Journey to the Center of the Earth (Blu-ray) (1959)

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General		Extras
Category	Adventure	Isolated Musical Score Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1959
Running Time	129:28
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Henry Levin
Studio Distributor	Shock Entertainment	Starring	James Mason Pat Boone Arlene Dahl Diane Baker Thayer David Peter Ronson Robert Adler Alan Napier
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	$19.95	Music	Bernard Herrmann

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 4.0 L-C-R-S English Alternate Audio DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Journey to the Centre of the Earth is a classic adventure story, written by Jules Verne and adapted for cinema and television on a number of occasions. There was a recent 2008 3D film starring Brendan Fraser, which I reviewed here, and this probably better known version from 1959 which we previously reviewed on its DVD release here. This James Mason & Pat Boone version is now getting its Blu-ray debut here in Australia from Shock.

     The story as you probably know concerns a scientist who thinks he has discovered how to get down an extinct volcano to the centre of the earth and mounts an expedition to prove it. The scientist, Sir Oliver Lindenbrook (James Mason), works at Edinburgh University, teaching geology to a seemingly all male student body including his protégé, Alex McKuen (Pat Boone). McKuen gives him an interesting rock made of lava and when they break it open (through an accident) they find that it contains a plumb bob previously owned by a scientist, Arne Saknussem who disappeared investigating similar theories in his native Iceland. Lindenbrook writes of his theories to an eminent scientist in the field, Prof Goteborg of Stockholm. When he doesn't receive a reply, he realises that Goteborg is attempting to reach Iceland before him and immediately sets of on a mission of his own. Through various above ground intrigues, Goteborg winds up dead and Lindenbrook must do a deal with his widow, Carla (Arlene Dahl). This involves the expedition getting well kitted out but also adding three extra members beyond Lindenbrook and McKuen; Carla Goteborg, an Icelandic giant, Hans (Peter Ronson) and his duck, Gertrude. Little do they know that they are also being followed by an ancestor of Saknussem, the current Count Saknussem (Thayer David) who has plans of his own. Will they reach the centre of the earth or die in the attempt? Will Sir Oliver stop being an old curmudgeon? Will the villain get away with his cunning plan? Will someone need to eat the duck?

     This is a fun old style adventure yarn for the whole family. The film was a significant technical achievement at the time of its release, garnering three technical Oscar Nominations for Art Direction, Special Effects & Sound. Obviously by today's standards the special effects look pretty lame but they still hold the interest and provide enjoyable entertainment for kids. Mason is suitably grumpy and Boone suitably swoony when he gets his shirt off and starts singing. Supposedly Mason found Arlene Dahl's diva tendencies quite annoying which led to them not really getting on on set. The widescreen cinematography and colours look great on this new Blu-ray version and the wonderful score by Bernard Hermann is heard in all its glory. My main criticism of this film would be that there is a bit too much carry on before they actually set off for the centre of the earth, with nearly 45 minutes before the journey kicks off for real. Once they get going though the film moves along at a cracking pace. The film does feature the obligatory sexism and racism of the period.

     Lots of fun for the whole family.

Video

     The video quality is excellent for a film of this age.

     The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080p HD encoded using the AVC codec.

     The detail and clarity is really good for a film of this age with excellent clarity in nearly all scenes except for a couple around the underground sea which are more grainy than the rest. These are around 98:01.

     The colour is really good for a film of this age and some scenes really jump off the screen.

     In artefact terms, there are only a few white spots beyond the grain mentioned above.

     There are no subtitles available.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is very good.

     This disc contains an English soundtrack in DTS HD-MA 4.0 L-C-R-S plus an isolated score track. The audio sounds great for a film of this age with quite a lot of atmosphere and effects in the surrounds and the score sounding great. The only drawback would be that things can be a little boomy at times.

     Dialogue is clear and easy to understand throughout.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu includes music.

Trailer (3:20)

Isolated Score

    The Region A release is basically the same.

    The video quality is great for a film of this age.

    The audio quality is also surprisingly good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall