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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 11:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

By gum, this thread doesn't have nearly enough pictures of the Nautilus!! So, I'll just add a few more.








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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Oct 18, 2020 1:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 06, 2020 2:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Disney's Nautilus remains a superb design to this day.

I thought that speech that Jeff Daniels delivers on HBO's "The Newsroom" was absolutely awesome!

In fact, I would say that TN was another fantastic drama by the always impressive Aaron Sorkin.

He remains one of my all-time favorite writers.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Nov 21, 2021 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Today I realized that a discussion in the Journey to the Center of the Earth thread about who could have played Captain Nemo other than James Mason really ought to have a copy of the comment below placed in this thread as well.

So, here it is! Cool

Here's the text and the pictures from the comment I re-posted.
________________________________

Tyrone Power was the proper age in 1954, and I think he had just the right sort of inner anger and calm intelligence to portray Nemo!

I made the picture at the bottom using these next two pictures to illustrate my point.








Here's the result. What do you think? Very Happy





Painting the beard onto Tyrone and putting the gray in his hair was fun. I love his stern and aloof expression. Very Happy



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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production. Very Happy
________________________________

~ Richard Fleischer was surprised at being considered for the director's chair for this film, as he was the son of Disney's biggest competitor, Max Fleischer. He approached Walt Disney to inquire if Disney knew who he was. Disney told him that he was well aware of who he was and hired him because he thought he was the best man for the job.

Richard Fleischer also asked his father if he minded having his son working for his rival but Max Fleischer made no objection and even asked Richard to tell Disney that he thought he had made an excellent choice for his director!


Note from me: This is another example of how different Walt Dinsey was than most Hollywood moguls.

~ When the Nautilus rams a ship and we see how it sinks down through the water, some of the bubble-streams are animated to hide the wires that support the ship-model.

Note from me: Clever! I'll have to watch for this next time I enjoy my Blu-ray of this movie.

~ Until the late 1960s, many of the sets representing the interior of the Nautilus were used as an attraction at Disneyland. This included the chart room, the salon, with organ, and one of the observation windows.

The squid from the movie was fastened over the observation window and was animated so that the beak would emerge, snap several times, and then retract. When the building housing the "20,000 Leagues" display was needed for a newer attraction, the sets were removed and many were destroyed.


Note from me: My family went to Disneyland around 1960, but I sure don't remember seeing THAT! It sounds amazing.

~ Kirk Douglas was taught how to play the tenor guitar by Harper Goff. In supplemental material on the DVD it was revealed that he learned quickly and invented the "throw the instrument and pull it back" trick used in the "Whale Of A Tale" sequence.

Douglas was also an enthusiastic player of the tenor (four string) banjo and was known for entertaining at Hollywood parties. One of his most popular renditions at these events was Whale Of A Tale.


Note from me: Kirk learning to play the guitar . . . from Harper Goff? What did Kirk teach Goff in return? Graphic design?

Naaaaw . . . Rolling Eyes

~ During the underwater shooting of the Treasure Chest scene, an unscripted nurse shark approached Ned, Conseil and the camera crew. All underwater personnel, as seen in Disney's Wonderful World of Color Sunday Night television episode highlighting the upcoming film, attempted to warn the shark off, but the interruption was considered so exciting that portions were left in the final film.

Note from me: The only known example of a shark successfully breaking into show business with an "unscripted" audition. Very Happy

~ The skiff was made of wood, painted to look like metal, and had to be weighted with sandbags to look heavy in the water. When towing it to the cannibals' island, the crew took the sandbags out to make their job easier, and they forgot to put them back in.

When filming the scene where Ned and Conseil get in the boat to row away from the cannibals, Kirk Douglas expected the boat to be low in the water. He didn't lower the oars far enough to catch the water, and when he started to row, he fell on his back.

Director Richard Fleischer thought the shot was so funny he left it in the film. When Ned starts to row, he clearly tips back, and his legs shoot up in the air.


Note from me: I've always thought that Kirk's problem with the oars was his way of showing how frightened he was supposed to be.

~ One of the models of the Nautilus created by Harper Goff was a "squeezed" version which could be filmed with a standard lens and still look normal when projected in CinemaScope.

Note from me: Hey, the Lucasfilm crew did this with the matte painting of the Death Star; an oval shape instead of a circle, so that when it was filmed for widescreen, it became round. Very Happy

~ The fictional Disney Nautilus actually exists as a real submarine, and it was built by a fan!

Pat Regan's Nautilus Minisub was the World's first "real" Disney Nautilus submarine (manned, free-roving, pressure hull-type submersible boat) in any scale: designed and handcrafted in steel by one man working alone in a modest backyard shop in California between 1986 and 1991; acknowledged in writing by Corporate Disney as a visually accurate depiction of the Disney Nautilus in 1992.

In 1993, Regan moved to Hawaii where he became prolific in recreating and diving Disney's unique underwater technologies, including the 20,000 Leagues diving apparatus. The submarine is presently being refurbished for continued operations in the Pacific.


Note from me: The short video below is interesting, despite being a 3rd or 4th generation copy of a VHS tape, with a somewhat unpleasant musical soundtrack.

Wow, this RC model is certainly bigger than the usual "remote controlled toy boat"!
Shocked

_DISNEY NAUTILUS Pat Regan NAUTILUS MINISUB


__________


~ A league is considered to be 3 nautical miles at sea (a nautical mile is about 1.15 miles). Therefore if they traveled 20,000 leagues they would have traveled about 68,350 miles, enough to circle the Earth almost two and one half times.

Note from me: Obviously the movie doesn't portray a voyage that long, but the novel (which i love) includes trips down to Antarctica and many other destinations — and of course the novel isn't supposed to be a complete description of the Nautilus's full operating history.

~ The interiors of the Nautilus were designed by Roland E. Hill Sr., who subsequently designed the Disneyland "Sleeping Beauty's Castle."

Note from me: Silly me, I sort of assume that Harper Goff did the interiors, too. But I've always been very impressed with the interior and the exterior, so I'm glad i now know who to thank for those great designs inside the sub. Very Happy

~ Walt Disney originally considered making this film as an animated feature; the detailed pre-production sketches by artist Harper Goff, as well as Goff's enthusiastic suggestion that it be done as live action feature, convinced him otherwise.

Note from me: Here's another reason for us to be grateful to that fine artist, by Goff! (I mean, by God . . . Embarassed)

~ This was Walt Disney's first feature using the new CinemaScope process, as well as one of the first productions outside of 20th Century-Fox use that anamorphic wide screen process.

At the time, Bausch & Lomb had not been able to manufacture enough anamorphic lenses to meet the demand, so the Disney studios needed to lease the single available CinemaScope lens from 20th Century-Fox.

This prevented multiple units from shooting at the same time, which not only contributed to the lengthy production schedule, but also — since Disney wanted the best possible value for the CinemaScope lens rental — explains the almost complete absence of close-up shots in the movie.


Note from me: Strange to think that these lenses were so rare and hard to create that Fox had to lease theirs to Disney.

As for close-ups, 1950s Fox CinemaScope movies also tended to avoid closeups for the same reason as Disney. A closeup in widescreen doesn't have the same effect on the audience as one in 4:3, because the actors face isn't framed by the borders of the screen, which give it a more dramatic feel.

~ In the supplemental material on the DVD mention is made that there was great camaraderie between most of the actors with the exception of Paul Lukas. Mr. Lukas held himself aloof seeming to consider himself too sophisticated to mingle. It may have also been that, because of his age, he was having trouble remembering his lines and was embarrassed.

Note from me: I must admit, I've never been very impressed with Lucas in this movie. Surrounded by dynamic actors who demonstrate the intelligence and passion of their characters, Lucas seems out of place and miscast. Sad

~ Charles Boyer was originally considered for the role of Professor Arronax. He had to turn down the role due to prior commitments.

Note from me: By gum, I think Mr. Boyer might have been pretty good.

[color=darkblue]~ Rura Penthe is also the name of the Klingon prison planet in the Star Trek universe, first seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).


Note from me: Hey, I didn't know that! Nice touch. Very Happy

~ In 1984, Dino De Laurentiis took out a full page ad in Variety announcing a remake. George MacDonald Fraser was hired to adapt the screenplay, and Richard Lester was approached to direct. However due to a string of flops, De Laurentiis was unable to find funding.

Note from me: I'm bettin' this remake would have been a flop, too.

~ Her role as one of Ned's female companions was the feature film debut of Laurie Mitchell.

Note from me: Just why, you might be wondering, do we not recognize the lovely Miss Mitchell, who starred in Queen of Outer Space.

Here's why.






~ This film has only two women appearing, both in the beginning. Another submarine film, The Hunt for Red October (1990), also stars only two women, both at the beginning (though the flight attendant reprises at the end).

Note from me: Ditto for Ice Station Zebra. No gals. Sad

~ Actors portraying the cannibals chasing Ned Land painted humorous messages on their foreheads (not legible on-screen). In particular, one actor wrote "Eat at Joe's" while another actor behind him wrote "I ate Joe".

Note from me: If you have to get eaten by cannibals, it helps if they have a good sense of humor. If cannibals ever eat me, I'll bet they'll fight to see who gets my "funny bone"! Laughing

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Morbius
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Jet Nautilus 4 ft RC model made and developed by me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcjVsPiwyh8

https://patents.justia.com/inventor/tom-yourk?fbclid=IwAR3yw_Zl98AQn8U0n_jpEEIosCSG1XafzTrtye9_FFsGU3ruvLPIDFdQjW0
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Pow
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Years later after leasing that Cinemascope lens from 20th Century-Fox, the Disney Company bought 20th Century-Fox.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 7:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Morbius wrote:
The Jet Nautilus 4 ft RC model, made and developed by me.

Holy Mackerel, Tom! That's amazing! Thanks for sharing that info (and that video) with us! Cool
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~ The Space Children (1958)
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

From author Bill Warren.

Walt Disney knew that George Pal was trying to convince Paramount Pictures to adapt to film the classic Jules Verne novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Disney called Pal, and told the surprised producer that he (WD) wouldn't make Leagues if Pal was going to. Pal realized Paramount was not about to back him in what was certainly going to be a very expensive project, so he relinquished the title to Disney.

Sidebar: Walt & George handled this like gentlemen. They showed one another respect, not sure how something like this would play out between two producers in this day and age.

For a director, Disney hired Richard Fleischer, a fact that stunned the young director. Richard was the son of Max Fleischer, the only man who had ever been a serious rival to Disney in the field of animation, and they were well known to be enemies.

Richard told Disney that he still felt it proper that he seek approval from his father before proceeding with the Disney project. Max not only approved, but his son's making the picture for Max's old rival ended their enmity, and until Max's death, whenever Disney visited New York he would meet with the elder Fleischer for lunch.

Sidebar: In a perfect world we would have had the Fleischer Brothers Studio as big and successful and long running as the Disney Studio. There should have been room for both.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I've been all the way through The West Wing twice1!

By God, now THERE'S an example of man being "presidential' — the polar opposite of a certain embarrassing former POTUS who continues to embarrass this nation with his behavior. Rolling Eyes

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

More from Bill Warren.

Kirk Douglas felt his previous films had been typing him in ways he didn't like, and he wanted the part of Ned Land to show he could do lightweight roles.

The direction of Peter Lorre's career was changed almost completely by this film. Until then, he had played in mostly somber melodramas and mysteries. After 20,000 Leagues, he was known as a character comedian, broadening the range of the roles he could handle. (Although Lorre always could have handled almost any role he was given.)

The script by Earl Felton, on which director Richard Fleischer also worked, bears only a superficial resemblance to the Jules Verne original novel, but the resulting movie was so impressive that its storyline has replaced Verne's own in the minds of most people.

In almost every way, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a splendid adventure film, and can be counted among the few classics of the science fiction movie genre. The movie looks nothing less than magnificent.

Harper Goff's superb design for the Nautilus looks at once futuristic and appropriately 19th-century. The matte paintings (by Peter Ellenshaw), the miniature work, the traveling mattes, the giant squid---all are outstanding achievements, and it's fully justified that the film won the art direction and special effects Academy Awards.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was a resounding financial success, and validated Jules Verne as big-budget story material.

Until 20,000 Leagues, Disney's films had been released through RKO, but Disney wasn't happy with the arrangement, possibly because of difficulties in dealing with Howard Hughes, then head of RKO. Eventually Disney made a decision with serious and beneficial consequences: he established Buena Vista, his own distribution company.

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Maurice
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 12:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
~ Rura Penthe is also the name of the Klingon prison planet in the Star Trek universe, first seen in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991).

Note from me: Hey, I didn't know that! Nice touch. Very Happy

It's Rorapandi. The dialog in the film is:

“The prison camp of Rorapandi, the white man’s grave.”
“I thought it had been abolished.”
“Nothing is abolished that turns a profit to that hated nation.”

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 1:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________________________________

Ah-ha! Well, in this case the typo isn't my fault. I copied and pasted the item from IMDb. Very Happy

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 24, 2022 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bill Warren.

The more adventuresome and thrilling aspects of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea have never been attempted by Disney and his successors again. In fact, in 1979, what looked as if it might be another new direction for Disney, The Black Hole, turned out instead to be a simple-minded variation on none other than 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Sidebar: Bill was correct in his observation at that time. Nowadays, Disney produces all sorts of adult, sophisticated films. But when Warren first wrote this he was on the money.

I had always wondered why Walt Disney never followed up his big success with 20,000 Leagues with similar epic SF fare?

Instead, he seemed to fall into making Disney movies that were strictly family affairs. Any SF he ever did was of a comedic nature like The Absent Minded Professor.

This amazed me coming from the man who was such a visionary, someone who created Tomorrowland not only as a part of his famous Disneyland Park, but who had segments of his television series focused upon the future and what it might look like.

Perhaps the budget required for 20,000 Leagues made Walt hesitate about pursuing future SF films on that scale?

In fairness to Walt's son-in-law Ron Miller who produced The Black Hole, I believe that was his honest attempt to prove that Disney films aren't just going to be only family oriented. Miller realized that the Disney brand had to expand in order to draw in teenagers and adults. TBH was the studios showing that it was branching out into more sophisticated and darker material.The budget for TBH, $40,000,000, was an enormous sum for any film at any studio at that time. They really were putting their money where their mouth was.

The tragedy of TBH was that it was saddled with an unremarkable script. But you have to give Ron a big A for effort.

His being aware that the company needed to appeal to older audiences was absolutely correct and he cannot be faulted for that.

It was simply a case of not having an exciting and compelling and original story to tell.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

More Bill Warren.

Even though the film is basically very good, there are two major defects to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. One is that there is no central character, no hero, and the other is an overriding tone of vulgarity to the comedy sequences.

Captain Nemo, despit being the most important character in the story, certainly is not the central character; he isn't on screen very much. By the end of the film, Nemo is still the brooding, tragic, enigmatic figure he was at the beginning; we still know very little about him. He says that he was cast into prison, but we never know why. To try to claim his scientific genius for the purposes of warfare?

Mason is excellent as Nemo. He gives the impression of deep thoughts below the dark surface, and is by a very great measure the most complicated, believable and interesting character in any Disney film. Nemo is almost a villain, almost a hero.

Kirk Douglas, a good actor, is hammy in an unfortunate role. In the original book, Ned Land is almost an enigmatic a character as Nemo.
In the script by Earl Felton, however, Ned Land becomes an obnoxious, unlikable blowhard. He is a vulgar boor. At the time the film was made, vulgarity was often used to indicate common sense. He's argumentative, he endangers his fellow prisoners by foolhardy escape attempts.

It's a lively enough performance, but Douglas is affected, artificial, and vaudevillian. It may be his worst screen performance, and it should have been his best. My dislike of his performance is intellectual, not emotional.

His big song, A Whale of a Tale, is amusing and Douglas sings it with gusto, but the song is about as appropriate to 1868 shipping as an outboard motor. It's definitely an early fifties novelty song.

Paul Lukas is almost tiresomely drab as Professor Pierre Arronax. Apparently all he had to do was be there, and that he is. He doesn't do anything else than simply exist. Peter Lorre fares well in the film, but is hampered by a script which insists that he be weak and whiny through most of the picture, but he brings things off well nonetheless.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Wow, what a great post, Pow! Very Happy

If the Thursday chat wasn't happening in just 10 minutes (and I hope you'll be there!) I'd make a proper reply to it. But that will have to wait.

I'll say this quickly: I agree in part with what Bill Warren said, but I disagree in each parts!

I'll explain that in detail tomorrow. Wink

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