Mysterious Island

 

 

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However, what movie versions of literature usually are? Instead of criticizing the liberties taken, let's just look at the points of merit of the film: great special effects by way of the stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen, a stirring score by legendary Bernard Herrmann, superb scenery, a tale of survival, and lots of action.

Of course the acting is a little wooden but there are decent performances from Herbert Lom as "Captain Nemo", Joan Greenwood as "Lady Fairchild", and Gary Merrill (the former MR. Bette Davis) as "Mr. Spillet".

The real highlight for this viewer upon the film's release was the inclusion of a pivotal character portrayed by a black man, Dan Jackson as "Neb". The character is in the novel but he is younger and a bit too "subservient," reflecting the times of the book's publication. In 1961 it was notable to see a black man in a fantasy film, portraying an "equal" to his fellow castaways.

The DVD extras, including the documentary "The Harryhausen Chronicles", are adequate but the film holds its own as a wonderful excursion into the fanciful and makes for a fine family film.

The picture is clear and the colors are sharp and vibrant to say the least. My only complaint is that the sound isn't in 5.1 Dolby Digital, but it's still really good. Bernard Herrmann's score is excellent and in my opinion it brings the film to another level. Mysterious Island is based on the work of Jules Verne and considered to be the sequel to 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. While Jules Verne's novel didn't include any gigantic creatures this film took some liberties and allowed Ray Harryhausen to give us wonderful creatures such as giant oysters, bees, Phororhacos , undersea cephalopod and a giant crab.

What is a Prehistoric Phororhacos? A giant chicken like bird! you'll have to see it to believe it. Only the legendary special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen could come up with such an imaginative and colorful creature. Once again Harryhausen's incredible imagination and stop-motion dynamation process brings to life creatures we could never ourselves imagine. They used to show this movie every so often on Saturday afternoons, it was always a fun filled journey into escapism and a treat to watch.

Fill up the popcorn bowl, close the blinds and turn out the lights. Now sit back and take a journey to the "Mysterious Island". Fans of Ray Harryhausen won't be disappointed with this movie. Thanks to Columbia Pictures for putting "Mysterious Island" on DVD. Its solid entertainment and pure fun for the whole family!

DVD Features Include:
-Digitally mastered audio & anamorphic video
-Remastered in high definition
-Photo gallery
-The making of Mysterious Island
-The Harryhausen chronicles
-This is "Dynamation" featurette
-Widescreen presentation
-English audio
-English, French, and Spanish subtitles
-Theatrical trailers
-Interactive menus
-Scene selections

There was a woefully bad 15-part serial version of Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island" released in 1951 that stupidly gave away the big surprise by listing Captain Nemo's name in the credits. Fortunately a decade later the release of this version of "Mysterious Island" replaced that one in the public's consciousness. The team that put together "Mysterious Island" consisted of producer Charles Schneer, special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, and composer Bernard Herrmann, which is important because it puts the film more in the tradition of their earlier collaborations, "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Jason and the Argonauts," than it does Verne's novels. Obviously the 1954 Disney film version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" had an influence on this 1961 film by director Cy Endfield ("Zulu") as well.

During the American Civil War, Union Captain Cyrus Harding (Michael Craig) is being held prisoner in a Confederate prison camp along with young Herbert Brown (Michael Callan), cynical "New York Herald" reporter Gideon Spillett (Gary Merrill), and a former slave named Corporal Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson). During a massive hurricane the group escape by stealing an observation balloon and sailing over the palisade, taking with them a Confederate soldier, Sergeant Pencroft (Percy Herbert). The storm is so fierce that it blows them to an uncharted (and dare I say, mysterious) island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, where the balloon crashes.

Harding is pulled from the water by unseen figure and the group decides to put the war behind them and work together to survive (I was going to say this is sort of like "Survivor," after the merger, which Nemo playing the Jeff Probst role, but clearly the more relevant television analogy today would be to "Lost"). But beyond the basic requirements of staying alive they learn that they have to contend with monstrously giant crabs, equally giant bees, and a ship full of bloodthirsty pirates. To make things more interesting a pair of shipwrecked female castaways are added to the little band, namely Lady Mary Fairchild (Joan Greenwood) and her pretty young niece, Elena (Beth Rogan). Using the abandoned cliff side cave of the pirates as their new home the castaways settle in for the long haul, all the while receiving timely help from their mysterious benefactor.

I never read the novel, but I still have the "Classics Illustrated" comic book version of "Mysterious Island." For me the big impression was the things the castaways did to bring a touch of civilization to the island, and while that is greatly reduced in the film you do get a least a visual sense of what they have been up to in order to make the best of a bad situation. Of course, the situation proceeds to get even worse, which forces the unseen benefactor, Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), to reveal himself and his identity, and to help the castaways one last time.

It is a good thing that Lom does not show up until the end of the film, because he overpowers the rest of the cast, just as his character enjoys superiority over them as well. Merrill stands out from the rest as the crotchety reporter, who is almost as smart as he is cynical, and Craig manages to hang on to the hero role throughout, but Herbert and Elena descend to the puppy love phase and are just begging to be eaten by one of the giant creatures on the island, preferably the giant chicken. This is not a great film for this genre, but it certainly holds up as a more than decent Saturday matinee movie.

Harryhausen's stop-motion animation is always fun, even though no one will consider his work in "Mysterious Island" to be up to the finest moments of "Sinbad" or "Jason." The link between the giant animals and Captain Nemo is a bit absurd, since hunger has never been considered one of the causes of the American Civil War, but by the time we learn about these we have already enjoyed the castaways trying to fight the monsters (the crab is the best and the chicken has to be the nadir of Harryhausen's distinguished career). Actually, the balloon journey at the beginning provides the best special effects in the movie, especially given the impressive musical score by Herrmann. This movie is not about political philosophy, but about monsters in an exotic location and the sense of adventure that has thrilled young schoolboys for generations.

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3.0 out of 5 stars EN BEAU CRISSE...
C'est comme ça qu'on dit au Québec!
Voici un film que je "spotte" depuis longtemps: le hic c'est que j'aimerais bien le voir en français. Impossible! Read more

Published 18 months ago by jack

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the best transfer
I recently purchased Mysterious Island and The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, two of my favorite Ray H. movies. Read more

Published on Feb 13 2008 by chuck canuk

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a substitute for the novel
This movie has attempted to accomplish the same end as other classic films taken from the stories of Verne: to recreate an adventure movie of something much less action-oriented... Read more

Published on Mar 4 2004 by Gordon Ehrensing

4.0 out of 5 stars one heck of a movie
this is one of my favorite jules verne movie along with 20000 leagues...but my only complaint as with all columbia harryhausen movies on dvd is sound.. Read more

Published on Dec 15 2003 by robert pounders

4.0 out of 5 stars Rip roaring adventure
Mysterious Island was always a favorite Harryhausen film of mine as a kid. The screenplay and direction (like those for The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and The Argonauts)is... Read more

Published on Dec 11 2003 by WTDK

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the better Colombia Tri/Star DVDs....
Well I can't say that Colombia/Tri-Star make the best DVD's. Sometimes they put really boring bonus features on the DVD and a lot of forgetable film trailers added to make up for... Read more

Published on Oct 25 2003 by Joe Mac Guy

5.0 out of 5 stars great sci fi
one of the better sci fi flicks in the early 60's and a must for all fans of jules verne. this movie has a great storey line and a great adventure tale to boot. Read more

Published on Oct 24 2003 by schackdaddy

2.0 out of 5 stars Sounds like...
There's a number of differences of opinions regarding the audio portion of this DVD. I own both the DVD and VHS versions of Mysterious Island, and can tell you that sonically the... Read more

Published on Sep 26 2003 by J. Newton

5.0 out of 5 stars From the man who inspired Lucas and Spielberg.....
Both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have gone on record as saying they were inspired to become film makers from watching many of Ray's movies. Read more

Published on Sep 8 2003 by Joe Mac Guy

4.0 out of 5 stars A journey worth taking
The Mysterious Island, released two years before one of Harryhausen's most celebrated works, Jason and the Argonauts, still stands well enough by itself. Read more

Published on July 16 2003 by Robert Cossaboon

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