There are a handful of fantasy/sci-fi films from the late 1950s and 1960s that stand out from all the rest. Mysterious Island is one of them. I place this film in the same box with movies like Jason and the Argonauts, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, and in some respects, Journey to the Center of the Earth. They are all stories of adventure with exotic locations and seemingly impossible odds against the characters in their fight for survival. Each has their share of villans and heroes, but the common mission of each story it to get out alive.
There is one very important element shared by all these movies. The film scores were composed by Bernard Herrmann, and all done in his usual excellent manner. Whether it is his using creepy bass woodwinds for the monster sequences, or beautiful harp arpeggios to support scenes of mystery, Herrmann was one of the greatest film composers, and his style was definitely unique. (Those who are interested in his music may be surprised that he wrote a complete cantata, Moby Dick, a complete opera, Wuthering Heights, and a complete Symphony along with shorter orchestral pieces. If you love his work, I suggest that you research these pieces.)
Anyway, back to the island. Her we have 2 British women, one African-American soldier, a war correspondent, 3 union soldiers and one confederate soldier -- not exactly your perfect desert island party.
In these days of reality TV where people are voted off the island in survivor-type shows, It is refreshing to see a film where people work together to plan their escape. Enemies in battle become friends, upperclass British women forget their differences with the lower class Americans and side-by-side fight for their survival.
The movie is fun, full of action, and there is never a dull moment in its 100 minute running time. It is a perfect family film.
Now, it's Soap Box Time. This relates to film technology in general, and perhaps this film in particular. Each decade film technology improves. The movies of this decade are more advanced technologically then the movies of the 1980s, the 1970s, and so on to the beginning of the motion picture industry (the late 1800s). In each decade that we go back in time the movies are considered techinically inferior in quality to current films. Each movie is state of the art for the time that it was filmed. Well, believe it or not, someone will likely review a film like The Matrix in the year 2020 and say something like, "the special effects were really fake and cheesy". That's the way that things go.
I think it's time for movie viewers who love old movies to stop apologizing for them by saying things like, "It had great special effects for its time", or "I guess it doesn't stack up to todays special effects, but I still like it."
Do you ever hear people say, "Citizen Kane should have been filmed in color", or "The music in Casablanca" was too schmaltzy", or "Gone with the Wind was too long?"
I guess I've made my point. I watched this movie tonight with all the wonder of when I first saw it at age 5 or 6. Of course, I noted things technically that I would never have seen as a child. You know what? I didn't care. The movie was fun.
Quality will endure, and a story that is well told with great imagination will always capture my attention.
So, at the risk of sounding redundant, I LOVE THAT GIANT CHICKEN!!!!
There is one very important element shared by all these movies. The film scores were composed by Bernard Herrmann, and all done in his usual excellent manner. Whether it is his using creepy bass woodwinds for the monster sequences, or beautiful harp arpeggios to support scenes of mystery, Herrmann was one of the greatest film composers, and his style was definitely unique. (Those who are interested in his music may be surprised that he wrote a complete cantata, Moby Dick, a complete opera, Wuthering Heights, and a complete Symphony along with shorter orchestral pieces. If you love his work, I suggest that you research these pieces.)
Anyway, back to the island. Her we have 2 British women, one African-American soldier, a war correspondent, 3 union soldiers and one confederate soldier -- not exactly your perfect desert island party.
In these days of reality TV where people are voted off the island in survivor-type shows, It is refreshing to see a film where people work together to plan their escape. Enemies in battle become friends, upperclass British women forget their differences with the lower class Americans and side-by-side fight for their survival.
The movie is fun, full of action, and there is never a dull moment in its 100 minute running time. It is a perfect family film.
Now, it's Soap Box Time. This relates to film technology in general, and perhaps this film in particular. Each decade film technology improves. The movies of this decade are more advanced technologically then the movies of the 1980s, the 1970s, and so on to the beginning of the motion picture industry (the late 1800s). In each decade that we go back in time the movies are considered techinically inferior in quality to current films. Each movie is state of the art for the time that it was filmed. Well, believe it or not, someone will likely review a film like The Matrix in the year 2020 and say something like, "the special effects were really fake and cheesy". That's the way that things go.
I think it's time for movie viewers who love old movies to stop apologizing for them by saying things like, "It had great special effects for its time", or "I guess it doesn't stack up to todays special effects, but I still like it."
Do you ever hear people say, "Citizen Kane should have been filmed in color", or "The music in Casablanca" was too schmaltzy", or "Gone with the Wind was too long?"
I guess I've made my point. I watched this movie tonight with all the wonder of when I first saw it at age 5 or 6. Of course, I noted things technically that I would never have seen as a child. You know what? I didn't care. The movie was fun.
Quality will endure, and a story that is well told with great imagination will always capture my attention.
So, at the risk of sounding redundant, I LOVE THAT GIANT CHICKEN!!!!