Product Details

• Actors: June Lockhart, Bill Mumy, Marta Kristen, Barbara Eden, Angela Cartwright
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: May 30, 2000
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305837465
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,936 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If you had a baking soda-powered Seaview submarine when you were a kid, then you're probably a fan of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, either the movie or the TV show, where that high-tech sub originated. And therefore you're probably a fan of that show's creator, producer-director Irwin Allen, the subject of this documentary. Allen is probably best known for starting the disaster film craze in the '70s with hit movies like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, where he earned the title of "Master of Disaster." But perhaps he's best loved for the string of TV series he made in the '60s: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Lost in Space, The Time Tunnel, and the bizarre Land of the Giants. The documentary glosses over Allen's film career, rightly spending more time on the TV shows, revealing Allen's penchant for monster costumes and using stock footage. We find out that Allen often filmed some sequences for black-and-white shows in color so he could use them later as stock footage. Also, when he needed to shoot a sequence that was supposed to be inside a whale, he saved a fortune by using leftover sets from Fantastic Voyage. The format of the documentary is corny, hosted by Bill Mumy and June Lockhart, along with "The Robot," all from Lost in Space, all hamming it up. But there is such a wealth of behind-the-scenes footage that any fan of Allen's TV shows will want to own this disc. Especially noteworthy is a bonus 55-minute featurette of series proposals, including lengthy footage of two shows that didn't make it, City Beneath the Sea and The Man from the 25th Century. That's worth the price of the disc. --Jim Gay

Product Description

An all-star tribute to the creator of "Lost In Space" and other sci-fi classics! The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen is the definitive documentary on Irwin Allen, Hollywood's famous "master of disaster" and creator of some of the most successful movies and television series of all time. This tribute to the prolific producer/director contains 100 minutes of classic scenes, never-before-seen outtakes, bloopers and behind-the-scenes glimpses from favorites like "Lost In Space," "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "The Time Tunnel," "Land of the Giants," The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno! So put on your space suit and climb aboard the Jupiter 2 for this once-in-a-lifetime look at motion picture and television history hosted by Bill Mumy and June Lockhart.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great Retrospective, January 15, 2004

By 

Donald J. Wurzelbacher (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (DVD)

Irwin Allen in the 1960s was the master of scifi, fantasy and disaster. He was known to think big on a tight budget. This DVD gives a true perspective of the works of Irwin Allen. I am also a fan of "Lost in Space", and so having Billy Mumy and June Lockhardt narrate the special was a wonderful treat. It was also fun to watch the robot make an appearance (even though his right arm needed repair) and a cameo appearance by the late, great Jonathan Harris.
Although the special was meant to show Irwin's greatest accomplishments, the only small critical point I would personally make is that the special did not truly tell of the faults of some of these shows and films. But that did not take away from the true imagination that Irwin Allen truly had.
I was not disappointed with this 90 minute DVD. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", "Lost in Space", "Time Tunnel", "Land of the Giants", "The Poseidon Adventure", "Towering Inferno" and the other films Irwin has produced and directed. I wish it were longer. I wish there were even more interviews and behind the scenes clips.
If you enjoy these films and shows, I can't imagine that you would not enjoy this DVD. Thanks, Mr. Allen, for your contribution to the entertainment field. You have paved the way for many other science fiction hit series and films. He did what he could with what he had in the 60s and 70s.
This DVD is a real treat and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reminiscing about the earlier SCI FI dramas.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, May 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen (DVD)

This DVD edition of "The Fantasy Worls od Irwin Allen" blew me away! I bought a VHS copy of the program after seeing it on the Sci-Fi Channel back in '95. It was a great, campy tribute to a great, campy producer. June Lockhart and Billy Mumy were fine choices as hosts. The Robot from "Lost in Space" (Irwin's best known TV series) was fun, too. (I don't want to ruin the surprise ending.) The clips, editing, interviews are great - especially the segments on Irwin's disaster films, "The Poseidon Adventure" and "The Towering Inferno." All in all, this is a great program if you like TV Sci-Fi (and love "Lost in Space"). The real news here is THE BONUS MATERIALS! Foxstar Productions and Image entertainment really went all out. There are featurettes galore from "The Towering Inferno", "Man From the 25th Century", "City Beneath the Sea" and "Land of the Giants" (another all-time favorite). Again... WOW!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Treasure" for Baby Boomers, April 24, 2003

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fantasy Worlds of Irwin Allen, The [VHS] (VHS Tape)

As a 60's teen, my sister and I had an ongoing debate over which was better, "Lost in Space" or "Star Trek". While I preferred the juvenile adventure of the former (with the exception of the awful second season), she was in the corner of Roddenberry's more "adult" baby. Both would last just three seasons, although "Trek" would prove to be a "cash cow" for Paramount through its later movie and television reincarnations.

That withstanding, this video documents, as others have stated, the career of "Space" creator/producer Irwin Allen with footage covering his four "classic" series, three successful theatrical films ("Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "The Poseidon Adventure", and "The Towering Inferno") and the truly "disastrous" later productions "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure", "The Swarm" and the laughable "When Time Ran Out".

Fortunately, fond memories of the television shows, as recalled by cast members, and the cool effects (for the time) make this a keeper.

I can even forgive "The Great Vegetable Rebellion"!

My sis may have thought the Enterprise was cool, but I'll take the Seaview with its glass dome and shark fins any day.