Journey to the Center of the Earth – 1959
I’m conflicted when it comes to assessing the special effects on this film. On the one hand, they were wonderful. They were unique, innovative, artistic, and at times, beautiful to see on the screen. But on the other hand, they were obvious. The gorgeous matte paintings looked too much like paintings. Some of the forced perspective and compositing didn’t quite look natural.
Fortunately, this wasn’t the movie’s fault. It was the technology of the times. This was the best they could do. Knowing that, it is easy to forgive the minor imperfections, the dark blue-screening lines around the giant reptiles, the suddenly grainy picture quality when the lizards are shown close up, the ridiculously fake tongue of the giant salamander when it tries to eat James Mason.
But those few problems paled in comparison to the awesome visual effects that dominated the film. Like many Jules Vern adventure tales, this film had a slight steampunk aesthetic which I have always liked. In that, some of the visual effects were nothing more than great set design and props. And I was captivated by all the stunning environments in the movie, like the dusty salt caverns, the giant mushroom forest, and the lost city of Atlantis. Though these could all easily fall under the purview of the Art Director, I’m sure the visual effects artists had a hand in creating those sets. The set designer might have designed and built the fantastical crystal cave, but the special effects guys made them glow and sparkle.
Another memorable effect was the giant monsters. Despite the obvious way the in-camera focus of the creatures shifted when the live animals were filmed at extremely close range, in order to force our eyes to perceive them as giants, they were really cool! I’m so glad they chose not to use stop motion animation or worse yet, massive, clunky animatronics to achieve the effect. I also loved the whole scene where they make it to the exact center of the Earth. They are on a raft in the middle of a subterranean ocean. Powerful magnetic forces rip all the gold our heroes carry away from them. There is a storm, and a giant whirlpool that seizes the raft. It was a fun scene to watch!
And I can’t forget the movie’s exciting climax! The adventurers find a shaft that leads from Atlantis to the open sky. Their plan to return to the surface is to use gun powder to blow up a rocky obstruction, and ride a powerful updraft of wind to the open air. Instead they cause an earthquake which destroys the lost city, and a volcanic eruption. Lying in a giant asbestos altar stone, they ride the rush of lava up the volcanic shaft to freedom. Never-mind the fact that the trip would have taken hours if not days, during which time, the people would have been cooked like eggs in a skillet. Who cares? It was still a lot of fun to watch!