20,000
Leagues Under the Sea
(Buena Vista Home Entertainment)
DVD
Release Date:
May
20, 2003
Length:
127 mins.
Rated:
G
Format:
Widescreen (2.55:1)
Audio:
English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:
English, Closed-Captioned
Extras:
Audio
Commentary, "Grand Canyonscope" Cartoon, Sneak Peeks,
THX Optimizer, "Making-Of" Documentary, "Jules
Verne and Walt Disney" Featurette, "The Humbolt
Squid" Featurette, "The Musical Legacy of Paul
Smith" Featurette, "Touring the Nautilus",
"Lost Sequence: The Sunset Squid Sequence", Disney
Studio Album, Production Gallery, "Monsters of the
Deep" Featurette, Trims, Script Excerpt: Nemo's Death,
Movie Merchandise, Storyboard-to-Film Comparison, Unused
Animation, Trailer, Galleries, Radio Spots, Peter Lorre’s ADR
Tracks, Captain Nemo’s Organ Music
In 1954, Walt Disney released its first
full live-action movie by adapting the Jules Verne classic, 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea. The story begins in 1868 and follows three
survivors of a shipwreck who are picked up by Captain Nemo and his
mysterious sea monster, the submarine Nautilus. James Mason
effectively plays Nemo and Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre, and Paul Lukas
play the survivors. Soon, the survivors realize that Nemo is a little
unstable in the noggin and has a plan with misguided intentions.
Douglas leads the charge to stop Nemo's crusade.
When I was a kid, I loved this movie. I even remember seeing it for
the first time on a Saturday afternoon at my grandparent's house and
becoming enthralled with the world under the surface of the ocean.
Watching it now, years later, the movie shows its date. It is
unfortunate that this has happened because 20,000 Leagues is a fun
movie. It is a great nostalgic trip for those of us who have seen it,
but it will be tough for this movie to gain a new audience due to
today's in-your-face special effects and non-stop action movies. But,
this usually helps place a movie in the classic genre, and for anyone
who wants to re-visit a childhood memory, or see a pioneer film in
special effects put to a classic Verne story, watch this on a Saturday
afternoon at your grandparent's house.
One of the things I love about DVDs is how older films are rejuvenated
into the digital format presenting sounds and images that are perhaps,
superior to its original release. 20,000 Leagues is no exception to
the enjoyable quality of DVD.
The special features on this two-disc set represent a journey into the
history of this movie and are some of the best I've seen on DVD. There
are so many to watch that I can't comment on all of them. Even the
audio commentary with director Richard Fleischer and film historian
Rudy Behlmer is fascinating. You would think that commentary between
two senior citizens might be a snooze fest, but they offer some really
interesting insights to the people involved in the movie. The
"Monsters of the Deep" segment is also worthwhile to watch.
And even just to see the way Disney operated fifty years ago at the
start of their live-action films is neat.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea unfortunately may not find a new
audience, but this double disc release will definitely keep hold of
original fans and the special features are a reward for us fans who
were fascinated with the classic film when we were children.
