Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Collapse
X
Collapse
-
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Released by: Twilight Time Releasing
Released on: March, 2015.
Director: Harry Levin
Cast: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker, Alan Napier
Year: 1959
Purchase From Screen Archives
The Movie:
Directed by Harry Levin in 1959 and based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, Journey To The Center Of The Earth, made decades before CGI took over the special effects industry of mainstream Hollywood, stands the test of time very well indeed.
The timeless story follows Sir Oliver S. Lindenbrook (James Mason), a professor who teams up with one of his students, Alec McKuen (Pat Boone), who discover by chance a message hidden in a rock given to the elder man by his protégé that indicates that there may be a tunnel in Iceland of all places that will lead to the center of the Earth. The two pack up and hit the roads as quick as you'd imagine, but are cut off at the pass by Professor Peter Goetabaug (Ivan Triesault), Lindenbrook's rival in the geology world. Just as it looks like they'll never escape the trap Goetabaug has caught them in, a native named Hans (Peter Ronson) springs them and shortly after they discover that someone or something has killed their foe!
Bound and determined to find the opening, the team carries on, now with some help from Goetabaug's widow, Carla (Arlene Dahl), who is willing to exchange Peter's gear in return for a share in the exploration. With the team now more or less in place, they head towards the area they believe the opening is in, and head towards the center of the Earth itself. Of course, they're not alone…
A very inspired work of fantasy, this film has to it an innocence best described as charming. The effects hold up well but are definitely a product of their time, but again, that will for many viewers be a big reason to watch this in the first place. Here we see some genuinely artistic interpretations from those tasked with the set design as to how the center of our very planet might look! Great use of color once our team heads 'inside' really does a great job of catching your eyes and keeping your attention while the amusing characters are easy to like and admire in their unfettering bravery. Of course, it throws science fact out the window (along with a strict adherence to the source material) in favor of what is obviously science fiction but that doesn't matter so much when you're dealing in fantasy. Realism isn't needed when the filmmakers are going for pure escapism, and that's pretty much exactly what this film delivers.
In addition to the fantastic visuals the movie also benefits from a great score courtesy of none other than Bernard Herrmann. Heavy on organ music it's a selection of rousing compositions that heighten the tension, drama and sense of adventure inherent in the film quite perfectly. Throw in some great performances from an intense James Mason and, yeah, a fairly milquetoast Pat Boone (say what you will be he works well in the context of the character he is cast as here) and those responsible for bringing the characters to life fare well. Supporting work from Peter Ronson as the naí¯ve Icelander and lovely Arlene Dahl round out the cast nicely. The characters might not be written with tons of depth but this cast plays them well.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Twilight Time presents Journey To The Center Of The Earth on Blu-ray in an impressive 2.35.1 widescreen presentation in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. While some shots do look softer than others and some mild edge enhancement pops up in some shots, typically the picture is nice and film-like without much in the way of obvious digital manipulation. Detail looks excellent in the close up shots and a bit softer in medium and some long distance shots while colors are consistently bright, bold and beautifully defined without ever edging over into looking oversaturated. Black levels are strong and print damage is never much of a problem at all. There are no obvious issues with noise reduction while depth and clarity are strong throughout the film.
The only audio option provided is an English language DTS-HD 4.0 track but it's a very good one. Levels are very nicely balanced and there are no problems at all with any hiss or distortion. Herrmann's score sounds nice and clarity is strong from start to finish. There's good depth and presence to the audio here and it sounds fantastic. No alternate language options or subtitles are provided.
As far as the extras go, the main bonus feature here is the inclusion of the aforementioned Herrmann score in DTS-HD 2.0. It's a great piece of work and it sounds nice and clear here on this isolated score option. Aside from that we also get a trailer for the feature, an alternate Spanish trailer for the feature, static menus and chapter selection. Julie Kirgo once again contributes a nice selection of liner notes that show a genuine appreciation for the film and offer up a nice assortment of trivia and production history information - always worth a read. Some nice archival images are used to illustrate the booklet.
The Final Word:
Journey To The Center Of The Earth holds up quite well as a genuinely engaging family friendly adventure film and Twilight Time's Blu-ray looks and sounds quite good. If it's a bit light on extras, this is still the best that the movie has ever looked on home video, which should be reason enough for most fans to want to upgrade.
Posting comments is disabled.
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (272)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2513)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (300)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: February 22nd, 2022.
Director: Gianfranco Parolini
Cast: Lee Van Cleef, Jack Palance
Year: 1976
Purchase From Amazon
God’s Gun – Movie Review:
Directed by Gianfranco Parolini in 1976, quite late in the spaghetti western boom years, God's Gun (Diamante Lobo in Italy) introduces us to a bad, bad man named Sam Clayton (Jack Palance) who, along with his gang of equally bad, bad men, start wreaking...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:10 PM -
-
Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: October 8th, 2019.
Director: Mario Bava
Cast: Christopher Lee, Reg Park, Leonora Ruffo, Gaia Germani
Year: 1968
Purchase From Amazon
Hercules In The Haunted World – Movie Review:
Directed by Mario Bava in 1961 and featuring a screenplay by Bava (and Sandro Continenza, Francesco Prosperi and Duccio Tessari), Hercules In The Haunted World (also known as Hercules At The Center Of The Earth and...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 12:08 PM -
-
Released by: Cinématographe
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Jack Nicholson
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Mary Steenburgen, Christopher Lloyd, John Belushi
Year: 1978
Purchase From Amazon
Goin’ South – Movie Review:
Made at the height of his career as an actor, 1978’s ‘Goin’ South’ sees Jack Nicholson once again in the director’s chair, seven years after his directorial debut, ‘Drive, He Said,’ failed to set the...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:29 AM -
-
Released by: Radiance Films
Released on: April 20th, 2024.
Director: Noburo Nakamura
Cast: Miyuki Kuwano, Mikijiro Hira
Year: 1964
Purchase From Amazon
The Shape Of Night – Movie Review:
Directed by Noburo Nakamura for Shochiko in 1964, ‘The Shape Of Night’ follows a young woman named Yoshie Nomoto (Miyuki Kuwano). In the opening scene, she’s working as a streetwalker on the outskirts of town and soon enough, she’s picked...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:26 AM -
-
Released by: Film Masters
Released on: April 23rd, 2024.
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Lugene Sanders, Susan Gordon
Year: 1963
Purchase From Amazon
Tormented – Movie Review:
The late Bert I. Gordon’s 1963 horror film, ‘Tormented,’ is an effectively spooky ghost story made with an obviously low budget but no less effective for it.
The story revolves around a professional piano player...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:19 AM -
-
Released by: Grindhouse Releasing
Released on: March 12th, 2024.
Director: William Grefé
Cast: William Shatner, Jennifer Bishop, Ruth Roman, Harold Sakata
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Impulse – Movie Review:
Directed by the one and only William Grefé, 1974’s Impulse is one of those rare films that allows you to witness what it would be like if a really sweaty William Shatner got mad at a lady carrying balloons. Before that...-
Channel: Movies
04-15-2024, 01:20 PM -