ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

This is an enjoyable adventure film from Disney, but it doesn't really measure up 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Journey to the Center of the Earth.

I can't quite put my finger on why it fell short of my expectations when I got it from Netflix a few years ago, but I liked it well enough to buy the DVD.


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It certainly has it moments, like the first "reveal" of the airship Hyperion when its lively little French inventor presents it to our stalwart "Professor Challenger" type scientists.





The dawn launch is beautiful, and it sets the right tone for an adventure which employs such a stately way to travel.





Along the way we get a scene which is both exciting and humorous, when the French airship designer has to do an inflight repair that requires the skills of a trapeze artist!

It's a funny moment in the movie.





When the explorers reach the North Pole, the majestic maneuvers among the icebergs treat us to some impressive special effects.





I love airships almost as much as submarines. Airships and submarines a bit like spacecraft. They cruise serenely through their own medium, with no need for wings to remain suspended. Airplanes use wings to fight gravity . . . and without the wings, gravity wins!

As the poster below suggests, this movie does something unfortunate to the wonderful airship. The magnificent machine which carries our heroes on a great adventure is eventually treated badly, and it isn't brought back in good condition.

This has often happened in other movies, and I always hate it. How many times have we seen the Enterprise destroyed over the years? Filmmakers don't seem to think that an appealing and imaginative vehicle deserves the same respect and tender lovin' care the lovely heroine of any story does!


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The plot of this enjoyable movie seems to work harder and harder to get the audience excited, but somehow the excitement peaks early and levels off, never reaching the heights we hoped for.

Still, if you know not to expect too much, you'll enjoy it for what it is. Here's the trailer. (The picture quality is disappointing, I'm sorry to say.)


______ The Island at the Top of the World (trailer)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

[Bud Brewster]

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You're right! The statement needed rethinking.

I revised the paragraph. How does it sound now?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

[Custer]

Some great screenshots, though it's strange how small or blurred most of the English-language posters are online. This one seems relatively sharp:



As I mentioned in the thread over at SFMB, the cast seems a little bit un-starry, except for the ever-reliable Donald Sinden. And maybe he is not that well-known outside Britain, come to think of it... Probably the other actors are well-known in their own home countries.

[Krel]

David Hartman was a pretty popular actor at the time, he later quit acting to do a network morning show.

I haven't seen the movie since it came out, so I don't remember much, except for the beautiful Hyperion airship. I remember that in the theater, there was a small inflatable Hyperion above the concession stand. Oh, how I wanted that airship.

After the movie came out, I bought the novel the movie was based on. The only thing I remember, is that the story took place in modern day.

David.

[scotpens]

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER!
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I vaguely remember this picture as one of those lost world/lost civilization-type adventures. The explorers discover a tribe of Vikings who've been isolated from the world for 1000 years -- and who speak authentic Old Norse!

(I'll take the movie's word that they speak Old Norse. I wouldn't know Old Norse from Klingon.)

[Bud Brewster]

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While working on the MULTI-BOARD ALPHABETICAL INDEX I discover that All Sci-Fi did NOT have a thread for this movie!

I was aghast!

I immediately dropped everything and went to work creating one. I'm very glad I did so, because in the midst of a recent lull in ASF activity, this thread has earned its keep.

If you gentlemen are interested in seeing what other people on various message boards are saying about this movie, I strongly recommend that you use this new and unique feature of All Sci-Fi to roam around the web and see what's cookin' on the boards listed below!

And I hope somebody will please tell me that the weeks of work I'm putting into this project are not being wasted on folks who won't bother to explore the wonderful possibilities it offers!

Please?
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* The Island at the Top of the World (1974)

The Island at the Top of the World (1974) @ SFMB

The Island at the Top of the World (1974) @ All Sci-Fi

Disney's Hyperion Airship @ Nautilus Submarine

The Island at the Top of the World (1974) @ Alien Soup

The Island At The Top of The World @ CHFB
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

IATTOTW is a wonderful movie, Bud. Enjoyed it when I saw it when it first came out in the theaters years ago. Got the dvd.

I am intrigued by airships too. Fun looking up the histories of them. Been to several sites showing concepts for airships today that they are planning. The configurations look wildly futuristic.

This movie was a visual feast for the eyes. One of my favorite scenes was the boulder that the Vikings roll down the hill & into the depressions hole.

It then proceeds to drop into an underground ice cavern with gigantic icicles crashing down all around the cave.

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production,
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~ A replica of the Hyperion airship from the movie was planned for the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California in an unrealized section called Discovery Bay.

The original plan was to have the blimp fly out from a replica from this film of Captain Brieux (Jacques Marin)'s hangar. Designs for this attraction were adapted for use in the Discoveryland section at the Disneyland Resort Paris theme park where a replica of the film's French dirigible is an attraction.

Note from me: Here's a related trivia item about the replica.

~ The French Hyperion blimp from the film was recreated for the Disneyland Resort Paris theme park in its Discoveryland section. During the early 1990s, it was considered the largest ever prop in any Disney theme park across the world.

Note from me: Even more impressive than the Hyperion (but less scientifically accurate because of the colossal weight they carried with ridiculous ease) are the two airships — supposedly designed by Leonardo Da Vinci in the 2011 version of The Three Musketeers.

The air bags of both ships have similar shapes as the Hyperion's, with a straight upper side and a curved lower side. But instead of a regular gondola, the airships used huge 16th century sailing ships — complete with cannons to attack their foes, and sails for locomotion!





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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Denny Miller played one of the hulking Viking guards in this movie.

Denny had a active television career, so I was kinda surprised he had such a small role with no dialogue in the movie.

He played scout Duke Shannon on the TV western "Wagon Train" for a few seasons.

He played Tarzan---the only blonde one---in a TV movie.

Denny showed up on a ton of TV shows such as "Mission: Impossible,'' "The High Chaparral," "The Streets of San Francisco," "The Fugitive," to name but a few and he always did a fine job whether he was playing a good guy or a heavy.

Always saddens me to see a good performer who has substantial credits to their name reduced to such minimal parts.

[Krel]

Wasn't he also the Jungle Man in an episode of "Gilligan's Island"? He had a real likeable image on screen.

You don't know if originally his part was much larger, and for some reason got cut down. There are actors and actresses who had large parts in movies, and ended up with most, or all of their scenes on the cutting room floor.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

[Pow]

Yes David, that was Denny on that episode of Gilligan's Island.

Denny was dedicated to health and exercise and was a weightlifter. Tragically he would die of ALS.

Fantastic idea there Bud regarding all the movie scenes that ended up on the editing room floor being put together and sold to dedicated film devotees.

[Krel]