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DVD The 3 Worlds of Gulliver
Imaginative special effects by the legendary Ray Harryhausen are the highlights of this adaptation of Jonathan Swift's classic fantasy novel. Kerwin Mathews, who rose to fame after appearing opposite Harryhausen's "Superdynamation" effects in The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958), stars as the English Dr. Gulliver, whose travels bring him in contact with both the diminutive Lilliputians and the gigantic Brobdingnagians. Director Jack Sher's script (with Arthur Ross) tempers Swift's pointed satire in favor of broader humor, and the musical numbers are decidedly unwelcome, but viewers of all ages will be delighted by the film's spirited action and Bernard Herrmann's rousing score. Harryhausen aficionados may be disappointed by the lack of fantastical creatures on display (though a giant squirrel and alligator are impressive), but his matte work here is nothing short of spectacular. --Paul Gaita
Jonathan Swift's satirical novel is given the Ray Harryhausen treatment, and though most of the satire is lost, there still remains echoes of it. For instance, the war the Lilliputians are involved in revolves around the best way to crack open your eggs...from the top or the bottom? And of course in Brobdingnag, any unusual behavior is attached to witchcraft..sound familiar? At any rate, this is one of the least visually impressive of Harryhausen's works, mainly because the script didn't call for a lot of the trademark stop action effects. The squirrel and alligator are impressive, but don't come near any of the other creatures Harryhausen so brilliantly created. For a 1960 film, however, the effects are impressive. Kerwin Mathews, who gained his stardom with THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD and JACK THE GIANT KILLER is sort of a British John Gavin. His dashing good looks and charming accent made him an ideal catch for the idealist Gulliver. Jo Morrow (the original 13 Ghosts) played Gwendolyn, and June Thorburn (Tom Thumb) was Gulliver's Elizabeth. The talented character actor Gregoire Aslan was a perfectly foppish Emperor, and Lee Patterson (Tv'S Surfside 6) a gallant prime minister. While not a bad film by any means, GULLIVER just doesn't have the overwhelming magic of previous Harryhausen efforts. But it is entertaining and I think kids will like it.
Could Colombia be any cheaper.....
It's hard to understand why Colombia presented this Gulliver movie on DVD in a full screen only format. It's cheap and it makes the movie look like a big budget TV show. Don't waste your money on this DVD, It's cheap, pure and simple.
Gulliver DVD - Fullscreen, Widescreen, & Idiots
Yes, it IS disappointing that the Columbia Pictures "The 3 Worlds Of Gulliver" DVD is NOT a widescreen presentation. (For other aspects of the DVD quality, I'll leave that to other reviewers.) However, anyone with some knowledge of film techniques would not call someone an idiot for complaining about that. In fact, it's quite the reverse.
While a movie may be shot with the widescreen view in mind (widescreen crop marks are engraved into the camera's view-finder), such pictures are actually shot "full screen" on the 35mm (or other size) negative. A "soft matte" of top and bottom black bars (added later), restores the director's on-set composition and gives the audience it's widescreen view. This can be seen in "Gulliver" by viewing the included "theatrical trailer" ... which is in widescreen format! What we're getting with this DVD is an "editing-booth" presentation of Gulliver rather than the "theatrical release" one.
This is THE release from Columbia Pictures. Yet, there seems to be another release which properly has the "soft-matte" in place for widescreen presentation [see the review of the "region 2" release of Gulliver at http://www.zetaminor.com/ ]. This is how it SHOULD have been released here.
So, don't be afraid to be called an idiot. Rather, complain to Columbia Pictures and call THEM the idiots. And demand OUR widescreen version!
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,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Michael Craig - Joan Greenwood Director(s): Cy Endfield DVD Release Date: Released the 29 October 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Arguably the most intelligently written film to feature the masterful stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen, Jason and the Argonauts is a colorful adventure that takes full advantage of Harryhausen's "Dynarama" process. Inspired by the Greek myth, the story begins when the fearless explorer Jason (Todd Armstrong) returns to the kingdom of Thessaly to make his rightful claim to the throne, but the gods proclaim that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. Consulting Hera, the queen of gods, Jason recruits the brave Argonauts to crew his ship, and they embark on their eventful journey. Along the way they encounter a variety of mythic creatures, including the 100-foot bronze god Talos, the batlike Harpies, the seven-headed reptilian Hydra, and an army of skeletons wielding... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Todd Armstrong - Nancy Kovack Director(s): Don Chaffey DVD Release Date: Released the 07 November 2000 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I didn't expect this movie to try so hard to be a comedy and fail so miserably. The first half is spent entirely on earth and uses way too much slap stick, old Dad jokes, and complete sillyness replete with cartoony sound effects to accent each poor attempt at comedic value. I like my science fiction a little more serious than this one. When they finally do get to the moon, it's nothing really spectacular.... just some kids dressed up in bug costumes, ooohhh scary. Not a keeper for me. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nathan Juran DVD Release Date: Released the 26 March 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A matinee programmer with lofty ambitions, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is best appreciated as a vintage showcase for the stop-motion animation of special-effects legend Ray Harryhausen. The hoary plot follows the cold-war formula that dominated science fiction movies of the 1950s: After an atomic bomb test in the northern polar ice cap, a gigantic dinosaur--the fictional "Rhedosaurus"--is awakened from eons of dormancy, plots an undersea course for the Eastern seaboard, and proceeds to wreak havoc on New York City, culminating in a showdown with military marksmen at the Coney Island amusement park. Stock footage and tissue-thin drama make this a by-the-numbers monster flick, further hampered by Eugene Lourie's lackluster direction and a wooden B-movie cast. And yet, Harryhausen's... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Paul Hubschmid - Paula Raymond Director(s): Eugène Lourié DVD Release Date: Released the 21 October 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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John Phillip Law stars as the legendary sailor this time around as he finds a talisman and sets sail with his crew for an uncharted island. With a beautiful slave girl (Caroline Munro) in tow, Sinbad takes on the evil sorcerer Koura (Tom Baker), who wants Sinbad's golden talisman to complete a spell. En route to the island, Koura brings the ship's figurehead to life to wreak havoc on the ship and crew. Once there, Sinbad and crew must do battle with a six-armed figure of Kali brandishing a sword in each hand, as well as an enraged Cyclops centaur and a winged griffin, and also deal with the treacherous Koura.
This 1974 entry in the Sinbad franchise is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, the film's production values are quite good, and of course the Ray Harryhausen effects are as... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): John Phillip Law - Caroline Munro Director(s): Gordon Hessler DVD Release Date: Released the 01 July 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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