Mysterious Island (Widescreen)
by Cy Endfield, Richard Schickel
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Gary Merrill, Herbert Lom, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Michael CraigDirector: Cy Endfield, Richard Schickel
Brand: Sony
Writer: Richard Schickel
Producer: Anna Sofroniou
Writer: Crane Wilbur
Writer: Daniel B. Ullman
Writer: John Prebble
Writer: Jules Verne
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 100 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-10-29
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of Mysterious Island (Widescreen)
Movie Review: Harryhausen's Most Enjoyable Film
Summary: 3 Stars
Why? Because for the only time in the Harryhausen canon, the CHARACTERS in the film are solidly written, directed and acted. The five guys are, in fact, the real focal point of the film, an appealingly diverse group whose conflicts and comaraderie dominate the proceedings from start to finish. Gary Merill and Percy Herbert are particularly effective in their roles. Even the addition of the two shipwrecked women, the sort of thing which usually signals a decrease in plot involvement for most audiences, actually does the opposite here, so convincingly are they integrated within the story-line. And the always impressive Herbert Lom, here creating a Nemo that is both noble and fatalistic, completes the excellent cast. One rarely encounters these fine qualities (which include a brilliant score by Bernard Herrmann) in what was essentially a "B" genre film, produced by Columbia at a time when the legendary Hollywood studio system was all but extinct.
I know it sounds blasphemous, but Harryhausen's four big stop-motion sequences almost feel like superfluous intrusions into the saga of this intrepid groups of survivors.
Too bad Columbia's dvd transfer is substandard; they really don't seem to care too much about visual quality. Ever think about preserving your
cinematic legacy, guys??
Summary of Mysterious Island (Widescreen)
Escaped prisoners find an uncharted island inhabited by giant animals. Based on the jules vernes novel. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Michael Callan Herbert Lom Run time: 100 minutes Rating: NrJules Verne's classic adventure is perfectly matched with Ray Harryhausen's timeless movie magic in Mysterious Island. Based on Verne's sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this rousing Civil War-era fantasy begins when a band of Union war prisoners (and one Confederate straggler) escape in a hot-air balloon, which crash-lands on the titular island of mystery. Verne's novel doesn't include any gigantic creatures, but Harryhausen's version--under the capable direction of genre specialist Cy Endfield--features giant oysters, bees, a prehistoric Phororhacos (a giant chickenlike bird!), an undersea cephalopod, a giant crab, and enough danger to keep its resourceful ensemble on constant alert. Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom, ably filling James Mason's shoes) is a third-act hero, pursuing an ill-fated dream to save humanity from hunger and war. The action may be too intense for younger viewers, but Endfield's pacing and Harryhausen's stop-motion mastery make Mysterious Island a wondrous precursor to Harryhausen's follow-up classic, Jason and the Argonauts. --Jeff Shannon
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