Still captivating despite the obviously dated effects.
Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:18
Rotten:4
Average Rating:6.7/10
Consensus: A silly but fun movie with everything you'd want from a sci-fi blockbuster -- heroic characters, menacing villains, monsters, big sets and special effects.
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Synopsis: JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is based on Jules Verne's 1864 novel. A scientist heads out on a treacherous journey to the center of the earth. With him are an intrepid student, an Icelandic... JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH is based on Jules Verne's 1864 novel. A scientist heads out on a treacherous journey to the center of the earth. With him are an intrepid student, an Icelandic guide and the widow of a geologist who steals his information in an attempt to beat him to the earth's core. Along the way the group are confronted by all manner of dangerous obstacles: excessive heat and cold, gale force winds, and tremendous floods. [More]
Starring: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker
Starring: Pat Boone, James Mason, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker, Thayer David, Peter Ronson, Robert Adler
Director: Henry Levin, Stuart Gilmore
Director: Henry Levin
Story: Jules Verne
Screenwriter: Charles Brackett
Producer: Charles Brackett
Director: Stuart Gilmore
Composer: Bernard Herrmann
Reviews for Journey to the Center of the Earth
It's one of the very best Hollywood adventure movies, with lots of monsters, underground oceans, sinister villains, and touches which would have delighted Jules Verne himself.
It's got everything, and it's status as one of the best of the adventure movies made in 50s Hollywood remains intact.
By standards of the time, the special effects of Hollywood's first (but not the only) version of Jules Verne's sci-fi classic were good and nominated for Oscars; they lost out to Ben-Hur, which swept all the awards.
Twentieth Century Fox pulled out all the stops - and the giant mushrooms - for this silly spectacle...
Mason is charming, caustic and debonair, and the whole affair is captivating, silly fun.
...distinguished by its curious casting mix of Mason and pop croonster Pat Boone, some striking CinemaScope vistas, and Bernard Herrmann's orchestral score with cathedral-sized pipe organs.
It's really not very striking make-believe, when all is said and done.
A rollicking adventure with characters you care about and a plot that doesn’t insult you. It’s a perfect fit for any movie fan’s library.
A guilty pleasure adventure with OK special effects, but more kiddie than adult oriented.
...solid family fun...good juvenile entertainment that adults can appreciate, too.
Latest News for Journey to the Center of the Earth
April 24, 2006:
Fraser Journeying to the Center of the Earth
"The Mummy" star Brendan Fraser will star (for Walden Media and New Line Cinema) in a rather new-fangled rendition of the oft-lensed Jules Verne story "Journey to... More...
November 17, 2005:
New Line & Walden Team Up for an All-New "Earth" Expedition"
Variety reports that New Line Cinema and Walden Media will partner up for an all-new and new-fangled rendition of Jules Verne's "Journey to the Center of the Earth,"... More...
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