An adventure based on Jules Verne's prophetic novel.... Climb aboard the Nautilus and into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure! Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre star as shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo, brilliantly portrayed by James Mason. Wavering between genius and madness, Nemo has launched a deadly crusade across the seven seas. But can the captive crew expose his evil plan before he destroys the world? Disney's brilliant Academy Award-winning (1955) adaptation of Jules Verne's gripping tale makes 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, a truly mesmerizing masterpiece!
Directed by
Richard Fleischer
Written by
Jules Verne (novel) Earl Felton (screenplay)
Starring
Kirk Douglas (Ned Land); James Mason (Captain Nemo); Paul Lukas (Prof. Pierre Arronax); Peter Lorre (Conseil); Robert J. Wilke (First Mate of the Nautilus); Ted de Corsia (Capt. Farragut); Carleton Young (John Howard); J.M. Kerrigan (Old Billy); Percy Helton (Coach Driver); Ted Cooper (Mate on 'Lincoln'). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
Important: the following essays and comments are authored by Soul Food Cinema readers. Whilst the Editor prays for the spiritual integrity of all content of this site, it should be noted that these represent personal opinions and carry no official endorsement. If you consider any content to be a misrepresentation of Catholic teaching, please contact SFC. May God bless you and enlighten you in your reading.
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Decent but Dated
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Limited Recommendation
Featuring on the NYTC Top-100 Children's Films list, the AFI Top-100 Cheers list and the Channel 4 Top-100 Family Films list I thought it was about time I sat down and watched this one... and my opinion? Well it was much as I thought it might be - the production is 'decent' in terms of morals etc. and there's quite a good Christian message in there of love winning out over hate. But the production is just too dated now, not only with respect to the effects etc. which do hold up and still look okay, but today's audience isn't looking for 'okay'. The acting is also a bit one-dimensional and the script a little on the serious side, lacking enough humour for today's cinema goers. Though perhaps I shouldn't question a script based upon such a revered novel, but as I write this now I can't help but think that some kind of female protagonist would've helped to lighten the tone a little and bring out the actors' charisma a little more. All-in-all not a bad offering, but personally more a film I'd have on in the background, rather than sit down to watch wholeheartedly.
