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Journey to the Center of the Earth
20th Century Fox Product Details |
Amazon.com
James Mason plays Professor Oliver Lindenbrook, a scientist hoping to find the world's core in this 1959 adaptation of the Jules Verne novel. He leads his unusual party on an expedition to the center of the earth, by way of a volcano in Iceland. On the way, they encounter enormous mushrooms and giant prehistoric monsters. Produced by Michael Todd with then-spectacular special effects, the story was modernized to 1950s sensibilities. Mason gives this class, while Arlene Dahl and Diane Baker are the romantic interests. And Pat Boone is more palatable than you might expect as a secondary lead. You can watch this with your children and not be bored, and they will surely love it. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Description
The accent is on fun and fantasy in this film version of Jules Verne's classic thriller that stars James Mason, Pat Boone, and Arlene Dahl. With spectacular visuals as a backdrop, the story centers on an expedition led by Professor Lindenbrook (Mason) down into the earth's dark, threat-laden core. Members of the group include the professor's star student, Alec (Boone), and the widow (Dahl) of a colleague. Along the way lurk dangers such as kidnapping, death, sabotage by a rival explorer, and attacks by giant prehistoric reptiles. But they also encounter such magnificent wonders as a glistening cavern of quartz crystals, luminescent algae, a forest of giant mushrooms, and the lost city of Atlantis. Remaining faithful to Verne's story, this is a sweeping adventure that offers enough thrills and entertainment to satisfy every explorer in the family.
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Journey to the Center of the Earth
- DVD: 0 pages (2003-03-04)
- Publisher: 20th Century Fox
- Label: 20th Century Fox
- Starring: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker, Thayer David
- Director: Henry Levin
- Encoding: Region 1
- Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1,
- Rated: G (General Audience)
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- DVD Release Date: 2003-03-04
- Run Time: 129
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 160 reviews
- Sales Rank in DVD: #738
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Jules Verne movie 2008-08-17
Comment: Hard to find classic. Video most enjoyable, brings back childhood memories . Family enjoyed seeing the difference between sci-fi of today and of yesteryear !
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Journey To The Center Of The Earth DVD 2008-08-12
Comment: Still a great family classic. DVD format makes it all the better.
Fast delivery.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE 2008-08-11
Comment: Journey to the Center of the Earth
All time favorite movie !! So glad to find it on DVD !!
Great memories !!
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A terrific flic 2008-08-07
Comment: I first saw Journey to the Center of the Earth on a Saturday afternoon at the Roxy Theatre in Pacific Beach, California. The movie was a profound visual experience to me and at the age of eleven made a lasting impression.
Based on a Jules Verne story of the same name, the movie is a fairly fast paced adventure. Though it moves a little slowly in the beginning, preliminary scenes build in drama and promise that much adventure is to be forthcoming.
It all starts with a lump of suspiciously heavy lava that is given to Professor Lindenbrook (James Mason) by Alec McKuen (Pat Boone) a student in one of his geology classes. The gift is from the class in recognition of Lindenbrook's recent knighting. Puzzled that the lava is heavier than it should be, Lindenbrook chips a small portion of the lava away only to find an object at the center of the sample. Eventually a plumb-bob is discovered with a message inside and that cryptic message ultimately sends Lindenbrook and young McKuen to Iceland for the journey of a life time. Of course, there is treachery along the way and other sinister forces at work. In the end the group who make the trip to the center of the earth grows to five; Lindenbrook, McKuen, and Carl Goteborg (Arlene Dahl) along with a large Icelander Hans Belker (Peter Ronson) and his pet duck, Gertrude (Gertrude). Though rather simplistic in what is conceived to be at the center of the earth, the movie is charming and certainly worth the cost of taking it home.
Some reviewers have been quick to point out the simplistic special effects. Given the fact that the movie was released in 1959 I think the criticism is uncalled for. For its time, Journey to the Center of the Earth has held up quite well and will entertain children and adults even today. There is very little blood, and no language that would make a parent blush, nor is there any overt sexual content.
Part of what makes this movie such a wonderful experience is the terrific soundtrack. Hermann Bernard captures the essence of what a trip to the center of the earth would be like by the use of moody and atmospheric music. The music is such a part of the experience that when I saw the movie Vertigo as an adult I immediately recognized a similarity between that soundtrack and that of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Well, why not? Both movies were scored by Bernard.
Obviously, Journey to the Center of the Earth is a product of a Hollywood of a different era; a different generation of filmmakers. Journey stands as a testament to better days as do hundreds of other films.
I highly recommend.
Peace
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Childhood favorite that has held up 2008-07-27
Comment: Quite simply, the greatest film ever. OK, maybe my favorite film. I used to pore through the Sunday television supplement in the paper hoping to see Journey To The Center Of The Earth listed.
Great Carlsbad Caverns scenery. James Mason portrayed the scientist as a brave leader. Pat Boone was actually good; he was given but one showcase song. Arlene Dahl was allowed to hold her own with the men. You cannot describe Journey as having a feminist outlook, but it certainly was better than The Time Machine. Peter Belker was good portraying a character who spoke only Icelandic (from what I understand, Icelandic is medieval Norwegian.) Who knows, he could have been speaking the language for all I know. Thayer David was a multi-dimensional villain. Pure evil would have been distracting.
There is action, adventure and Pat Boone takes his shirt off for an hour. There was romance and as a young child it was not too bad.
Who can forget Gertrude, the duck?
Over two hours, but it did not lose my attention.
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