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Mysterious Island (Widescreen)
 
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Mysterious Island (Widescreen) (1961)

Starring: Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood Director: Cy Endfield, Richard Schickel Rating: Unrated Format: DVD
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)

List Price: $14.94
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Mysterious Island (Widescreen) + Journey to the Center of the Earth + The Time Machine
Total List Price: $49.90
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  • This item: Mysterious Island (Widescreen) DVD ~ Michael Craig

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  • Journey to the Center of the Earth DVD ~ James Mason

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81% buy the item featured on this page:
Mysterious Island (Widescreen) 4.2 out of 5 stars (54)
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Editorial Reviews

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Jules Verne's classic adventure is perfectly matched with Ray Harryhausen's timeless movie magic in Mysterious Island. Based on Verne's sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, this rousing Civil War-era fantasy begins when a band of Union war prisoners (and one Confederate straggler) escape in a hot-air balloon, which crash-lands on the titular island of mystery. Verne's novel doesn't include any gigantic creatures, but Harryhausen's version--under the capable direction of genre specialist Cy Endfield--features giant oysters, bees, a prehistoric Phororhacos (a giant chickenlike bird!), an undersea cephalopod, a giant crab, and enough danger to keep its resourceful ensemble on constant alert. Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom, ably filling James Mason's shoes) is a third-act hero, pursuing an ill-fated dream to save humanity from hunger and war. The action may be too intense for younger viewers, but Endfield's pacing and Harryhausen's stop-motion mastery make Mysterious Island a wondrous precursor to Harryhausen's follow-up classic, Jason and the Argonauts. --Jeff Shannon


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Movie DVD

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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Rip roaring adventure, December 11, 2003
Mysterious Island was always a favorite Harryhausen film of mine as a kid. The screenplay and direction (like those for The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Jason and The Argonauts)is top notch. Director Cy Endfield has a solid cast and the pacing along with Bernard Herrmann's classic score creates an eerie and, well, mysterious feeling for most of the movie. The stand out in the cast is, of course, the marvelous and under rated Herbert Lom as Captain Nemo. If you haven't seen the film, I'd rather not spoil the third act of the film for you so won't go into too much detail.

The Civil War is tearing America apart. A small group of Union soldiers and a reporter escape a military prison during the seige of Richmond, Virginia. They also have a There's a scouting balloon just outside the prison walls. As the attack rages, the prisoners escape in the balloon. They are washed up ashore on an uncharted island with a brewing volcano.

It's not ordinary island (no surprise)though as they discover a giant crab and later, giant bees, chickens and other creatures. They're joined in their Robinson Crusoe adventure by a couple of women who are later washed ashore from a shipwreck. They soon discover the origin of the giant beasts and some nasty news about the volcano as well.

The cast gives a good performance. Gary Merrill (best known for All About Eve and former husband of Betty Davis) and Michael Callan are the most recognizable faces. Callan was a regular in a number of movies and television shows as a supporting actor. Joan Greenwood also gives a convincing performance as well. Still, the stand out here is the brooding performance as Herbert Lom. Lom always managed to raise the bar in any film he appeared in.

The screenplay (for those that are interested)isn't all that faithful to Verne's novel. The basic premise is drawn from his novel.

The transfer is pretty good. I doubt with the multiple exposures used as part of the visual effects that the film could look much better than this. Given the use of traveling mattes, matte paintings and other optical effects the image is occasionally grainy and indistinct. There are also some minor issues with digital grain that crop up on occasion. This is usually due to compression issues. It's not a big distraction though and you probably won't notice it all that much in most cases.

There's also some analog artifacts as well but these are mostly in the war sequence at the beginning which were clearly drawn from stock footage in the Columbia library (much as Jason used stock footage for the attack at the beginning and Sinbad for the longshot of the ship passing in the fog. In the latter film its pretty clear as the crew can be seen wearing 18 century sailor garb if one looks carefully).

As it has been noted in previous reviews the soundtrack is in mono and sounds a bit flat. My guess is that, perhaps, Columbia used a different master for the video version of Mysterious Island or just compressed the heck out of it and boosted the bass to make it sound acceptable for video. The sound is quite good but Herrmann's score is in mono here. It would be nice if Columbia could go back to the original orchestral masters to remix and master this but I'm not sure if the original elements are event available.

The extras are quite nice. The Making of Mysterious Island is quite informative as is the vintage "This is Dynamation" featurette included. The photo gallery and theatrical trailers are an improvement over previously issued Harryhausen DVDs. While this isn't quite up to the quality of, say, the Criterion Jason and The Argonauts laserdisc released a decade ago, it's an improvement over many of the vintage films being dumped onto the market for DVD.

All told this is a pretty good (although not perfect) package from Columbia and a noble effort to release vintage films with extras on DVD.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars One of Harryhausen's BEST!!!, November 2, 2002
By A Customer
After "JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS", this has always been one of my favorite pictures by special effects guru RAY HARRYHAUSEN. The story is great, the monsters (especially the giant crab) look fantastic and HERBERT LOM is wonderful as CAPTAIN NEMO ("Contact with my species has always disappointed me"). The picture and sound on the DVD is most pleasing. My only complaint (and its a minor one), is I'm tired of seeing the hour long special "THE HARRYHAUSEN CHRONICLES" as a bonus feature. I think its on every Harryhausen disc except "JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS". Its a nice feature (don't get me wrong) but does it have to be on EVERY DISC? But the movie is what's most important and this is a very enjoyable film given a nice presentation on this DVD. Buy it and enjoy!!!
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars JULES VERNES' CLASSIC TALE...., November 20, 2002
Entertaining fantasy-adventure based on Jules Vernes' story about escapees from a Civil War prison who hijack a hot air observation balloon during a thunderstorm and get blown off course. They crash land on a strange island and discover it's inhabited by giant creatures. They are joined by two female survivors of a British ship wreck and forge together for survival. They battle a giant crab, a giant bird and a giant honeybee before they encounter the islands' oddest inhabitant---the infamous Capt.Nemo who has invented a submarine and learned to move about underwater with special equipment fashioned from giant sea shells. They are soon set upon by pirates whom Nemo dispatches when he sinks their ship. Nemo agrees to help them escape before a huge local volcano erupts. Great score by Bernard Herrmann and imaginatively filmed with a spirited cast. Only problem is the DVD transfer---it's not very good. Kind of a disappointment since this is a very colorful and stylish film. But since this is the best we can do for now I'll have to recommend it for lovers of escapist fare and Ray Harryhausen fans. The creatures are wonderful and the individual set pieces involving them are great. There's a marvelous underwater encounter with a giant tentacled shell creature near the end of the film that's mostly done in silence to great effect. The film is grand entertainment even if it's not the best quality DVD it should be.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious Island Movie Reveiw
This movie is a must see for people who like old Sci-Fi movies. Very well put together for the technology of this era.
Published 1 month ago by W. Barnett

3.0 out of 5 stars Rainy Day Fare
I won't say this is the best old sci-fi adventure film I own and have watched, although it's not the absolute worst either. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Moe&Company

4.0 out of 5 stars So so DVD
I bought this DVD to replace my old VHS copy. Since I first saw it I have always loved this film for it's sense of adventure and fantasy. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Laurence G. Dorning

2.0 out of 5 stars WIDESCREEN WARNING...
Warning before you buy!! This particular "Widescreen" version appears to be nothing more than 4:3 "Zoomed" (not the best term I agree) to 16:9, which results , for me anyway, in a... Read more
Published 3 months ago by A. M. Smith

4.0 out of 5 stars A pat on the back for the seller
The physical quality of the product was as advertised. Packing and
shipping of the DVD was well done. Read more
Published 5 months ago by George Falcon

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious Island
Great storyline, awsome music, survivors, monsters, and a volcano. What more can this classic adventure need? Great for kids and adults alike.
Published 5 months ago by Frances Pipkin

3.0 out of 5 stars Harryhausen's Most Enjoyable Film
Why? Because for the only time in the Harryhausen canon, the CHARACTERS in the film are solidly written, directed and acted. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Lawrence Rapchak

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Seller
Classic Harryhausen. Still has a charm to it compared to today's high end special effects films. Another great one is "First Men In The Moon".
Published 8 months ago by T. Strong

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious Island
Great action/fantasy adventure story written by Jules Verne. Several people are standed on an Island that has a gaint bird, crab, bees, clams and vegetation. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Linda F. Rimestad

2.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery of the Widescreen Harryhausen Films
Counterfit widescreen is nothing short of marketting vandalism. All of the Ray Harryhausen films exept First Men In The Moon were shot on standerd 35mm film. Read more
Published 10 months ago by John P. Fischner

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