Mysterious Island (Widescreen)

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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

Customer Reviews:

Mysterious Island.......2007-08-31

Any Jules Verne or Ray Harryhausen fan should have a good time watching this movie. It's not " 20,000 leagues Under the Sea " or " 7th Voyage of Sinbad " , however...it's still fun fantasy.

The Creativity, Idealism, and Venality of Captain Nemo.......2007-03-15

I first saw this film as a child, and remember being thrilled by the scenes. It was a delight to see it again after some 40 years. But there is more to this film than meets the eye. Other reviewers have extensively discussed the adventure aspects of this film, and I will instead focus on some deeper issues raised.

Captain Nemo said that he lived alone on the island because he had become disillusioned with humanity. He especially opposed war, and, in previous years, had used his invention of the submarine to sink battleships. One of the Union soldiers stranded on the island pointed out Nemo's inconsistency: Nemo opposed violence, yet used violence to promote his goals! The Union soldier also pointed out that he himself was using violence to promote a worthy cause--the freeing of the slaves in the American Civil War.

Nemo said that he changed his mind about living alone forever as a result of the determined struggles of the castaways in attempting to survive. That is what motivated Nemo to help the castaways surreptitiously by such things as dragging one of the nearly-drowned soldiers to shore and building a fire for him, shooting the giant chicken, sinking the attacking pirate ship at a critical time, etc.

Nemo also came to believe that war was caused by human want. This is what motivated him to make these giant versions of creatures such as the crab, chicken, and bee. These giant creatures would provide an inexhaustible supply of food for all humans, and there would be no more need for war.

Nemo was creative, and said that he was a man of reason, not faith. Yet at a critical time, Nemo became resigned to death because of the unexpectedly-early erupting volcano. Ironically, he had to be prodded by the castaways to not give up and to adopt one of their ideas. They used the balloon to raise the sunken pirate ship for the escape. The castaways make it, but will Nemo? I will not spoil the ending by revealing it.

The Island of Gigantic Creatures.......2007-03-11

Jules Verne is one of my favorite classic science fiction writers so Verne based movies are on my must-see list. In Japan Mysterious Island is not that well-known Verne stories just as Around The World In Eighty Days, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea or Adrift In The Pacific. So this 1961 movie gives me a great clue because I haven't yet read the original novel.

The story in this movie seems to blend elements of various classic adventure stories such as Defoe's "Robinson Cruisoe", Swift's "Gulliver's Travels", as well as Verne novels such as "Around The World...", "20,000 leauges..." and "Adrift In The Pacific". Special effects in this movie reminds me of "Boy I Shrank The Kids". It seems not like that the creature got bigger but humans shrank before the creatures. Special effects seems outdated viewing from CG-accustommed modernists. Yet the film is vivid because of the splendid acting particularly Captain Nemo. Cartoon like adventures galore.

Verdict: Despite its outdated F/X the movie delivers
Rating: 89 out of 100
Recommended for: Wide range of classic Sci-fi movies fans.

Another Harrhausen Classic.......2007-03-10

A must have film for all Harryhausen fans. Good storyline,plenty of beasts, a little romance and great action.

Good adaptation of a novel.......2007-02-26

This is a good adaptation of Jules Verne's novel. I saw this film when I was a kid and thus watching again reminded me of fond memories. This would be a good family film. It is a tale of survival with good visual effects (one should condition the era of production).

The Land Before Time / Chomper Double Feature (The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure/ The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island)

Average customer rating:

Land Before Time Chomper
satisfied customer
Great movie
Land Before Time Chomper Double Feature
Chomper Double Feaure

The Land Before Time / Chomper Double Feature (The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure/ The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island)
Starring: Cannon Young , Miriam Flynn , Jeff Bennett , Tress MacNeille , and Brandon Lacroix
Director: Charles Grosvenor , and Roy Allen Smith
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0006HBZCO
Release Date: 2005-02-01

Customer Reviews:

Land Before Time Chomper.......2007-08-24

My son just loves these movies especially with Chomper. Always a joy to watch.

satisfied customer.......2007-05-12

got our order in a less then expected time and am very satisfied with the sellers service

Great movie.......2007-02-08

My daughter is 3 years old and she loves this movie. The songs are great.

Land Before Time Chomper Double Feature.......2006-02-25

Great price for 2 movies. My two year old loves them!

Chomper Double Feaure.......2006-02-17

This is a great movie to add to your collection. Mysterious Island made me feel sad, but I got over it. I liked the stupid things Ozzy and Strut did such as leaping off a cliff because they see a sharptooth's shadow, or even trying to steal an egg and accidentally biting into a rock.

I really emjoy this movie, I hope you do to.

Average customer rating:

It's fairly interesting.
Buy the old one
There's a mystery here
No substitute for the original
A Whole New Treatment

Mysterious Island
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan , Danielle Calvert , Gabrielle Anwar , Patrick Stewart , and Jason Durr
Director: Russell Mulcahy
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BYY0UQ
Release Date: 2006-01-17

Customer Reviews:

It's fairly interesting. .......2007-06-25

The special effects are better than those of many tv shows. The acting is so so. The movie satisfies my curiosity.

It's worth watching once.

Buy the old one.......2007-06-15

This movie has really bad acting. The direction is very poor. This movie is hard to sit through. The production values are poor. They cannot even show an entire balloon flying through the air. The scale of scenery does not make sense. Seems like a very cheap remake. Just buy the old one. Mysterious Island (1961) (Ws)

There's a mystery here.......2007-06-08

Yessir, there is a real mystery in Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. The mystery is why people don't read the books they "adapt" into films. How very appropriate that they saw fit to put Verne's name in front of the title. This does distinguish it from every other mysterious island.
Ostensibly this one is a remake of the Ray Harryhausen film version of 1961, although no credit is given to that film or the Columbia Pictures serial of 1951 from whence plot elements were borrowed.
Patrick Stewart portrays the grumpiest Captain Nemo ever. Within the first half hour of this three hour opus, all the mysteries are explained. Then the story drifts into the territory of the teleseries "Lost." Having read the book, I was already lost.
It is nice that producers continue to keep the name of Jules Verne alive. Some life in this lackluster script would have been nice. If one is going to abandon plot ideas from the original, at least the ideas replacing them might be chosen from somewhere other than the bottom of the barrel.
A faithful rendering of the novel may be too much to ask, but if the name Hallmark is going to adorn the credits, then maybe the Hallmark tradition of the 1950's should be remembered. Back then plays were presented in sterling silver productions. This stainless steel one shows too much tarnish.

No substitute for the original.......2007-02-05

As a kid, I was always a big fan of the Ray Harryhausen effects in movies, and "Mysterious Island" was my favorite. When I saw this remake at the video store, I was really anxious to see an updated version with today's advanced special effects.

I was sorely disappointed. Not only are the visual effects a poor effort in comparison to the 1961 version, but the modified story line is amateurishly written and the acting is as if the cast is all in on the same joke to be deliberately bad. I realized watching this that it's a made-for-TV effort, but still they don't need to make it seem so low budget. I'm really surprised an actor like Patrick Stewart would have taken on this project after reading the script.

I'd highly recommend that you pass on this one and try the original instead. And while you're at it, try some of Harryhausen's other films, such as "First Men in the Moon" (1964) and "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963).

A Whole New Treatment.......2007-01-17

Escapees from a Civil War prison camp have their balloon blown to the Pacific where they find refuge on an island. But it is a dangerous island where giant animals run free and man is on the dinner list. But safely hidden away is a recluse and his manservant. The recluse is Captain Nemo. He offers aid to the refugees if they help him with his work. Nemo is creating a bomb that can destroy an entire city. The idea being that when men see how destructive war can be they will stop practicing war altogether because the consequences are to high. Needles to say the refugees refuse to help and they are sent out into the dangerous jungle.

But once in the jungle there are other dangers waiting. A legendary pirate treasure lures deadly pirates to the island. Nemo does not like the pirates but he refuses to help though the manservant does not agree. Finally the forces of good unite to repel the pirates and things pretty much work out.

This is not true to the book or even other film versions and many reviewers will point it out and complain that the story should be true to the original. Of course the original was a sequel to 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and it was not true to that so even Verne is at fault. But there are worse things wrong that not being true to the book. The balloon is blown over 6,000 miles against the trade winds. The characters survive with a single canteen and no food (that must have been a super-fast balloon). Arial shots show the volcano on the back side of the island but it is usually down the beach in ground shots. It is said the island is uncharted by any man. I am sure Nemo knows where it is. Plus, the pirates have no problems finding it and other survivors have brought out tales of monsters. The end has a moment that implies the survivors will not survive past the credits 9unintentional I am sure but there just the same). The thing in the cave has tentacles according to the shadows but turns out to be spiders later on. Nemo gets stuck for no reason. No mention of the seaworthiness of his vessel is ever made so one has to wonder why he doesn't just drive it away (ho obviously plans to leave and use his weapon). There are too many monsters to be supported on the island. Many of them pass through vegetation due to bad coordination between the sets and the CGI.

It is a fun story but it could have made more sense by just changing a few lines. There was no need to keep brining in new monsters. Just a couple that kept showing up would have done the same job and seemed less ridiculous. But it is fun and full of action which is probably what was trying to be done. If you want entertainment then this qualifies. If you want true Jules Verne, then this does not. Check it out.

The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen - Legendary Science Fiction Series (It Came from Beneath the Sea / Earth vs. the Flying Saucers / 20 Million Miles to Earth / Mysterious Island / H.G. Wells' First Men in the Moon)

Average customer rating:

Another Classic's; Worthy to be in your shelves.
fun older scifi of high quality and quirky twists
FAKE "widescreen" ruins several titles!
The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen - Legendary Science Fiction Series
wowie,zowie!

The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen - Legendary Science Fiction Series (It Came from Beneath the Sea / Earth vs. the Flying Saucers / 20 Million Miles to Earth / Mysterious Island / H.G. Wells' First Men in the Moon)
Starring: Kenneth Tobey , Faith Domergue , Donald Curtis , Ian Keith , and Dean Maddox Jr.
Director: Robert Gordon , Fred F. Sears , and Nathan Juran
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00062IVPI
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Description

Five classic movies from Ray Harryhausen in a stunning collector's box. JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS: Nancy Kovack, Todd Armstrong, Gary Raymond, Honor Blackman; SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE: Kathryn Grant, Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher; GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, THE: Caroline Munro, John Phillip Law, Tom Baker, John Garfield; SINBAD AND THE EYE OF THE TIGER: Taryn Power, Patrick Wayne, Jane Seymour; 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER, THE: Jo Morrow, Kerwin Mathews, June Thorburn, Lee Patterson

Customer Reviews:

Another Classic's; Worthy to be in your shelves........2007-05-19

Just as I enjoy the Legendary Monster Series Collection of Harryhausen, I have this one as well, not as great as the Legendary Monster Series, but just as enjoyable.

Can't beat the old camera tricks on these movies, for any avid fan of old movies, don't forget to have this one as well.

fun older scifi of high quality and quirky twists.......2006-06-16

I greatly enjoyed these films as a kid, which would come on every so once in a while and were a wonderful treat. The scripts of these are pretty good, though when seen from the standpoint of our era of relativism, they can seem a bit one-dimensional.

I would say they fall into categories. First, there are shoot-em-up monster flicks. These (It came..., Earth v...) are not complex or very sophisticated films, but they do strive to have some interesting characters. Earth v., I admit, has rather flat acting, but I did like the scientist-hero guy.

Second, there are really good scifi films, Mysterious and 20 Million: these have good characters and actors set in pretty complex plots. Mysterious is the best of the lot in my view, and I throughly enjoyed it as did my kids. 20 is also good, as the viewer does feel some for the monster. They are both scary and keep the viewer wondering what and why the whole time.

Third, there is the zany First Men, which features a silly genius type and a subtly bizarre civilization on the Moon. Alas, it was too much of a kids' film for my taste, but then my kids liked it while I could exercise my imagination with the elaborate insect culture.

Of course, what binds them all is the masterful special effects of Harryhausen, which are crude by today's digital standards but really fun and vivid.

Warmly recommended. This is a set I can share with my kids for years, which I will enjoy too.

FAKE "widescreen" ruins several titles!.......2006-04-28

Although I am a fan of all the films in this collection, and the quality of reproduction is good, I wound-up trading away three of these five films in anger! "It Came from Beneath the Sea", "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers," and "Mysterious Island" (none of which were originally filmed in a widescreen process) are all presented in a FAKE "widescreen" which does nothing more than essentially cut-off the tops and bottoms of the films as originally presented. Thus--watching them is like watching the originals through a mail-slot! As a purist, I consider this to be sacrilege, and my purchase of this collection essentially a complete waste of money! (Fortunately--though wearing out--I still have my VHS copies of these films, which are much closer to the original film ratio.)

The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen - Legendary Science Fiction Series .......2006-03-17

Truely Classic SF - Who needs SiFi Channel, Ray Harryhausen at his very best.

wowie,zowie!.......2006-01-30

wonderful stuff for film fans of all ages,a superb collection,especially to those of us who are tired of cgi.the real standout is mysterious island with striking visualsand a splendid bernard hermann score. the real treat is herbert lom as captain nemo.

The Land Before Time V - The Mysterious Island

Average customer rating:

Well...
Great songs in this one!
chomper returns
Yawn! B-o-r-i-n-g!
SWEET MOTHER OF THE DEVIL!!!!

The Land Before Time V - The Mysterious Island
Starring: Cannon Young , Miriam Flynn , Jeff Bennett , Tress MacNeille , and Brandon Lacroix
Director: Charles Grosvenor
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000087EY8
Release Date: 2003-04-01

Amazon.com

This fourth sequel in the series finds "leaf gobblers" eating all the vegetation in Great Valley, driving Littlefoot, the young brontosaurus, and the other dinosaur inhabitants out. Arguments break out among the adults during migration, and Littlefoot and his friends decide to take matters in their own hands by crossing the "big water" to an unknown island. There they meet an old friend from The Land Before Time II--Chomper, the T-rex, who has to protect the gang from his own, carnivorous parents. Plenty of drama in this one, and as the series has been wont to do from the beginning, it shows adults as sometimes being less than perfect. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Well..........2006-12-23

I only saw this movie because of Chomper's return. I'm a Chomper addict. Although I don't think this movie had even close to the amount of Chomper needed, I have to say it was a well-done movie. No, it doesn't hold a candle to the original Land Before Time or the second one, but it still deals with a sensitive and possibly disturbing dilemma (the Sharpteeth's eating of the other dinosaurs) in a mature way.

Chomper talks--I wasn't really expecting that. But it was adorable and I love him! He even sings! Eee!

I wasn't disappointed with this movie (I mean, I gave it four stars), but I wasn't too thrilled. More Chomper and it would've been perfect.

Great songs in this one!.......2006-04-14

My son, now three, loves this series beyond all others. This one in particular, due to the songs. 'Big Water' is one of those songs that he will just start singing, out of the blue, weeks after the last time he viewed the movie. Good stuff. As with all movies, watch with your kids. This one has some name-calling dialogue in it that I always point out as inappropriate.

chomper returns.......2005-09-30

chomper is back in land before time 5 the mysterious island after along awaited return i love the songs in this move

Yawn! B-o-r-i-n-g!.......2005-07-09

It is cute, but it's nothing exciteing. I like the fact that they have his parents purr like cats. (Carnivores rock!)

SWEET MOTHER OF THE DEVIL!!!!.......2005-06-19

What is the pure trash? I was just starting to get back into LBT but when my cousins brought me this corny DVD, I just watched with my mouth hung open. Curse you Charles Grossverner or whatever your retarted name is!!!!

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable Sunday Afternoon Fare

Jules Verne's Mysterious Island
Starring: Russell Mulcahy , Kyle MacLachlan , and Danielle Calvert
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BYY0TM
Release Date: 2006-01-31

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable Sunday Afternoon Fare.......2006-05-30

Return to the days of yesteryear - or kidhood Sunday Afternoon lounging around the living room with cheeze puffs and watching tv and waiting for the giant bugs, lizards and other monsters coming to trash those poor shipwrecked, or primitive or whatever they're doing on the beach waiting to be big crab food - people.

Mysterious Island is a Hallmark Mini-Series that harkens back to those fond times when we watched films that dreamed they could afford Ray Harryhousen effects, but instead just filmed an iguana with an extra horn stuck on it's head, the poor thing.

The acting and script are quite good, with Kyle McLachlin doing well as Cyrus our stand up, decent hero. Patrick Stewart is perfect as the distant, cynical, anti hero of Captain Nemo.

The drawback is some really, really cheesy CGI work, but all in all, with this sort of story and the hearlding back to Sunday afternoon giant iguanas, this is certainly forgivable. However, the matting with volcano was rather lame. However, the acting works to helps balance that off.

Do see it. It's as much fun that you can have with a tv movie that doesn't have a zombie in it.

Average customer rating:

Another Great Action Picture

Mysterious Island of Beautiful Women
Starring: Jamie Lyn Bauer , Rosalind Chao , Susie Coelho , Kathryn Davis , and Steven Keats
Director: Joseph Pevney
Manufacturer: Direct Source Label
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000MMMT78
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Customer Reviews:

Another Great Action Picture.......2007-03-18

This picture hit movie theaters on December 1st 1979 starring Clint Walker as Wendell, Peter Lawford as Gordon Duvall, Steve Keats as Mike Stapleton, Jamie Lyn Bauer as Lizabeth, Jayne Kennedy as Chocolate and Deborah Shelton as Bambi. The year was 1954, and the place French Indo China. Its wartime and the village where the nuns lived is under attack. Bombs and guns are going off all around them and the nuns need to find away to keep the orphans safe. So the nuns decide their going to make a run for and try to get on an airplane near there village. The nuns are able to get the 11 baby orphans and get on the plane but now the pilot has to get the plane in the air without being shot down. Once the plane is in the air, the nuns are able to get the babies to settle down and the nuns are able to get some rest. However, the rest doesn't last long as the plane has to fly through a thunderstorm. Just as the plane is through the storm, it is struck by lightning sending the plane into a tailspin. With the plane spinning out of control, the pilot takes the plane down and it crash lands on an island in the South Pacific. After the plane crashed the nun is injured so bad that she can't take care of the babies so she has to put her trust into the oldest one Lizabeth who's only 6 years old herself. So Lizabeth names the dead nun sister and uses it as power as she raises the babies. The movie fast-forwards to 25 years later where the once tiny babies have grown up into beautiful young women that the only life they know of is living on the island. There's eight babies left as three of them died and you have Chocolate, Flower, Snow, and Jo Jo, among others that were able to survive. The girls are in the local cove swimming when Lizabeth tells them they need to get out of the water. Meanwhile there's a plane up above them that was blown of course because of a thunderstorm and the plane is about out of fuel. Wendell notices the island and tells the pilot to land the plane but the president of the company Gordon Duvall who Wendell worked for says no. After an argument process on where there at between Wendell and Duvall Mike Gordon's right hand man steps in and tells the pilot to put the plane on the island. Chocolate and Jo Jo who are standing on the edge of the woods notice that the plane is in trouble and Jo Jo runs of to tell Lizabeth. The pilot lands the plane in the water and they drift into the island where the pilot puts the plane on land. The men decide to get out and investigate the place while looking for wood to make a fire and food to cook and eat. As the pilot sneaks away, to get a drink of booze he comes across a skull on a stake. He calls for Mike and they decide that there was a plane that crash here long ago and they decide they have to fine that plane if they want to get of the island. Mike and Wendell start to look for the plane so they can get gas when they see a local headhunter chasing Snow along the beach before she runs back in the woods. While Gordon and his bodyguard are out looking for food, they come across Bambi who's playing on the rocks. When Wendell and Mike are capture and taken to the women's compound, Lizabeth tells them to kill them. However, the women don't because they know that the men save Snow from being kill by the headhunters. The girls must now fear for there lives not from the headhunters but from the men who are stranded on the island also. The girls take the dead headhunter that they found and take him to the compound where they hope sister will tell them what to do. I think this was a great film considering how it was made. I though the island was a beautiful location that was seen in the film. Now as far Jamie Lyn Bauer, Jayne Kennedy, and Deborah Shelton go they were excellent in the roles. Jayne and Deborah stand out to me because even though there beautiful woman the played the roles of kids very well. It's a shame that Jayne Kennedy once given more movie parts because she deserve them. Because of the beauty of the island and the beauty of the girls, I give this picture 10 weasel stars.

Average customer rating:

you pay sh** - you get sh**

Mystery on Monster Island

Manufacturer: RetroFLICKS
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000OCKNBU

Product Description

Wealthy tycoon William T. Kolderup (Cushing) has a problem: his daughter's fiance, a dashing young man named Jeff (Sera), longs to experience the world before settling down. In the hopes of satisfying his wanderlust, Kolderup secures passage for Jeff on one of his own ships, sending along Professor Artelect (Hatton) to keep an eye on him. Just a few days out to sea, the crew is dead, the ship is in flames, and Jeff and the Professor are pursued by hideous monsters from the deep! Escaping overboard, the two wash ashore on a mysterious island, inhabited by giant monsters, savage cannibals, and one very mischievous chimpanzee. They also discover rich deposits of gold - and murderous pirates who will stop at nothing to get it! Jeff and the Professor join forces with another castaway (Estrada) and a native savage (Ipua) to fight for survival... little do they know that the key to their salvation lies at the center of the Mystery on Monster Island. Looking for serious science-fiction? You won't find it here. Mystery on Monster Island is played for laughs - it's pure cheesy silliness, with every cliche that one can expect from the genre. Throw in bad acting and cheap production values, and you've got truly mindless entertainment.

Customer Reviews:

you pay sh** - you get sh**.......2007-07-11

What you get is a self-made DVD-ROM. Which looks a little bit like an item you would usually get at the flea market. Or from the local dealer of trust down the street at the corner... I wouldnt expect it here at amazon. At least not if there is no hint at all that this is just a DVD-ROM, copied from a VHS-tape with poor quality. Guys - I feel treated unfair.

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island: Mysterious Island/Flaming

Average customer rating:

The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of Clipper Island: Mysterious Island/Flaming
Starring: Ray Mala
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00062IYVE
Release Date: 2004-08-31

Average customer rating:

Ray Harryhausen lends his talents to the Jules Verne story
Good retro fun
great family entertainment
A CLASSIC ALL TIME MASTERPIECE, ON DVD!
So-so fantasy.

Mysterious Island [Region 2]
Starring: Michael Craig , Joan Greenwood , Michael Callan , Gary Merrill , and Herbert Lom
Director: Cy Endfield
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000071WJ1

Customer Reviews:

Ray Harryhausen lends his talents to the Jules Verne story.......2004-11-06

There was a woefully bad 15-part serial version of Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island" released in 1951 that stupidly gave away the big surprise by listing Captain Nemo's name in the credits. Fortunately a decade later the release of this version of "Mysterious Island" replaced that one in the public's consciousness. The team that put together "Mysterious Island" consisted of producer Charles Schneer, special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen, and composer Bernard Herrmann, which is important because it puts the film more in the tradition of their earlier collaborations, "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" and "Jason and the Argonauts," than it does Verne's novels. Obviously the 1954 Disney film version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" had an influence on this 1961 film by director Cy Endfield ("Zulu") as well.

During the American Civil War, Union Captain Cyrus Harding (Michael Craig) is being held prisoner in a Confederate prison camp along with young Herbert Brown (Michael Callan), cynical "New York Herald" reporter Gideon Spillett (Gary Merrill), and a former slave named Corporal Neb Nugent (Dan Jackson). During a massive hurricane the group escape by stealing an observation balloon and sailing over the palisade, taking with them a Confederate soldier, Sergeant Pencroft (Percy Herbert). The storm is so fierce that it blows them to an uncharted (and dare I say, mysterious) island somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, where the balloon crashes.

Harding is pulled from the water by unseen figure and the group decides to put the war behind them and work together to survive (I was going to say this is sort of like "Survivor," after the merger, which Nemo playing the Jeff Probst role, but clearly the more relevant television analogy today would be to "Lost"). But beyond the basic requirements of staying alive they learn that they have to contend with monstrously giant crabs, equally giant bees, and a ship full of bloodthirsty pirates. To make things more interesting a pair of shipwrecked female castaways are added to the little band, namely Lady Mary Fairchild (Joan Greenwood) and her pretty young niece, Elena (Beth Rogan). Using the abandoned cliff side cave of the pirates as their new home the castaways settle in for the long haul, all the while receiving timely help from their mysterious benefactor.

I never read the novel, but I still have the "Classics Illustrated" comic book version of "Mysterious Island." For me the big impression was the things the castaways did to bring a touch of civilization to the island, and while that is greatly reduced in the film you do get a least a visual sense of what they have been up to in order to make the best of a bad situation. Of course, the situation proceeds to get even worse, which forces the unseen benefactor, Captain Nemo (Herbert Lom), to reveal himself and his identity, and to help the castaways one last time.

It is a good thing that Lom does not show up until the end of the film, because he overpowers the rest of the cast, just as his character enjoys superiority over them as well. Merrill stands out from the rest as the crotchety reporter, who is almost as smart as he is cynical, and Craig manages to hang on to the hero role throughout, but Herbert and Elena descend to the puppy love phase and are just begging to be eaten by one of the giant creatures on the island, preferably the giant chicken. This is not a great film for this genre, but it certainly holds up as a more than decent Saturday matinee movie.

Harryhausen's stop-motion animation is always fun, even though no one will consider his work in "Mysterious Island" to be up to the finest moments of "Sinbad" or "Jason." The link between the giant animals and Captain Nemo is a bit absurd, since hunger has never been considered one of the causes of the American Civil War, but by the time we learn about these we have already enjoyed the castaways trying to fight the monsters (the crab is the best and the chicken has to be the nadir of Harryhausen's distinguished career). Actually, the balloon journey at the beginning provides the best special effects in the movie, especially given the impressive musical score by Herrmann. This movie is not about political philosophy, but about monsters in an exotic location and the sense of adventure that has thrilled young schoolboys for generations.

Good retro fun.......2004-05-16

Somehow, everything about this movie screams "Saturday afternoon". It has an improbable plot, effects from a simpler era, and the good winning out over the morally ambiguous.

The only fair way to judge this movie is in its own context, now more than 40 years old. At the time, Harryhausen's stop-action creatures were the height of special effects. The giant crab, bee, and other creatures could not have been done any other way. Rays from "electric gun" may have been scratched directly onto the film. Again, it looks unsophisticated to today's eye, but matches the rest of the movie very well.

For its time, though, this movie has a few fairly modern features. The one black actor had about as much of a role as the others, even though Jim Crow was still alive and kicking. There was a skimpy-skirted female lead with a habitual need for being saved. The other woman, however, was one of the more competent members of the group. She was used to a life of ease, but quickly showed her competence at handling support functions for the team, and under primitive conditions. Maybe she did "women's work", but she did jobs that needed doing and she got past her aristo background to do them. About the only complaint we ever heard was that her gun jammed at a crucial moment.

There's no high moral or deep art here. There is good fun. It's a little dated, but that is just part of its charm.

great family entertainment.......2003-02-23

My kids love this movie and my wife and I like it, too. It's not a great movie, both because it has a rather creaky Jules Verne plot, and like most Harryhausen movies it sometimes becomes too enchanted by the "movie magic" to pay enough attention to the actors, but these are not things that your kids will mind, and you probably won't be bothered by them, either. What the movie does have is the same thing that is one of the strengths of Verne's books, which is its "larger than life" feel. I was always transported by his books into a world of high adventure, and this movie does that for my kids (and it takes me back there, too).

The performances in this movie are all solid (and Herbert Lom is very good as Nemo), and the special effects are interesting and entertaining. And it might interest your kids in the book, which is even better.

A CLASSIC ALL TIME MASTERPIECE, ON DVD!.......2002-06-08

Yes in deed, the great classic as I watched as a kid. A group of people who find themselves stranded on an uncharted deserted island. Wigh gigantic animals, engaging story line. And yes this is out on DVD as I have just purchased it.

So-so fantasy........2002-06-01

This is an interesting fantasy movie about five men dropped on a desert island during the civil war. It very loosely based on Jules Vernes masterpiece, very loosely. Lots of monsters and women which were not in the book. You might enjoy the movie, but if you want to know the real story, you have to read the book - that will be well worth your time. I wish that someone would produce a movie that really tells the whole story as Verne wrote it; I'd buy that in an instant.

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