SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

StuOz A group of people land on a mysterious island.Mysterious Island or The Out Of Control Balloon? What is the correct title? I say this because I have made several viewings of this film since the early 1990s, and when the movie is talked about I remember the wonderful opening footage of the balloon in the storm (scored by Bernard Herrmann). The rest of the film is fine as well, but not as mind-blowing as the start.Captain Nemo, the submarine, giant creatures, danger, adventure, science fiction, Gary Merrill, attractive young people, Bernard Herrmann going on all thrusters for the whole flick, this movie has the works...outstanding and better than 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954).

Leofwine_draca This colourful adventure yarn has plenty going for it. There's lots of action, some romance, a cast populated by B-movie types (aside from Herbert Lom, who once again puts in a distinctive and fun performance) and glamorous girls, some excellent special effects, and lots of nice scenery and photography. Sure, it doesn't exactly stick close to the plot of Jules Verne's original novel, as lots of liberties are taken with it, but it's pretty much all you could want from a simple, old-fashioned adventure yarn.I myself have always been a fan of shipwreck movies and this doesn't disappoint. The opening kicks off with a thrilling battle for escape, involving fist fights, shoot-outs, and lots of near-misses. A lot of clichés pass us by including the frightened hero who turns out to be one of the strongest of the group, plus the young glamour interest who wears a tiny short dress which also just happens to be extremely low cut. There's a lot of inconsequential dialogue and some naïve (by today's standards) romance going on between a couple of the group, but these bits never get in the way of the action.One of the film's main problems is that throughout the film mysterious events occur (to make up for the title I suppose), and when it turns out that Captain Nemo is responsible, we're supposed to be surprised. Well, we're not. I actually think Herbert Lom is billed as being Captain Nemo at the beginning credits, which kind of defeats the object of the whole thing. When Lom actually arrives on screen (not until the final third of the film) the whole thing actually falls apart a little, as it was a lot tighter adventure up until this point. Then suddenly we're bogged down in dialogue and some dodgy special effects of polystyrene rocks being thrown about. The method the survivors use to escape is implausible to say the least, involving as it does so an inflated balloon being used to raise a sunken ship. The balloon is blown up via a pipe line (constructed by bamboo) running from the ocean to Nemo's secret underground base, where a submarine pump does all the hard work. It sounds silly and it definitely is.Thankfully, up until this point, there are some great scenes involving various superbly-animated creations from the stop motion master himself, Ray Harryhausen. From the first monster, a giant crab, you know you're going to be in for a good ride and these giant horrors are 95% realistic. They're wonderfully animated too, none of this jerky motion seen in other films. From then on we get giant birds, giant wasps (again, excellent effects, and pretty creepy too), and even a giant octopus to join in on the action. Basically, Harryhausen's wonderful creations raise what is, in other respects, a fairly average yarn into something unique and exciting to watch. Worth tracking down for fans of the animator's work, or nostalgists.

classicsoncall I couldn't get over how Confederate Sergeant Pencroft (Percy Herbert) put one over on the entire band of Union soldier escapees by stating he could fly the balloon. The only control a balloonist has over his aircraft is when to release the tether rope, and after that, just up and down depending on the amount of hot air forced into the envelope of the balloon. And this balloon didn't have any means of propulsion for lifting it off the ground!!! Oh well, a lesson in balloon physics isn't what your average viewer would be tuning in for anyway. Personally, I thought the Mysterious Island would be home to all manner of dinosaurs for some reason, so it was rather a surprise to see all those otherwise normal looking animals blown up to monstrous proportions. I believe the giant crab scene was the basis for one of those Dell Comic Book covers back in the Sixties, and if it wasn't, it should have been. The mega-chicken was pretty cool too, but for some reason I expected an even larger mother hen to come blazing around the corner.Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom) turned out to be an interesting guy. I get a kick out of characters who's idea of championing world peace involves killing off unsavory competition like those pirates approaching the island. Sure they might have deserved it, but how does one responsibly become an arbiter in this sort of equation? The movie certainly looks dated from the standpoint of 2016 as I write this, but there's a certain charm and mystique in films like this from a half century ago. They might be saying the same thing about the "Star Wars" films some day too. Check this one out for another excellent example of Ray Harryhausen's handiwork. His prior films featured creatures filmed using the 'dynamation' process, this one upped the ante by going for 'super dynamation' according to the picture's opening credits.

Claudio Carvalho In 1865, during the siege of Richmond, Virginia, the union soldiers POW Captain Harding (Michael Craig), Neb (Dan Jackson) and Herbert (Michael Callan) escape in a balloon during a storm with two confederate prisoners, Sergeant Pencroft (Percy Herbert) and the journalist Spilett (Gary Merrill). The uncontrollable wind takes the balloon to a mysterious island in the South Pacific in the area of New Zealand. Captain Harding self-proclaims the leader of the group and they look for food; sooner they discover that they are stranded in an island. Further, they are attacked by a giant crab that becomes their first meal. Along the days, they build a shelter and finds that the island is inhabited by giant animals. A couple of days later, they find two castaways on the beach, the aristocratic Lady Mary Fairchild (Joan Greenwood) and her sexy niece Elena (Beth Rogan). Later they find a trunk with weapons and instruments like sextant and shelter with a journal of a man left alone in the island by pirates. When the pirate vessel arrives in the island, they are helped by Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom) of the Nautilus, a submarine that had supposedly sunk in the coast of Mexico eight years ago. Nemo is famous as the man that tried to end strike among man. When the volcano begins activity, they need to leave the island to save their lives."Mysterious Island" is a fantastic and enjoyable adventure from the 60's that recall many films that I used to see in my childhood. The naive story has great special effects for a movie of almost fifty years ago, excellent music score and still is a wonderful family entertainment. While watching this movie, the costume of the sexy Ms. Beth Rogan called my attention and I glanced in a review an humorous comment from an IMDb User about the dress of this actress. Unfortunately in the modern world of satellites and communication, there are no more space for movies about lost worlds; maybe the exceptions are the TV series "Lost" and M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village". "Mysterious Island" is a highly recommended voyage to not only a lost world, but also to a time that has gone by. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "A Ilha Misteriosa" ("The Mysterious Island")