L'île sur le toit du monde

As with several other reviewers, I also have fond memories of the theatrical release of this film from my youth, and this fantastic Jules Vernesque tale of a airship journey into the unknown arctic still holds up pretty well after all this time. There is some decent acting, a great score, a zeppelin,vikings in real viking longboats, real Scandinavian dialog, exploding volcanoes and vicious killer whales, what more do you want?

Some things are dated, such as the Eskimo vs. Inuit thing, the portrayal of Orca as man-eaters, etc. and the special effects have seen better days..but there are some surprisingly good sets with amazing matte paintings that are as good as anything you see on modern films (note the amazing viking hall on a hill top), great aerial footage, and a pretty decent story with good pace.

Break out the popcorn and enjoy it with your kids.

This film has lots of flaws. It has inferior Disney production values to be sure. An inferior cast. But for me it is still magic as I remember seeing it as a small boy in a theater when it came out. I remember the big zepplin careening through a dusty red night on its way to the Artic. I can still picture the whales in my mind and for some reason thought the movie was about finding the place where whales go to die. That is part of it, but it really tells the story of an English aristocrat employing the aid of a French airship captain and an American scientist to go to the Artic to find his lost son. There is a large part of the film devoted to the viking civilization on the Island at the Top of theWorld. Funny, but I didn't seem to remember any of that. After seeing the film again almost thirty years later, I can see why. It is ludicrous. But the rest of the film still holds up for me. The production values, special effects, and acting are not what you would normally expect from Disney. This must have been one of their rush productions. Come on, David Hartman as a hero. I have seen baloney sandwhiches with more charisma! Nonetheless, he is adequate, and Donald Sinden is okay too. the real acting standout is Jacques Marin as the airship captain. He has a lot of fun with his role. The musical score by Maurice Jarre is breathtaking.

My dad took me to see this one in the theater back in 1974 when I was 7 years old. It blew me away and helped fuel a lifelong love for adventure/fantasy. Hey, who doesn't like a cool adventure? The story is set in the early 1900's and concerns a rich Englishman who leads a rescue party deep into the Arctic in search of his missing explorer son. They track him to a mysterious lost colony of Vikings that has been cut off from the outside world for centuries. The plot is a fairly typical "Lost World" format: 1/3rd of the movie is spent searching for the lost world, 1/3rd is spent exploring the lost world, 1/3rd is spent being chased around/from the lost world. It's all fairly exciting, but not deep enough to impress an adult viewer. (However, with some deft tweaking this could be GREAT remake material for Disney.) I bought the DVD recently to take a trip down memory lane and I wasn't disappointed. It held up well to my memory. Yes, the effects are dated and some of them are downright terrible, but others are surprisingly good, and overall the film has a wonderful pre-CGI charm. You'll also get vibrant outdoor shots and some of the best matte work you'll find in ANY movie. It's not a bad choice for adventure/fantasy fans looking for family-friendly fare. Probably your only chance to see this film anymore is on DVD. Be sure to get the 30th anniversary edition as it has the extras.

FYI...I flew the camera ship for the Polar Bear and Narwhal scenes. The camera man was Bill Bacon from Squim, Washington. According to my log book, I met Bill in Resolute Bay, NWT on about July 24, 1973. On July 26, 1973 we flew 2+00 hours to Arctic Bay, NWT for staging and fuel. I logged 6+30 hours flying on July 27th, this was en-route from Arctic Bay,NWT to Admirality Inlet for the filming and returning to Resolute Bay. The Aircraft was a Bell 206B (CF-OKU) belonging to Okanagan Helicopters Ltd. A Canadian company out of Vancouver, BC, Canada with a base in Resolute. The Narwhal scenes were filmed with a 35 MM camera, but if I remember correctly Bill shot the Polar bear as an after thought and was filmed with a 16 MM camera.

Walter Lasher Everett, Washington W98208@Juno.com

This was the first film that I saw in the theater as a kid, and I have never forgotten it. David Hartman instantly became my favorite actor, and I was hooked on movies forever! This is the kind of movie that fills our dreams and satisfies the wanderlusterer in all of us. The high adventure, and colorful cinematography in this movie is what makes a great film. I've purchased the movie recently and am able to relive the wonder of Arctic travel once more. Its truly a trip back to my childhood when all things were simpler and adventure waited around every turn.