Mysterious Island (Widescreen)

Mysterious Island (Widescreen)
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 Review: 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. This means that the original shape of the picture,as it was seen in the theater was a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. They were NOT filmed in widescreen "letterbox". Why is this important? Because,to achive the effect of miniature puppets living in the real world,R.H. mastered a technique called the "foreground matte". Simply put,in stead of simply placing the monster on a miniature stage and projecting the prefilmed images of the performers on a small screen behind it, Harryhausen invented this cheeper and far superior method. By adding the photographic componants of the foreground into the viewer's feild of vision, the only object in the picture that is not "real" is the animated creature. This illusion of huge living monsters and dinosaurs interacting with real people was debatably the most advanced and succesfull way to create impossible visions on the movie screen for decades. At the time they were made,the Harryhausen films were among the most unique and amazing films ever done. So what's the big deal? When a film is photographed in 1.33.1 aspect there is only one way to make it "wide screen",1.78 to 1.85.1. The company releasing the film "chops" off the top and bottom edges of the picture to create a wide screen shaped picture at a loss of almost 40% of the original image. In doing this to a Harryhausen film, frequently the top of the creature's head or the bottoms of the feet of all the performers,real and artificial are lost. This cropping spoils the film for the first time viewer. By shaving the picture these films actually look less realistic. Of course,in a way this may be only a point of taste. CGI has enhanced or replaced "traditional" stop motion ,religating it to art films and childrens fare. The importance of image composition may not matter to the average viewer who just wants to fill up the space on that new wide screen TV. But for the film student or the purist, make sure to look for the DVDs that offer a choice of both Standerd and Widescreen Formats. If only widescreen is offered,and you really want to see Mysterious Island the way it should be seen,buy the VHS. IMHO, John Fischner
Customer Review: This has it all
Yes, this does have it all. Great creature effects by Harryhausen, great music score by Hermann and Beth Rogan running around the island in a great "island outfit". Lot's of fun.