20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Tags: sci-fi

Plot synopsis:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a film by Richard Fleischer based on the famous Jules Verne novel written in the 19th century.
The film begins with the first page of the book, talking about rumors of a mysterious sea monster that prowled the South Seas in 1868. The camera switches to an old-fashioned ship sailing through apparently calm seas. A long, dark object with glowing lights like eyes at its head appears a short distance away from the ship. It drives straight toward the ship, making a loud whirring noise of a motor. It collides head-on with the ship, sinking it, and sails off.
A man standing before a crowd in San Francisco offers a bonus to any man who will ship with an expedition to hunt the mysterious "monster". Another man interrupts him, warning the crowd not to sign; they will never make it back to collect their pay. He brings up an elderly seaman who tells a dramatic story of how the "monster" sunk the ship he was on, and proceeds to give a vivid description of the monster. A young sailor, Ned Land, challenges the old sailor's claim and makes fun of the way his breath smells. His companion, Casey, hits him over the head with the sailor's cane and a fight breaks out. The police arrive and drag Ned Land away.
Farther down the street, French professor Pierre Aronnax and his apprentice, Conseil, are trying to find a ship that will take them to Saigon, but are told that no one will sail through the South Seas. Three reporters ask for a statement from the professor about the monster, but he gives them an ambiguous answer. Back at their apartments, Aronnax reads the paper and sees that the reporters wildly misquoted him, claiming that he believes in a huge seamonster.
Apologies, this is incomplete, I will finish it later...

Review: Directors do not like to slow down the action and clutter up a dramatic moment by showing actors leave a room, lift a hatch, enter another room.d. At the time Captain Nemo constructed Nautilus on Mysterious Island, the iron riveted ship was the last word in marine construction.
Even in this day of computer generated effects, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea still holds its own with more modern films.Kirk Douglas enjoyed the part of Ned Land the harpooner and it's a favorite of his today.
following paragraph) James Mason portrays Captain Nemo as a tragic hero in the classic sense, neither "byronic" nor a "mad scientist": a man so far ahead of his time that the world can only see his invention as a monster to be hunted with harpoons---and yet he is so tragically wounded by the whose malice and envy of lesser men that he has indeed become, in some ways, a monster.
The Disney studio's first American-made live-action spectacle remains one of its best,thanks to James Mason's portrayal of Jules Verne's anti-hero submarine commander,Captain Nemo,as a misguided Victorian-era terrorist.
It was included in the Best Actor category with a nomination for James Mason's brilliant performance as Nemo.The film is a classic and it stands behind several other Disney films which include "Old Yeller","The Parent Trap",and also "Mary Poppins".The DVD version is out on this which includes several batches of goodies including the excerpts from the classic Disneyland TV show cannily plugging the picture,and also includes the theatrical trailer,and interviews with actors Kirk Douglas,James Mason,director Richard Fleischer with footage of scenes where the film was being shot at on locations in Florida and in the Bahamas.
Exciting and thrilling submarine movie dealing with the Nautilus captained by Nemo masterfully played by James Mason.
At sea, Professor Aronnax was aboard the ship when Nautilus rammed it and threw the Professor, his helper and Ned Land into the water .Their ship is sunk and are captured and get thoroughly involved with power-hungry captain Nemo ( James Mason) and take an extraordinary adventure underseas in an advanced submarine called Nautilus.
Memorable and great cast as James Mason plays a serious revenger captain Nemo ; Paul Lukas plays perfectly Annorax as intelligent scientific ; and Ned Land played by Kirk Douglas as an obstinate , stubborn sailor who spends most of their time devising intelligent ways for escape , in addition singing a catching song titled ¨A whale for a tale ¨ .
While comparing it to "Gone With The Wind" or "Citizen Kane" might be done by others in calling "Leagues" a 'masterpiece', it would be comparing apples to oranges, for this epic, while not overlong as are most masterpieces, it is completely contained to tell a gripping story with wonder acting, production values and the special effects of the day.It is had to know where to begin to list the wonderful achievements here, especially in adapting a book of almost a thousand pages, much of it filled with endless lists of the fish and fauna of the sea, of which Jules Verne was especially fond.
This film exceeded its class in that day and age, yet even if equal actors could have been found for the earlier versions, they would have been too early to truly depict the vision of Jules Verne's technology of the future.Some have criticized that the entire novel was not on film, but were the entire book to be filmed, it would exceed five hours, and Disney knows that even with the finest production, a film must be limited to approximately two hours in order to get both an audience willing to sit through it, as well as exhibitors willing to show it.
Kirk Douglas may disappoint as Ned Land but his real function is to act as a physical square jawed hero alongside the academic and somewhat ambigious Professor Arronnax.I also appreciated the fact that Disney resisted the temptation to invent a child character in order to make the film appeal to children more by way of audience identification , nor is there any sort of mawkish sentiment or frivolity that`s spoiled many a Disney film .
In fact this is such an exciting thoughtful adventure if it wasn`t for the presence of a seal I wouldn`t have believed it was a Disney film .Did I mention there`s a great battle with a giant squid ?.
One of the reasons I still enjoy it is the wonderful restoration job someone did in the latest DVD that was released in 2004.Of course, it's not as exciting as seeing this on the big screen as a youngster, but it's still entertaining thanks to the intelligent dialog of James Mason, the humor (believe it or not) of Peter Lorre and the good special effects.
The "Nautilus" is the star of the film.Manned by Captain Nemo (James Mason),this submarine/machine voyages the ocean.The cast of Actors truly are amazing as they brilliantly help adapt Jules Verne's gripping under-ocean tale.
It won an Academy award and so it should have done,as this was a masterpiece to watch.It was certainly written in the late 19th century to educate victorians of places they could only wish to be.If cinema was around at that time accompanied with the book,this film would go down well.It has recently also had a DVD release which has features galore.The special effects are also superb for its time.(1953)The team have certainly done a great job,and with Richard Fleischer at the helm,Walt made himself proud.This was Disney's real hay-day,and i feel this is one of Disney's greatest films.
For a long time, Disney made top-notch live-action films, and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" stands as one of the best.I loved this film as a kid, and can remember even at the time being impressed that it didn't feel like it was necessarily dumbed down for a children's audience.
In the present day, Disney puts all of its oomph into its animated films, and its live action offerings many times emerge as barely competent -- and certainly not anything anyone with half a brain (kid or adult) would want to see.This is a terrific fantasy adventure film -- people who want to find quality family entertainment should stop complaining about the lack of family-friendly movies being produced now and pick up something like this instead.Grade: B+.
This remains THE classic of them all!Forget the dated special effects which, by the way, you may not even notice, since the story is so gripping and fast paced, that you may not even realize they are.James Mason gives a wonderful portrayal of Captain Nemo.
Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre form a perfect if not odd comical duo, to ease the tension of the story.The score is beautifully remastered and brings you immediately back to those long bygone days of great movie-making.I won't be long reviewing this movie, since many others before me, have already praised it and described it in detail.I can only say, buy it, buy it, buy it!Oh, and by the way, don't forget about another Jules Verne classic just released on DVD and in Widescreen: "Around the World in 80 Days".
And again, James mason is also superb.And finally, Disney cares about dance routines and pre-tween relationships (but they don't talk about the unplanned teen pregnancy that usually follows) they don't care about epic fights against giant squids, that could be put in the professor's words "sure, a monster could sink a ship, if it were big enough." and yes, that monster is big enough.I don't even need to tell you the back-story.
The Disney version of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" memorably realizes Jules Verne's vision of the complex Captain Nemo and his dream of using science to fight the world's ills.
The movie's greatest strengths are (i) James Mason's excellent portrayal of Nemo and the many facets of his nature and personality, and (ii) the lavishly designed and photographed sets that bring to life the world described in Verne's novel.
Despite the (cinematically necessary) variations and omissions from the novel, the film effectively describes the philosophical and sociological conflicts that Verne raised, even as it concentrates (probably foremost) on providing family entertainment.The cast contains other fine actors besides Mason, but the other characters are not nearly as multi-faceted or as interesting as Nemo, and thus Lukas, Douglas, and Lorre do not have the chance to perform as memorably as Mason did in the role of the Captain.
But these do not prevent the movie from being effective at communicating the most important aspects of the world of the tormented Captain Nemo and his brilliant scientific creations.The story of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" raises more questions than it answers.
Jules Verne's imagination is still impressive from a historical standpoint, and James Mason's Captain Nemo and his Nautilaus submarine has already been stamped in our minds as indelible film folklore.
Even Kirk Douglas tune 'Whale of a Tale' is a very enjoyable number.20,000 Leagues might very well be one of the best adventure movies ever made, it is certainly one of Disney's best live action pieces.
I found that elusive movie in this "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."Captain Nemo, played by James Mason, has developed a submarine and a power source well ahead of his time.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love Disney and many of their (live action) adventure movies belong to my favorites since childhood already (like for example "Island at the top of the World", "The Watcher in the Woods" or "Something Wicked this way Comes"), but the wise and detailed imagination of Jules Verne is too unfathomable even for the most creative scriptwriters and set designers over at Disney Studios.
On itself, I reckon "20,000 Leagues under the Sea" is an exciting and hi-tech (especially for the year 1954) adventure movie with solid performances, Oscar-worthy special effects & set decorations and a handful of sequences that are still enormously spectacular to look at, with the giant squid battle sequences as the obvious highlight!
The performances are definitely stellar, with a beautiful and integer performance from James Mason as Captain Nemo and a charming but stereotypical role for alpha male Kirk Douglas as the singing harpooner Ned Land, who takes his shirt off one too many times..
By far the most popular version of the Jules Verne novel, this well-remembered Disney classic is a giant of the genre: a science fiction adventure yarn that helped set the trend for similar kiddie flicks that followed (THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH).
Pierre Arronax (Paul Lukas), his assistant Conseil (Peter Lorre) and harpooner Ned Land (Kirk Douglas) set out on a government funded ship, in search of a rumored sea monster.
Richard Fleisher directed this big-scale, Walt Disney produced adaptation of the famous Jules Verne novel about the futuristic submarine Nautilus under the command of Captain Nemo(played by James Mason) who is tired of humanity's wars, and decides to sink all warships, regardless of nationality.
This brings on the attention of the U.S. government, and a ship goes to investigate the sinking's(not meeting Nemo until later.) Kirk Douglas plays whaler Ned Land, while Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre play a professor and his assistant.
Disney's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, from the Jules Verne classic, is highly enjoyable underseas entertainment and a parable about power in the hands of the wrong man--in this case, Captain Nemo (JAMES MASON) and his command of The Nautilaus.When three hearty souls (KIRK DOUGLAS, PAUL LUKAS, PETER LORRE) confront his evil destruction of other ships, the tale sails into high adventure, the kind kids might love (unless jaded by too many recent computerized kid films) and adults are sure to embrace.JAMES MASON proves to be a perfect choice as the professorial Capt.
You wonder how Disney managed to get fine actors like Mason, Peter Lorre, Kirk Douglas to surrender their artistic credibility for such drivel.When one looks at old movies, those that stand the test of time are those that have good fundamentals: script, acting, direction, and music.
Jules Verne's early sci-fi classic was one of the first books I ever read as an infant, so it was nice after all these years to see a colourful, entertaining, if slightly anachronistic and underpowered, telling of the tale.Captain Nemo in my opinion is certainly one of the more complex and deep (no pun intended) characters in children's fiction and I was very pleased with James Mason's conviction-led performance.
Admittedly, there are some slow scenes here and there and I found the performance of Kirk Douglas (as "Ned Land") as a bit too sophomoric for my tastes but I suppose it was par for the course for a Disney film during this time.
Pierre Aronnax (Lukas), his assistant Conseil (Lorre) and an adept harpooner Ned Land (Douglas), after an amidships attack from a "sea monster" destroying their ship, fetches up on the said monster, it turns out to be an iron vessel named the Nautilus, which can submerge under the water (a proto-submarine), commanded by Captain Nemo (Mason).
The film is a sensation to watch not just for its visual innovation (one can find more pleasure in Czech artisan Karel Zeman's THE DEADLY INVENTION if technicalities is your cuppa), the epic squid battle alone is worth your ticket; what one finds engaging, or even refreshing is the story's pervading pessimistic outlook, which is definitely not something one expects from a Disney production, plus James Mason's poignant impersonation of a man plagued by an existential crisis, everything evokes pathos and to some degree, nihilism in the film's unfolding up to the finale, Ned Land is a trouble-maker, and Douglas is overtly concerned with his macho image which only leads to his own disservice (even that hooky ditty WHALE OF A TALE is of little avail at that point); Prof.
After the ship is attacked, three survivors (Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre & Kirk Douglas) encounter an advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by mad-genius Captain Nemo (James Mason).If you can ignore a few short spurts of Disney hokeyness, e.g. a Douglas song & dance routine and his frolics with Esmeralda the seal, this is a well done fantasy adventure.
12/9/2016 - Happy 100th Birthday Old Man Douglas!Walt Disney's grandiose production of Jules Vern's novel "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" has withstood well the passage of time and still proves to be an arresting experience to the senses.
'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' is a Disney film inspired by Jules Verne's novel with Captain Nemo and a submarine.
James Mason is outstanding in his part of Captain Nemo, Kirk Douglas plays a fantastic part of Ned Land, he has such a gift to make his character likable and funny at the same time.
Both are good in their own ways, but 20,000 has a classic feel to it that the later doesn't have.The first great thing about 20,000 is the portrayal of Captain Nemo by James Mason.
"20,000 Leagues under the Sea" is therefore unusually character-driven for a science fiction film, so it is hardly surprising that four major stars, James Mason, Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas and Peter Lorre were cast in the leading roles.
A vessel and crew is enlisted to try and find a mysterious "monster" said to be the cause behind a series of seafaring disasters.Nicely executed Disney classic with an all star cast including Kirk Douglas, Peter Lorre, James Mason and Paul Lukas.
"20000 Leagues Under The Sea," the 1954 classic Disney film, presented in widescreen, is based on the Jules Verne book with the same name (be sure to read "Around the World in Eighty Days" if you haven't already!!!!!).
Whether you're a fan of Disney, Jules Verne, Douglas, Peter Lorre (who I've always liked =) ), or James the man himself, you will like this movie.
Walt Disney's biggest sea film is this wonderful adventure based on Jules Verne's famous novel.
The creature has been rendered in drawings by various newspaper cartoonists of the day.On an excursion out to sea, expert Whaling Harpooner Ned Land (Kirk Douglas), Professor Pierre Arronax (Paul Lukas) and his assistant, Conseil (Peter Lorre), are all taken prisoner when their ship was rammed by the hideously huge eyed "monster", which of course turned out to be the good ship Nautilus, the iron hulled super-scientific and futuristic Submarine.As Captain Nemo's (James Mason) prisoner, they are subject to his whim, including execution.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: 6 out of 10: High budget Disney adventure is an entertaining if overlong adaptation of the Jules Verne classic.
The cast does a great job portraying their characters; Kirk Douglas makes a charming Ned Land (the harpooner) with some doses of humor thrown in this dark tale, Peter Lorre is a convincing Council, but it is James Mason perfectly capturing Captain Nemo's balance of genius and madness.
Pierre Aronnax and Peter Lorre as his assistant Conseil are excellent.The movie has many incredible scenes, like the battle against the giant squids.The duet between Kirk Douglas and the seal is a riot.This is an adventure you don't want to miss..
As impressive as that is, it was the characters that really drew me to this film.The great English actor James Mason (The Verdict, Georgy Girl, A Star is Born) was impressive as Captain Nemo, and really gave weight to the great story by Jules Verne and script by Earl Felton.A very young Kirk Douglas (Lust For Life, The Bad and the Beautiful, Champion) was a real riot as a singing seaman who was just after the gold.Paul Lukas (Watch on the Rhine) and Peter Lorre (Casablanca) were also great.Yes, great effects, but some mighty fine acting, too..
******* 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) Richard Fleischer ~ Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas.
What I like most is the character development as played out by James Mason and the special effects, which, for the time, were very good.