Viagem ao Centro da Terra

"Journey to the Center of the Earth" was produced at the height of studio dominance in the film business. 20th Century Fox would soon be nearly bankrupt from the red ink of "Cleopatra" (later saved by the success of "The Longest Day" and "The Sound of Music"). Consequently, every department contributed tons of production value and I would say the matching of studio sets with actual locations in Carlsbad Caverns was pretty flawless. Like a lot of fantasy adventure films of the 1950s and 1960s (ie. Jason and the Argonauts, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and The Wonders of Aladdin), "Journey to the Center of the Earth" focuses firmly on the characters and the special effects support the performances. Today, sadly, so much effort and time is spent in designing the special effects that the human characters suffer and become clichés (with the exception recently of Tobey Maguire's wonderful "Spiderman" and the recent "Superman"). Those of us who grew up in the 1950s, think of this film fondly as a perfect Saturday matinée entertainment. I can still remember sucking on my giant cherry lollipop, flipping popcorn boxes against the screen and enjoying that very ominous Bernard Herrmann musical score. For a singer, Pat Boone plays drama and adventure quite well and even looks good with his shirt off. Arlene Dahl is sexy in her tight bodice and Peter Ronson also performs well considering he had zero acting experience. James Mason's Professor Lindenbrook ties it all together nicely - it was probably his most physical role ever. And, of course there was Gertrude, who, unfortunately, probably ended up on someone's plate, rather than be retired to the Motion Picture Home for old ducks. Kai aye professor, indeed.

This is the classic adaptation (1959) by Henry Levin with great cast such as James Mason as Lindenbrook , Pat Boone , Diane Baker and Arlene Dahl as a wealthy widow . An Edinburgh (in fact , many of the people in the crowd scenes were students of Edinburgh University) professor (James Mason who replaced an ailing Clifton Webb) and assorted colleagues as his pupil (Pat Boone) , a woman looking for her husband who disappeared various years earlier during a voyage follow an explorer's trail down an extinct Icelandic volcano to the earth's center . Meanwhile , they are chased by a mysterious scout , the Count Saknussemm (Alexander Scourby started shooting at Carlsbad Caverns , but the producers were unhappy with him and he was replaced with Thayer David) who has usurped a map for his own greedy purposes . As the expedition to the center of the earth starts in a volcano located in Iceland . The professor and his compatriots descend into deep caverns filled with stalactites and stalagmites and encounter a tunnel system leading to the center . Along the way they find prehistoric beasts , a magnetic storm and the lost city of Atlantis .

This superior adaptation is a colorful recounting of the Jules Verne adventure yarn . Lighthearted romp for kids and teenagers based upon the famous book . Dealing with the known story about an anthropologist scientific named Linderbrook , James Mason , and his student , Pat Boone , and a woman , Arlene Dahl , undergo a hazardous voyage to find clues of her husband who disappeared some years earlier . As the peculiar trio along with a Island explorer descend into deep caves and discover a way leading to the planet's center . The highlights of the movie are the numerous risks and dangers they have to deal with , such as endure torrential floods , prehistoric animals , terrifying earthquake , and discover the lost city of Atlantis as happens in the classic novel . Fox gave the green light to this big-budget CinemaScope production partially on the basis of the success of the recent Jules Verne adaptations , Walt Disney's 20.000 leagues under the sea (1954) and Michael Todd's Around the World in Eighty Days ; as with those earlier films , turned out to be big hits . There're rip-roaring action , spirit of adventure , derring-do , sense of wonder , thrills , and results to be quite entertaining . It's a big fun with great special effects , adequate set decoration and impressive art direction . Spotlights of the voyage include a roller-coaster trip , a terrifying odyssey in sailing, with appearance of prehistoric reptiles , and many others events . The "Dimetrodons" in the movie were played by a large type of lizard called a rhinoceros iguana , in real life was a type of Synapsid reptile . Acceptable cinematography full of color by Leo Tover , though there is an excessive use of matte-painting . Thrilling and breathtaking musical score by Bernard Herrmann in his peculiar and Hitchcockian style . The motion picture was well directed by Henry Levin , the heavy cost proved to be a good investment, resulting in a big hit at the box office . It was nominated for four Academy Awards including Art Direction , FX , and set decoration.

Other versions about this known story based upon the Jules Verne's 1864 fantasy are the followings : Spanish version (1976) by Juan Piquer with Kenneth Moore , Jack Taylor , Frank Braña , Ivonne Sentis , Pep Munne , José María Caffarel , Emiliano Redondo . 1988 retelling titled Journey to the center by Rutsy Lemorande with Ian Mitchell-Smith , Paul Carafotes . TV version made its way to cable by George Miller with Treat Williams , Jeremy London , Tushka Bergen , and Bryan Brown and another inferior television picture (2008) by David Jones with Greg Evigan and Dedee Pfeiffer . In addition , Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), (TV) , by T.J. Scott with Ricky Schroder , Peter Fonda , Victoria Pratt , Steven Grayhm . Furthermore , a cartoon movie : Journey to the Center of the Earth (1967) was based on this film version rather than the original novel by Jules Verne and features several characters that were created for the 1959 film . And of course , recent and successful take on filmed in 3D , produced and starred by Brendan Fraser with Anita Briem and Josh Hutcherson being followed by a sequel titled : Mysterious Island , with Josh Hutcherson and Michael Caine . Rating : Above average.

This movie is one of the best examples I can think of for how one can stun the audience just by making the right use of the essence of cinema: pictures. They vary between being threatening, funny, amazing, beautiful and bizarre but all are highly imaginative. In fact, this movie is one of the most imaginative ever made, imagination being a quality that has disappeared almost completely from Hollywood over the last 40 years. It drags you into the world of its superb settings just the way for example "King Kong" did in 1933. This is just the kind of movie cinema was meant for, up from the days of its beginning (see for example "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" by Georges Méliès, 1902). "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" is pure cinema at its best.

While this film suffers from some annoying "cuteness" and has lizards parading as dinosaurs, it is nonetheless the best film version of the novel because Verne's themes of exploration and discovery remain. Bernard Herrmann's score is indeed fantastic and this film has a wonderful pace. The cast here is also very talented and the film is so well made one can forgive it its minor flaws.

I can attest to the feelings expressed by the last couple commentators about 1959's "Journey To The Center Of The Earth." This is a wonderful family film from the bygone Eisenhower-era of the 1950s. Even though I've been watching it on TV since I was a kid in the sixties, I'd only seen pan&scan versions, and it wasn't until I got it letterboxed on laserdisc that I finally saw what a big-screen entertainment this movie was meant to be. It has wonderful scope and a score by Bernard Herrmann that takes you right down into the bowels of the earth. Listen to it and you'll notice what I mean, as the movie progresses the music keeps going into a lower and lower register. Five organs were used, including one meant for a Cathedral. (The complete original recordings of the score are available on CD from Varese Sarabande.) This movie also has the great James Mason in it, so you know it's got to be good. Sure it's long in the telling and takes a while to get you down that extinct volcano in Iceland, but it's fun all the way with great special effects work by L.B. Abbott and matte paintings by Emil Kosa Jr. The only way to watch this movie is in wide-screen and it's long past due that 20th Century Fox puts this out on DVD in a letterboxed anamorphic transfer. Let's hope that they do it soon.