modernists. Yet the film is vivid because of the splendid acting particularly Captain Nemo. Cartoon like adventures galore.
Verdict: Despite its outdated F/X the movie delivers
Rating: 89 out of 100
Recommended for: Wide range of classic Sci-fi movies fans.
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Another Harrhausen Classic
A must have film for all Harryhausen fans. Good storyline,plenty of beasts, a little romance and great action.
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Good adaptation of a novel
This is a good adaptation of Jules Verne's novel. I saw this film when I was a kid and thus watching again reminded me of fond memories. This would be a good family film. It is a tale of survival with good visual effects (one should condition the era of production).
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Mysterious Island of special effects
I originally saw this movie when I was 10 years old and I loved it. It sparked me to read the Jules Verne classic. Even though the movie and book have very little in common, I recommend both. This movie is a special effects dream. It is true they might appear a little dated now when compared to computer generated effects today, but remember that this was made in 1961. The story moves along well and quickly. The acting is competent. This is not Gone With the Wind, but it is fun entertainment.
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MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
Jules Verne's tale of "Mysterious Island" comes to life in this 1961 adaption brought to the screen for us by Producer-Charles H. Schneer and Creator of Visual Effects-Ray Harryhausen. The screenplay is well written by John Prebble, Daniel Ullman and Crane Wilbur; being wonderfully directed by Cy Endfield.
The visual effects created by Ray Harryhausen are great as usual and include a Giant Crab, the Phororhacos, Giant Bees and the Cephalopod. There is a really solid cast in this film which includes Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill, and Beth Rogan. Herbert Lom delivers a fine performance as Captain Nemo. This movie was filmed in Spain and the location is quite nice. The music by Bernard Herrmann conducting the London Symphony Orchestra is absolutely fabulous, setting the tone throughout the entire movie. There are also special features, which includes "The Harryhausen Chronicles" narrated by Leonard Nimoy.
I remember being fascinated with this movie as a child growing up and always wanting more, wishing the movie would have ran a little bit longer than usual. While I love this movie and am very grateful to own it on DVD, there are some things that need to be mentioned here.
In the widescreen process, the top and the bottom of the picture are cut off, which is really weird. Note: when the movie starts showing, you will see that the bottom of the Columia Pictures statue is cut off. This movie also needs major restoration, and Columbia Pictures should not have released it without doing so. The audio is in 1.0 mono which is an insult; it should have been remastered in 5.1 surround.
To sum it up: the movie needs a major restoration and it should be remastered in 5.1 surround with an excellent anamorphic video presentation. However, it is an excellent movie and I am glad to have it on DVD. Anything that Ray Harryhausen is involved in is great!
Remember Nicholas Ciarelli, the precocious tween who started a successful Apple rumor blog, only to have it shuttered by the company's legal team? He's now posting on the DailyBeast, and he's got some interesting things to say about his favorite plaintiff: namely that since the negative PR resulting from Ciarelli's case, Apple seems to have realized the buzz-building value of early leaks and non-response to rumors. Nicholas might still be pretty young, but he's also still right. It's definitely worth a read. [DailyBeast]
