JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
released 18 september 1959 | U | blu-ray & dVd (dual format) Director Henry levin Cast James mason, pat boone, arlene dahl, Gertrude the duck
The hollow Earth is one of the more enduring itches in the human imagination, powering everything from Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Pellucidar novels to Nazi occultism.
This Cinemascope blockbuster adapts Jules Verne’s 1864 novel, mining the same strain of Victorian high adventure that made 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea a hit. It even steals that film’s star, James Mason, cast here as Sir Oliver Lindenbrook, a geology professor determined to locate the secret entrance to the planet’s interior.
It’s a robust, good-hearted exploration yarn, squarely aimed at the family audience (though the bloody demise of a comedy duck sidekick strikes a weirdly dark note). Maybe there’s more incident than drama, but ultimately it’s all about the spectacle, the film’s succession of luminous soundstage fantasies – crystal caves, towering toadstools – more remarkable than ever in this new 4K restoration.
Extras Commentary with Diane Baker (Jenny) and film historians Steven C Smith and Nick Redman; an interview with Kim Newman; a featurette on the film’s restoration; original trailer; isolated music and effects track; a booklet. Nick Setchfield