|
Rating:  -
This was an excellent Sci Fi film for it's time. The special effects don't hold up over time. The giant octopus and glaciers all look like models. However for the 1960's technology it was state of the art. If you want to see Barbara Eden and Frankie Avalon,Walter Pigeion and many others, this film is worth your time for the guest stars. This was Irwin Allen at his best. The series that followed was good in it's first year. Although it was recast, it quickly degenerated into the monster of the week. In an ideal world I wish Walter Pigeion was the admiral of the Seaview on the TV version. The movie had the benefit of being well written with good characters. The TV show was a different story.
Richard Baseheart did an admirable job as the admiral on the TV version. However from year 2 on, the scripts were laughable. I have to wonder how the writers could sit behind a typewriter and create the lobster man, wolf man, cyborg etc.,etc. The scriptwriters must have been glad to pay for the morgage that month. I am sure the U.S. Navy wasn't endorsing this show.
Rating: -
This was my favorite film of my childhood, I still have a great deal of affection for it. My father took me to see it when I was eleven and it absolutely blew me away, it was to me what Star Wars was to the next generation. I immediately started hitting every book store and department store I could find to locate the novelization (which I eventualy found in a small bookstore on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn. I still have it.)
The basic premise is of the Van Allen radiation belt surrounding the earth catching fire and the attempt of the futuristic atomic-powered submarine, Seaview, to shoot a nuclear missile into the belt and push the fire out into space. Pretty much everyone is opposed to this including the United Nations but as the brilliant creator of the Seaview, Admiral Nelson, advises "I answer only to the President."(Hearing the Admiral state this unequiocably brings me back to a time when the U.S. did not have to grovel to anyone else for anything. I wish we were still there.) Since the President can't be contacted, the Admiral has a time-limit and must do it on his own.
The cast is excellent. Walter Pidgeon is a suitably eccentric Nelson and Robert Sterling (from TV's Topper,) a good Captain Crane. (I do prefer Richard Basehart and David Hedison from the Voyage TV series though. Irwin Allen wanted Hedison to play Crane in the film but Hedison refused after working unhappily with Allen on "The Lost World." He eventually relented and accepted the role on the TV series due to his respect for Basehart and his buddy, Roger Moore, telling him he could make a great deal of money from a successful TV series. I've met Hedison a few times and had him autograph my 1964 Aurora model of the Seaview.)
The rest of the cast is fine. Joan Fontaine is aboard as a Psychiatrist testing the crew, Barbara Eden looking lovely as the Admiral's secretary, Michael Ansara, (Eden's then-husband,)as a rescued religious fanatic brought aboard the Seaview and Frankie Avalon as second-officer Chip Romano. (His character became Chip Morton on the TV series.) But the real prize is the great Peter Lorre as the Admiral's buddy and co-genius Commodore Emory. Lorre steals every scene he is in and you can occassionally spot a Lorre ad-lib, something he was known for.
But the real star of the film is the sleek, beautiful Seaview itself. It is my favorite vehicle from any sci-fi film (even more than the USS Enterprise.) Seeing that submarine on a large movie screen was very impressive. One can't quite imagine it when one has only seen this film on TV. The special effects were state of the art for 1961. There are a couple of monsters: a giant squid and a giant octopus that attacks the Seaview. Chances are if you've watched the TV show only you have seen some of the action scenes from this film as Irwin Allen was known for using and reusing footage. (The bulk of a first season Voyage episode "Turn Back the Clock" is from Allen's film "The Lost World," also starring Hedison.) The Voyage TV series ran four years and was very successful. It was the longest-running, non-anthology, Sci-fi series until eventually beaten by Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Unlike the first Voyage DVD this includes some extras including a commentary, a short interview with Barbara Eden, etc.) The extras caused me to get rid of my original Voyage DVD and purchase this one, I was not sorry.
In conclusion, if you want a serious sci-fi film with millions of dollars of CGI special effects, this is not for you. However if you want a fun and exciting film with state of the art special effects, circa. 1961, you could do a lot worse than this film.
Rating:  -
Irwin Allen was known as The Master of Disaster. Some of the Disaster movies credited to his name include The Poseidon Adventure, The Towering Inferno and Earthquake! The movies featured all-star casts and earned Academy award nominations for special effects. One of the first disaster movies for Irwin Allen, was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea! The movie featured an all-star cast as well. Walter Pidgeon was cast as Admiral Harriman Nelson, the creator and builder of the Seaview. Peter Lorre was cast as Commodore Lucious Emory, a brilliant physicist and friend to Admiral Nelson. Robert Sterling was cast as Commander Lee Crane, the Captain of the Seaview. Joan Fontaine was Dr. Hilliard, a noted psychiatrist who was on board Seaview for a research project and Barbara Eden who was cast as Lieutenant Kathy Connors, secretary to Admiral Nelson and engaged to Captain Crane.
As the movie opened, the Seaview was surfacing at the North Pole for a shakedown cruise under the polar ice. The Seaview, a super submarine built by Admiral Nelson, equipped with the latest in technology. One of the features on Seaview, was its amazing glass nose. During the cruise is when the Van Allen Belt of Radiation, exploded at the 300 mile level. When Seaview surfaced, Admiral Nelson & Captain Crane discover, the polar ice cap is melting. When contact was re-established, Admiral Nelson was ordered to the United Nations Building for an emergency scientific conference. His trip to New York City, would have to be made on Seaview. The thermal conditions have grounded all aircraft. During the trip, a survivor from Ice Flow Delta is rescued. The individual is Dr. Miguel Alvarez, portrayed by Barbara Eden's real life husband Michael Ansara. When Seaview arrives in New York, Both Admiral Nelson & Commodore Emory present their plan that would hopefully extinguish the Van Allen Belt. Admiral Nelson's plan calls for the use of a nuclear missile, fired from Seaview. As the nuclear warhead explodes, the hope is, the overdose of radiation will cause the radiation belt to explode outward into space and clear of Earth's magnetic field. The critics agrue, the reverse could happen. The belt could explode inward and incinerate the surface of the Earth. The plan they want to see approved, is allow the belt to burn itself out. Admiral Nelson was not going to abide by the UN decision.He wanted the present his idea to the President of the United States. Since his plan would involve the use of a nuclear weapon, Presidential authorization would be required for the firing of the missile from Seaview.
The rest of the movie, would be a fight for survival. As the Seaview travels from New York City to the Pacific Ocean to the firing position off of Guam, They encounter obstacles. The first, the thermal conditions knocks out the use of the Panama Canal. The travel time would be increased as Seaview travels around South America to enter the Pacific Ocean. One of the hopes Admiral Nelson has to make contact with Washington, is the Rio to London telephone cable. During the search for the cable, one of the obstacles they encounter is the Giant Squid. With contact with Washington now impossible, Admiral Nelson must act on his own. His decision is, to proceed to the firing position off of Guam, to fire the missile. During the trip, Admiral Nelson discovers, there's a saboteur on board Seaview. The first act, the ship's generator is rendered useless. Without the generator, Seaview's sonar is useless. Admiral Nelson can't afford to waste time and orders the ship to proceed on course. The next obstacle they encounter is the mine field. The mini-sub has to be used to free Seaview. However, the mini-sub and its two man crew is lost. At first, they thought the saboteur was Lieutenant Hodges, the ship's chief engineer. Lieutenant Hodges commits suicide for his act. As the movie progresses, this theory is proven incorrect. The death of Lieutenant Hodges was a cover-up to the real saboteurs. One of the other obstacles was the fire in Admiral Nelson's cabin. As the DC parties were putting out the fire, it was discovered, gas was in Seaview's air conditioning system, forcing the ship to surface to ventilate. While Seaview is on the surface, is when they encounter the derelict yacht. This is when they discover, Seaview is hunted ship. The world subs were on a seek & destroy mission to prevent the Seaview from firing the missile. Both Admiral Nelson & Captain Crane have to deal with another possible problem - a mutiny! Admiral Nelson allows those desiring to go home, to go home on the yacht. He provides food & water to give them a fighting chance. Another problem confronting Captain Crane, is Admiral Nelson's behavior. Naturally, Captain Crane is concerned for Seaview and his crew. The only option available to the Captain, would be to relieve Admiral Nelson of his command. Instead of placing him under arrest, the Admiral would be placed on sick list. This is when the Seaview encounters the other sub and the torpedo attack. The only option available, is to use Seaview's deep diving capability as they dive into the Marianas Trench. Not realizing Seaview's deep diving capability, the other sub follows until the sub implodes for exceeding its Crush Depth. As the Seaview returns to the surface, Admiral Nelson gives the order to prepare the missile for firing. He discovers, there's no burn out point for the Van Allen Belt. At this point in the movie, the real saboteurs are revealed. Dr. Hilliard & Dr. Alvarez are the saboteurs. They want to stop the firing of the missile at all costs. Dr. Hilliard is in the reactor room. During her sabotage attempt, she receives a fatal dose of radiation. She encounters Captain Crane. During a steam explosion, Dr. Hilliard falls into the shark tank and she's attacked. Dr. Alvarez is holding the ship at bay, with a bomb in the observation nose. After receiving a report of what's going on, the only option available to Captain Crane, was a manual firing of the missile. Now in his wet suit, Captain Crane proceeds to the open missile tube and attaches a magnetic primer to the missile. Seeing what Captain Crane is trying to accomplish on the sail camera, Admiral Nelson tries to buy him some time as the Captain sets the magnetic primer. When the ship's clock read 4:00, Alvarez was under the impression, the Admiral missed his firing point. A few seconds later, the magnetic primer activates, firing the missile. The backwash of the missile being fired, allows the crew to take Alvarez into custody. With the Seaview now on the surface, both Admiral Nelson & Commodore Emory witness their plan working as the Van Allen Belt is extinguished as it explodes outward into space. As the movie concludes, the Seaview is going home.
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea received good reviews and did well at the box office. A few years later, Irwin Allen recast the movie into a series and brought it to television. Richard Basehart would be Admiral Nelson and David Hedison would be Captain Crane.
If you are a fan of Irwin Allen's movies, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea - The Global Warming Edition, would make a nice addition to anyone's DVD library. The movie is one of Mr. Allen's early disaster movies that would eventually establish him as The Master of Disaster. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea is definitely Classic Irwin Allen!
Rating:  -
If you have seen all these types of films and enjoy the genre then why not try this one also. It has hardly any monsters accept for a giant squid and is mostly about scientists and submarine commanders running against the clock to launch a missile that will hopefully put out a fireball that has engulfed the Earth. Yeah it's daft, but aren't they all? That's why we enjoy them. This isn't exactly the best of the genre but it is watchable. The best part involves a shark heading for the dame in the water.
Rating: -
All the VOB dvds I've recieved are spectacular ! I'm anxiously awaiting my order for season 4. I've watched all the previous dvds I've gotten so far and love them !! thanks !
Television Show
Collectibles
Movie Searches
|
|
|
Search for posters,
art prints, photos, collectables, merchandise, toys, t-shirts
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TV Guide
Program listings, celebrity profiles, industry
gossip, movie reviews, puzzle.
More
Entertainment
& TV Magazines
This site is
Hosted
by Bluehost
Read
my Bluehost Review
Most Popular TV collectibles
|
|
Home
Articles
Images
Forum
Search
Shopping
TV Trivia
Watch TV
Wallpaper
