|
Professor Lidenbrock buys a manuscript from a strange old
man that describes a mysterious journey - a map to the centre
of the earth itself! With his niece, Glauben, and her fiancé,
Axel, they set off to Iceland, where they are joined by Professor
Fredrikson and a guide, Hans. Following the old man's directions,
they soon find an entrance in an inactive volcano, but after
an underground storm and earthquake, they fall into a deep
chasm. While exploring their new surroundings, they meet a
mysterious character who offers them help. In his company
they discover wonderful things... an underground sea, a forest
of gigantic mushrooms, prehistoric creatures, dinosaurs and
a King Kong-type gorilla! But the group soon suspect that
his motives may not be all they seem.
Journey
to the Centre of the Earth! was originally released, in
English speaking theatres, as The Fabulous Journey to the
Center of the Earth, a title that is still attached to
the beginning of the film print. But it's original release
title was Viaje al centro de la Tierra.
Based
on Jules Verne's classic novel, the plot follows four badly
prepared individuals who attempt to reach the Earth's core
through a volcano. Once there they discover a world of strange
creatures (rubber dinosaurs, wooden mushrooms and a giant
man in a poor fancy dress ape costume). They also encounter
a strange man, called Olsen, who helps them along the way.
In
all honesty this has to be one of the worst adaptation of
Verne's story. The first annoying thing is the fact that Kenneth
More (playing professor Otto Lindenbrock) is the only English
speaking actor in this production. What I mean by that is
that the other characters are all played by Spanish actors
who have had their dialogue over dubbed with voice actors
who don't have outrageously foreign accents. This provides
some unintentionally funny scenes - like the Icelandic delivery
man who speaks with a cockney accent. But worse still is the
fact that the lip synch is appalling - to the point of being
distracting. The Spanish actors obviously delivered their
lines in English, but the dialogue coach should have been
taken out and shot.
Also
I really didn't get the whole Olsen plot line... what was
that all about. Sure, it provides a rather bizarre twist in
the tale, but it's just bloody stupid.
The
only saving grace is that the director of photography really
earned his money. There are some fantastic shots in this film
- almost every scene has been lovingly set up.
Extras
include just a trailer. And, to be quite honest you can get
the entire plot of the movie by watching the trailer.
The
picture quality is not overly impressive - it's a straight
film print to DVD transfer without any touching up. So what
you get are lots of white specks on the screen.
The
only saving grace is that the rubber dinosaur slayer king,
Doug McClure, didn't appear.
Pete
Boomer
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below
to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£9.74
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£10.89
(Thehut.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£9.99
(Moviemail-online.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
