Journey to the Center of the Earth

10 Comments

1. Tom Munro

   November 2, 2010 at 3:09 am

   Review by Tom Munro for The West Wing: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   This DVD has the first eleven episodes with a bonus of interviews with the writer Sorkin and most of the cast. West Wing is one of the better ensemble dramas ever screened on television. However it was only after seeing the interviews of Sorkin and the cast members that one realised how it was done. Sorkin is clearly highly intelligent and his scripts are powerful and the basis of the show. This becomes clear when you hear the cast members talk. They lack the presence of their on screen personalities and although they are talented actors one realises that it is the structure of the plot and their lines which creates the characters. Sorkin also indicates how in reality the plots have a high level of sentimental resolutions. One doesn?t pick this up in watching it. Sorkin explains how he uses humour to break up the flow of the story and to prevent the material becoming mawkish. He also indicates that although the White House portrayed is a Democrat one, he interplays conservative and liberal story lines. On first viewing the show it appeared to be moderately liberal but on re-watching the episodes on the CD Sorkin is right. The second episode is highly nationalistic and the last scene is the character played by Martin Sheen regretting that Americans cannot walk the earth with the same protection that was afforded the ancient romans. In other episodes the character Donna argues strongly the Republican line on taxation. Watching these eleven episodes after watching them on TV some years ago, one is still struck by the strength of the characters, the frantic pace of the action and the fact that the scenes are seldom static. Even though one begins to see that there is a sentimentality which initially slips by you, one can still be moved when Toby arranges the funeral and honour guard for the homeless war veteran. It is however the humour and intelligence which is the driving force of the series and what makes it so watchable.

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2. Deborah MacGillivray

   November 2, 2010 at 2:49 am

   Review by Deborah MacGillivray for The West Wing: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   I don’t watch many telly series anymore. They come, they go and by the time you get interested, they are cancelled. I enjoy movies, but series often just do not have the quality that I seek. I resisted this series. I am not fond of politics; the process
   often is more PR than real substance. It frustrates me, so why would I seek out a series about a subject that makes me want to toss a brick at the screen? Due to my husband getting hooked on it, I ended up catching bits and pieces as I would pass by. I found myself captured by the incisive writing, the amazing insight into the different characters, the humour, the pathos, the drama. The acting is top drawer, the casting amazing.The show is simply addictive.

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3. Ian Heath

   November 2, 2010 at 2:34 am

   Review by Ian Heath for The West Wing: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   As a UK resident you would think that I would not be interested in American politics. You would have been right, that was until I began whatching The West Wing on UK TV. A soon as the DVD was avaialble I had to have it, I now have Season One and Two. In Season One we get to meet the characters that form a close community who strive to provide us with an insight to the everyday goings-on in the White House. You immediately begin to warm to people whom you have never met before yet feel you could hold a conversation with if you met them. Season 1 leaves you with needing to know more, Season Two will not be issued quick enough for you. Season One starts well and finishes even better, well worth buying even if you are not a political fan but someone who enjoys strong story lines about people, places and events that surround one of the most talked about residences in the world.

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4. Anonymous

   November 2, 2010 at 2:07 am

   Review by for The West Wing: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   Season one of my favorite TV series is a 5 star hit on Region 2 DVD. The best show imaginable without the commercials! The first part of season two is due out in April. The reason WHY The West Wing is not available on DVD in the US is because the producers have sold syndication rights to the Bravo cable channel for a reputed 1 million an episode. Bravo only broadcasts in the US and will begin the series at the beginning. Once Bravo feels they’ve got their moneys worth, THEN a region one West Wing will appear. This will probably take several years. It’s all about money! Code free DVD players are available through several sources on the net, but most require a world system tv. Get one with a built in video convertor that will let you play DVD’s from anywhere on your American NTSC tv and then buy the DVDs from amazon.uk.co. Why wait for the best? Of course you could always get a DVD recorder and edit out the commercials, but the quality just isn’t the same.

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5. Cynthia Yeung

   November 2, 2010 at 1:08 am

   Review by Cynthia Yeung for The West Wing: The Complete First Season
   Rating:
   This review refers to the Region 2 (PAL) versions of the DVD. The UK market gets a headstart in seeing the release of Season 1 of The West Wing in 2 DVD box sets (Set 1-Episodes 1-11 & Set 2-Episodes 12-22). The show itself is fast paced and brimming with intelligent dialogue. Once you put it in your DVD player, you wouldn’t want to stop until you get to the end of it. Special features for Set 1 include TV spot & short interviews with major cast members and Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the show & DVD-ROM enhanced features. Set 2 extras include several TV spots and ‘Making of’ featurette for all TWW fans & DVD-ROM features. Extremely satisfying TV viewing. Can’t wait for the new seasons to come out on DVD.

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6. Birthe Jrgensen

   November 2, 2010 at 12:16 am

   Review by Birthe Jrgensen for Journey to the Center of the Earth
   Rating:
   I LOVE it!. There’s absolutely nothing bad to be said about this wonderful film. It’s one of the 10 best movies ever made, and it’s lost none of its magic.(I like it just a tiny bit more, than that other famous 50’s fantasy/adventure favorite of mine: “20.000 Leagues Under The Sea”.) When I’m with Mason & co., I’m like a little kid again. There are movies you never stop loving; and this is one of them for me. They just don’t make ’em like this anymore. If you’re “old and wise”, I trust you’ll agree.(I’m 32, by the way.) -They can show me all their latest computer effects, I don’t care, they’re all empty like a balloon, and they have no soul. Any kind of real and interesting magical atmosphere, is almost impossible to capture in modern movies. Older films have a facinating, almost other-worldly quality to them. It all boils down to the look of a movie, and today they all look the same. Sad, but true. -At least one can spend the rest of his or hers life, watching nothing but old movies; and that’s just exactly what I intend to do.

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7. Allen Eaton

   November 2, 2010 at 12:09 am

   Review by Allen Eaton for Journey to the Center of the Earth
   Rating:
   Fox Studios was so successful with this film that they immediately made another Verne classic, “The Lost World” with Claude Raines as Professor Challenger. “Lost World” didn’t fare as well. The reasons were obvious.”Journey” was put together by a team of Hollywood professionsls at all levels: script, direction, actors, production deisgners. They were all dedicated to one goal: to entertain the audience while not pandering to them. The actors take their roles seriously, bringing them to vivid life.This is a long film for a general release, family oriented project. It goes into good, solid character development, rather than settling for action over story, as they did with “The Lost World.” The only thing both films have in common appear to be dinosaurs.The special effects are excellent. Try not to compare them to what can be computer-generated today. Matte painting artists of the old Hollywood studio system could truly be called artists; this film is a prime example of this art.Bernard Hermann’s score is one of the true stars of the picture. It supports the film; it is like a character all its own; it complements the story rather than overpowering it.This is a movie that can be seen over and over through the years and it still appeals. Once again, the DVD format presents the film in its original CinemaScope aspect ratio, which is the only way to appreciate a truly excellent example of the old Hollywood in its finest form.

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8. Anonymous

   November 1, 2010 at 11:09 pm

   Review by for Journey to the Center of the Earth
   Rating:
   To anyone considering this DVD, know that the gentleman claiming this DVD was colorized from black-and-white prints is quite mistaken. This DVD is from a new internegative, and what that means is that they made a new color film using what is known as “black-and-white separations.” These separations are a B&W film of each of the 3 primary color spectrums (cyan, magenta, blue – tech talk for these separations is Y-C-M) which put together make real full color. They are made that way to preserve a color film. The B&W doesn’t fade like color negatives and most prints do (the color spectrums also fade unevenly). So you’d always be able to put them together to make a fresh new color print. You can also control the color better by blending the intensity of each color spectrum. They used this technique for this movie in order preserve the badly aged and neglected negative and to use the blending ability in making a new print to compensate for much of the fading of the negative. Separations should exist for all color films but sadly they don’t.You can now figure out that the question of how this will look depends on how bad the negative was before making the “separations” from it, the quality of workmanship, and how carefully they blended the separations when making the film we see on this DVD. They did a good job. It isn’t perfect, but it does more or less reflect the color scheme the filmmakers went for in 1959, which is why it might seem a little like fake color to some. If you have a good monitor, it looks colorful in a slightly artful way that many older films intentionally strove for. The sound is a bit out of synch at times but not much. Many videos have that problem. It could be better but most people won’t notice. The hiss is fine since it doesn’t distract and is better left in than having the sound muffled by filtering it. There are some other strange artifacts in the sound that shouldn’t be in there. What is sloppier is that they get the left and right channels reversed at times! This is also not uncommon in the second rate attention usually given older films. In fact this DVD sounds unusually good! It even allows the bass end to remain intact, a big plus in the music for this film. Fox needed to proofread this DVD. It says it is modified (cropped to fit the TV) while in fact it is in its original widescreen on this DVD. This DVD is a commendable job and far superior to the horrid junk this studio released in previous releases of this movie.You must have an appreciation of the absurd to enjoy this movie. If you like absurd or have an appreciation of the absurd, you will find this movie amusing and enjoyable. If you expect clinical or hyper-reality, hyper-violence or gritty realism, you will not like this film. You should also be able to enjoy a story that is in no hurry and be able to enjoy hand-made special effects and some simple stage-like backdrops. I did enjoy the Atlantis setting, it’s a shame it didn’t make more use of that. There are many things it glosses over in favor of things I wouldn’t have bothered with. You may agree. Of course the lady stays a ’50’s movie lady, and extravagantly made-up and coiffed no matter how long away from a salon. As you no doubt know, many shows still pull that trick. At least she is given a backbone. If the handling of the villain is a little dubious, at least the lead, James Mason’s role, is well played and easy to associate with if you have that appreciation for the absurd. If you are fine with all that then you should enjoy this movie.The score is the best element of this movie. I’m not talking of the transient ditties Pat Boone throws off. I mean the scoring by Bernard Herrmann. Many people like the score far better than the movie itself. I agree. Music and film students will find this score a must. Particularly of interest is the instrumentation. There are superb uses of organ including the seriously low registers (a subwoofer is worth using for this film). Another interesting thing is the extremely rare use of the distinctive, long-obsolete medieval instrument called a “serpent.” This instrument is used for the unnerving tones portraying the (what else!) giant serpent. This movie is not as dramatically valid or creatively solid as Walt Disney’s ‘Twenty-Thousand Leagues under the Sea’ (1954). ‘Twenty-Thousand Leagues’ has also aged better. If you want a classic Jules Verne film, get the excellent DVD of ‘Twenty-Thousand Leagues’. Then consider this one. ‘Mysterious Island’ is another, but I’d suggest it after the aforementioned. Also of possible interest to you is a film also requiring an appreciation of the absurd and a taste or tolerance of the “cheesy” in even larger measures, but possibly also stronger in its strengths than this film, ‘In Search of the Castaways’ (1962 – not on DVD at this time). ‘First Men in the Moon’ (1964) is also in a similar spirit to this. I hope you’ll now be able to chose whether to buy this DVD and what to get if you enjoy this film.- C.J.

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9. R. Monteith

   November 1, 2010 at 10:50 pm

   Review by R. Monteith for Journey to the Center of the Earth
   Rating:
   OK, there’s been some controversy here about the quality of this release, so let me put it to rest. This DVD is spledid! I think this adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1864 French novel is a prime example of 1950’s wide-screen motion picture family entertainment — it’s wholesome and has a little something for everyone. This is the best film version of this story, the most recent of which was done for the USA Channel on cable in 1999 and was very campy. They couldn’t match the 1959 production values of this 20th Century-Fox film that has excellent color photography and art direction, and Bernard Herrmann’s wonderfully atmospheric music score. These elements have continued to make it a favorite with fantasy film fans who can appreciate older movies, though it’s true that some of it is silly at times, but I don’t think the film’s makers were trying for a serious movie. It also contains one of James Mason’s best performances (He was always good). It’s wonderful “Cinemascope” escapism 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 splendid 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.) 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. It’s been a long wait for this to come out on DVD but it’s now worth it. Although Fox should have known that fans would want more extras, including a production and poster still gallery and audio commentary by Pat Boone and Arlene Dahl perhaps?, or an expert on the production? (Perhaps we’ll get it in a future release?), they have thankfully included the original theatrical trailer, whic is a lot of fun. They’ve also gone to great efforts to restore the color negative, and this 16X9 ANAMORPHIC TRANSFER has been struck from a newly made interpositive print, and has been further enhanced with digital video. The original 4-track MagOptical soundtrack is here offered in Dolby Digital 4.0 surround. Although the directionalized dialogue is often off the mark, the aged soundtrack sounds great and will really rumble your room if you’ve got a subwoofer. If you are a fan of 1959’s JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, you’ll be very happy with this DVD. I’d give this DVD five stars but for Fox skimping on the extras. Boy, you people at Fox can be real dummies!

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10. Brad Baker

    November 1, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    Review by Brad Baker for Journey to the Center of the Earth
    Rating:
    A 19th century French businessman, Jules Verne decided rather late in life to give up the stock market and write children’s fantasy novels. I’m so glad he did. The movie version of his “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, in 1954, set off an explosion of major Jules Verne film adaptions(over 12 movies in 10 years). One of the finest was “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. As the story opens, an Edinburgh professor receives a gift; a meteorite fragment from his student. Intuition fires Prof. Lindenbrook’s imagination: Could an historic scientific message be hidden inside? After testing, the rock explodes. Lindenbrook assembles an expedition to follow an explorer’s trail down into an extinct Icelandic volcano. Enemies surround him. Mysterious creatures are everywhere. For Prof. Lindenbrook and his party, a fantastic adventure is about to begin. “Journey to the Center of the Earth” stars Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Thayer David, Alan Napier, and the magnificent James Mason. But the real “star” is composer Bernard Herrmann, who’s thundering, booming film score is nothing short of classic(and actually, only one of many). Director Henry Levin fashioned a lively, colorful saga in 1959’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. Extensive shooting in Hollywood, Scotland, and Carlsbad Caverns produced sweeping set-pieces of subterranean caverns, a giant mushroom forest, and even the lost temples of Atlantis. Special effects include miniature constructions, matte painting, and more. Sadly, the film’s main draw-back is a horde of painted lizard “dinosaurs” thrown at the camera in the exciting finale. This brand new widescreen anamorphic (2.35:1) DVD is an excellent transfer. Fox found the original 1959 camera negative worn and faded. A search for viable film elements led to a black-and-white silver print; from this came a 35mm interpositive. Finally came digital restoration and video enhancement. DVD extras include 40 chapter stops, 8 trailers, and a conclusive restoration documentary. Famous and wealthy in his time, Jules Verne predicted the future use of submarines, space-travel, and crustaceous exploration. Over 80 motion picture and TV productions around the world have heralded his work. The first science-fiction movie was made in 1902 by George Melies. And yes, you’re right. It was written by Jules Verne.

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