Journey to the Center of the Earth

Based on Jules Verne's novel of the same name, Journey to the Center of the Earth is pure adventure, with lashings of colour and movement thrown in for good measure. It is a wonderfully involved story of exploration, discovery, treachery, danger and fantasy all rolled into one package.

Professor Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason) is an Edinburgh scholar convinced he has stumbled upon the key to the centre of the Earth, in the form of a piece of lava containing an unusual message from the famous explorer, Arnu Saknussemm. He mounts an expedition to follow the tracks and enlists the help of student Alec McEwan (Pat Boone), Carla Goetaberg (Arlene Dahl) who promises Lindenbrook all the supplies he needs (that belong to her murdered husband, a fellow explorer) on the proviso he takes her with him, and Hans Belker (Peter Ronson), an Icelandic strongman who keeps company with a duck.

Their adventures begin smoothly enough, but little do they realise they are being followed by a descendent of Arne Sacnussemm, the evil Count Saknussemm (Thayer David), who is keen to grab the glory for himself, and will stop at nothing to claim it all. As the adventurers journey deeper into the Earth they encounter all manner of fascinating and dangerous elements including salt flows, floods, gigantic mushrooms, caverns, giant lizards, an underground ocean, and the lost city of Atlantis.

Their journey becomes more and more intense, and rivalries are temporarily shunned in the name of survival. Will the intrepid adventurers reach the centre of the earth, and what will they find there? One thing is for certain; it is not what any of them expected.

This is a quaint and enjoyable adventure that is nothing more and nothing less. There are one or two musical numbers early on to lighten up proceedings, and some dodgy special effects later on to keep the whole 'Saturday afternoon' feel of the film. The actors are well cast, even Pat Boone, and there is a prevailing sense of fun that runs throughout most of the film that might lead some to think it is a little too light-hearted.

There is nothing within that will offend adults or overly scare the kids, and everyone should enjoy the adventure. Once the scene is set, the film rolls along at a jolly old pace, and contains enough surprises to keep any viewer along for the ride. Recommended for a wet afternoon.

For a film that is over 40 years old, this scrubs up extremely well and shows what some effort in restoration can do. It is presented in an anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is rich in glorious colours that are for the most part bold and solid. There are some slightly paler sections, but these are few and far between. There are no problems with bleeding and black levels likewise are generally good. There is no evidence of noise or edge enhancement, and no discernable shimmer. There is some mild grain and a very few film artefacts that are quick, unobtrusive and mentioned only for the sake of accuracy and completeness.

The layer change is placed at 79:51 and while it is in the middle of a scene, there is no motion and therefore it's not too bad.

In summary, there is nothing substantial to complain about here, and this is a fine looking transfer of a lovingly restored print.

There is but one English option and that is a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track. This is the same for the French, German and Spanish tracks, but the last two are noticeably softer and lack as much depth as the English and French. All four, however, are a little on the quiet side and require a nudge of the volume control.

There is a good sound range in the English track with frequent deep low-level sounds, and generally clear and crisp trebles. There are some minor synchronisation issues in the early chapters, but this seems to right itself.

There are some fluctuations in the clarity, as the dialogue seems to spread out and then contract, from a stereo sounding spread to mono, as if the actors' voices are not quite being picked up. This also seems more problematic in the early chapters.

There is some separation of sounds and some mild panning. Vocals also seem to jump a little from the left to the right side, but improve as the film progresses.

Lastly there is an intermittent and barely audible high frequency ringing that becomes more audible towards the end of the film. It can be distracting at times, and is most noticeable during the score, which incidentally is very good, though mostly quite subtle. Only the few musical numbers seem out of place when a room full of university jocks manages to sound like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

There are but two extras included. The first is the three minute theatrical trailer that screams B-grade, but is rather fun all the same. It is voiced by James Mason and includes some great action scenes, and shares the same technical specifications as the feature.

The other extra is the most interesting Restoration Comparison, which is preceded by a text screen that you will need to pause to read, and is three and a half minutes of split screen comparisons showing various film prints, laser disc copies, and lastly, the 2002 restorations.

When I was a kid way, way back, this film often popped up at noon on a Saturday and I watched it every time. It is easy to label it as flawed, with continuity errors and dodgy special effects that are mostly quite lame, but you know what? I still loved it just as much on DVD as I ever did decades ago. There aren’t many adventure films that I can say that I still thoroughly enjoy, but for what it's worth Journey to the Center of the Earth is one of them.