20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

"20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" is, IMHO, one of the greatest Science Fantasy's ever brought to the silver screen, and the one true unquestionable masterpiece from the "House of Mouse!" Being the wrong side of 40, "20,000 Leagues" is one of my earliest cinematic memories, and watching this superb Disney DVD - in wide screen for only the first time since I saw it as a child! - brought the magic of those long ago years flooding back in an instant! The Amazon review above will give you the bare bones of the story; a terrible "sea monster" - all glowing eyes and "breath like a furnace!" - is sinking ships just after the end of the American Civil War. Things have gotten so bad that maritime trade is being crippled; ships can't sail without a crew, the crews themselves having deserted in fear of the "monster." Almost in desperation, the authorities organize a hunt for the creature, and invite the famed oceanographer, "Professor Arronax," and his research assistant "Conseil," along, on a US warship, to lend the expedition scientific gravitas. Also along for the ride is a fearless harpooner, "Ned Land," looking for adventure, and the rewards of being the man who kills the "monster." After more than a month at sea, and with no sighting of anything unusual, they are about to head for home when they see a ship, some miles distant, explode with enormous force. They race to the spot and arrive in time to see the vessel slipping beneath the waves with all hands. A lookout sees the creature in the distance, moving away from the area; they fire on it and it turns towards them. Slicing through the waves, the creature races towards its attackers with a hellish shriek, its eyes alight, just as the stories said, with an unearthly glow. Panic ensues on the ship, the gunner's fire repeatedly, but cannot find their range; the creature is covering the distance between them at incredible speed! The resulting impact is shattering; Arronax, Conseil, and Land, are hurled into the sea, where they are separated. Arronax and Conseil watch helplessly as the crippled warship limps away into the distance, listing badly. After hours in the water, and completely lost in a fogbank, Arronax and Conseil come across the "monster" floating on the surface. They soon discover that what they thought was a supernatural beast, is, in fact, a fantastic vessel, a "sub-marine boat," capable of travel beneath the surface of the sea. Seemingly deserted, they enter the ship and start to explore, soon to be joined by Ned Land, who paddles into view on an upturned skiff. From a massive view port, they see the crew outside the ship working on the seabed; once the crew returns, the three friends are quickly apprehended... now their adventure, and ours, is about to REALLY begin! The ship they are on is called the "Nautilus," a technological wonderland, it's commanded by "Captain Nemo;" his crew, all of them to a man, absolutely loyal. The Captain has scant time for Conseil, and even less for Land, but he is pleased to meet the renowned Pierre Arronax, a man he sees, at least as far as their mutual fascination for the sea is concerned, as a kindred spirit. Nemo takes Arronax under his wing, slowly revealing to him the secrets of the deep through which they travel, and the fantastical secrets of the Nautilus itself. Nemo also shares his own terrible secrets with the oceanographer, experiences that have shaped him, and driven both him, and his crew, to disown any allegiances to any and all terrestrial governments and flags. Nemo is portrayed by James Mason in a magnificently layered, complex performance. At first cold, austere, dark, and brooding, Mason slowly reveals the tortured soul of the man, driven by his own demons to do what he knows are terrible things, for, he hopes, the betterment of mankind. Neither hero nor villain, Mason's performance is beautifully nuanced, and his final scenes are especially moving. The three other central characters are also played to perfection, Kirk Douglas, especially, has a blast with Ned Land, one moment slap-sticking his way through his song, "A Whale of a Tale," the next butting heads with Nemo, and plotting escape. Peter Lorre, as Conseil, is the perfect foil to Douglas' larger than life character, and the two of them seemed to have formed a genuine friendship on the set, something which shows through in the "hair" scenes... you'll know them when you see them! Paul Lukas is pitch perfect as Professor Arronax, all at once in thrall to Nemo's genius, but at the same time horrified by the terrible deeds he's capable of. And a final word has to go to the `biggest' character of all, the Nautilus itself; a gothic masterpiece, it's quite simply the greatest fantasy vehicle ever created for the silver screen... EVER! The Nautilus departs quite extensively from Verne's description, but, just like the film itself, it's completely within the spirit of the original story, more so than just about any film adaptation of classic Science Fantasy that I can think of! One minor gripe, Nemo, as I have said before, is an incredibly complex character, so I was saddened to see on the back of the DVD case, the following; "...can the captive crew (Arronax etc) expose his (Nemo's) evil plan before he destroys the world?" After all that Disney has done to make this a landmark release, with hours of extras, including an incredible 90 minute(!) "making of" featurette, it's such a shame that Nemo is misrepresented so crudely. Almost half a century(!) later, this is still Disney's crowning glory, and a glowing testament to visionary film making... HIGHLY recommended!!!

Although somewhat changed from the book (changing sensibilities would make this inevitable), it is a lively interpretation of the classic tale. The Blu-ray is out of print, so the price i too high except for the Serious collector, but the DVD version is of very good quality and highly recommended, both the regular and Special Edition.

The hubris and hypocrisy of humans is brilliantly displayed in this wonderful film based on Jules Verne’ 1870 science fiction book. Those that decry war instead make war on the supposed oppressors. The role of science as a liberating force is used to make better weapons. Revenge justifies taking revenge. Money which creates marvelous new wonders for humanity at the same time threatens to enslave the world. Wrapped up in a gripping conflict story, the steam-punk vision of Walt Disney from the 1950’s is gripping. It’s so great to see Kirk Douglas in his prime, the cheerful wild card enlivening the whole story. Truly, the blu-ray anniversary edition provides a still-mesmerizing spectacle, particularly when projected onto a large wall screen with full surround sound turned up. This is a “blast from the past” that I didn’t fully appreciate when I was six years old back in 1954 but enjoy its spectacle and subtleties even more today. Bravo!

This DVD is great, because it is in the original Cinemascope (2.55:1) film format. Widescreen movies are great to watch, because the human eye takes in a much wider view than the normal big screen view. An historical movie in a great presentation. Can't wait for the 4K.

Finally! The definitive edition of a Jules Verne classic brought back in all its pomp and glory. The price, for once, is right. I remember it when it first was released in Europe, and I can safely say that this version beats even that showing back then. Extremely clear image, stupendous surround sound, make this a must have in the most absolute way. Forget all the other versions ever made. This remains THE classic of them all! Forget the dated special effects which, by the way, you may not even notice, since the story is so gripping and fast paced, that you may not even realize they are. James Mason gives a wonderful portrayal of Captain Nemo. One of his best roles, together with Fieldmarshal Rommel in "The Desert Fox", Cicero in "Five Fingers" and Professor Arronax in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" of about the same period. Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre form a perfect if not odd comical duo, to ease the tension of the story. The score is beautifully remastered and brings you immediately back to those long bygone days of great moviemaking. I won't be long reviewing this movie, since many others before me, have already praised it and described it in detail. I can only say, buy it, buy it, buy it! Oh, and by the way, don't forget about another Jules Verne classic coming out soon on DVD and in Widescreen: "Around the World in 80 Days". That's another "absolutely must have". In the meanwhile, have you checked on "Journey to the Center of the Earth". Do you have it on your DVD shelf? No? Shame on you... Go and get it fast. It's been remastered and it's a worthy companion to the other two Jules Verne movies. So, what are you waiting for?

It's a great movie

この作品のノーティラス号（喧しい事を言えば厳密にはナウティルス なのでしょうが）の造形は素晴らしいの一言に尽きます。 PAL形式のDVDでランタイムは122分なので（劇場上映時間は127分） VLCメディアプレイヤーの再生速度をx0.96（122÷0.96≒127)にして 視聴しています。

Saw this for the first time when I was 9 years old and had to wait 25 years before it came on TV and was made available on video. The UK DVD is very good but only has a few special features. If you want a complete package you need to buy the US 2-disk region 1 only version. The special features are legion and amazing, especially the lengthy "making of" programme. The film itself is well photographed, well scripted, well cast and well acted. Not entirely true to the book but enjoyable nevertheless. James Mason is amazing as Captain Nemo. Other actors have tried to play this part (Herbert Lom, Robert Ryan, Jose Ferrer, Michael Caine, Ben Cross and Patrick Stewart amongst others) but have never come close to James Mason's brilliant potrayal. For 1954 the special effects were pretty good and Walt Disney had another success on his hands. Most people will remember the film for the submarine, a beautiful interpretation by designer Harper Goff of Jules Verne's Nautilus. As a child I thought it was real and not a series of models and a full size mock up of the deck. No other film version has a Nautilus as striking as Harper Goff's and it's a pity the submarine was restricted to one film only as it was the real star of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

Producto perfectamente recibido. Con el doblaje original al Castellano y calidad es la de la época, se disfruta perfectamente. Muy aconsejable. Si te gusta el género de aventura no puede faltar en tu colección esta gran película.

Excelente presentación. Gran imágen y calidad en el vídeo y el Audio ! Para todos los amantes del cine fantástico creado en los años 50's éste artículo no los desepcionará.